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Bicycle Tours in South Western Australia:
Tenterden - Dumbleyung - Armadale
9 days, 455 km
The aim of this trip, the first since 2005, was to take an opportunity
which probably won’t come again; to start deep in the Great Southern and
ride home via Dumbleyung and see the lake, which is more full than for some
years due to a reasonable season in the area. I had this plan some years
ago, during the Stirlings ride of 1993, but didn’t feel able to go there on
that occasion.
Again I took my digital camera on this trip. I took pictures of orchids
again, reflecting my particular interest, and of the towns and countryside
and of bodies of water that were in better shape than usual. I also took a
mobile phone for the first time, and this was to prove more than useful. I
was glad finally to have joined the 21st century with this device.
One big change for this trip – it is the first I have taken since having
cataract surgery on both eyes in autumn 2006. I wore my distance glasses
while riding and I have never seen the country like I saw it on this 2007
ride.
PRELIMINARY
This was another ride which started as in 2002. I went with Liz to her
country property at Tenterden on Monday 15 October. I took the front wheel
off my bike so it would fit in her Yaris. We stayed overnight at Williams
then proceeded to Tenterden on Tuesday 16th . The forecast was for rain on
the following day, Wednesday, so I got the rechargeable-battery powered saw
going and cut as much firewood as I could before the charge ran out, then
re-assembled the small shed that had been blown to bits in a storm some time
ago. Rain poured down on Wednesday, accompanied by strong winds. It was all
a good workout for the re-assembled shed, which didn’t fail. That night was
very cold.
In planning this ride I wanted to stay overnight at Tambellup after the
first day, but the Accommodation Guide from the Tourism Commission showed
nowhere to stay in Tambellup. An old phone number I found for it was no
longer connected. It looked as though I would have to ride 65 km to the
Broomehill Hotel on the first day, which I feared might be too much. Of
course I would have managed it if I had had to, but in the event I went to
the Tourism Commission in Perth on Friday 12th and they looked on a
different website and found the number for ‘G and T Bed and Breakfast’. I
rang them from the Williams Motel, using the room phone. They said they
were fully booked, sorry. I said never mind, and I was just about to hang up
when I heard a voice from the phone and quickly put it back to my ear, just
in time to hear him say ‘have you tried the hotel?’ I said I thought the
hotel was closed, and he said no, and gave me the number. I rang the number
and made the booking and was relieved.
DAY 1, Tenterden - Tambellup
THURSDAY 18 OCTOBER 2007
I did a few more jobs for Liz then put the front wheel back on the bike and
finally rolled off down the gravel track towards Ronaldshaw Road at 10:32,
283.
Ronaldshaw Road is now sealed all the way to Salt River Road, which runs
from the centre of Cranbrook all the way to the other end of the Stirlings.
I stopped in Cranbrook to buy drinks, then used the facilities and set off
for Tambellup at 11:15, 292. The day was cool and partly cloudy and there
was a light E-SE wind, which didn’t impede me much. The country was
undulating rather than hilly and I got good views of the Stirlings from time
to time, slowly receding behind me.
I rested at 303 and 319 and rolled up to the Tambellup Hotel at 13:11, 327.
There was no-one there to respond to my knocking and calling, it was all
locked up. I found my way around the back, where the big gate was open to
admit vehicles and there was a small gate with a clip. I let myself in and
tried the doors on the ground floor but they were all locked. There was a
metal staircase, a fire-escape, going up to an open door on the upper floor,
and a dog came and barked loudly at me. I was to discover that this was an
old dog with some bark but no bite. I eventually went up the stairs, walked
in, the dog retreated, and I called out ‘hello’ a few times, but no-one
answered.
One amusing thing – near the front door of the hotel was a sign saying
‘These premises are under 24-hour video surveillance’. Yeah, right.
I went back down again and sat on the broad railway reserve and had a drink
and waited for a while. Then I cycled up the road a little way, then came
back in time to see a truck turn off the road and go behind the hotel. I
followed it and they did indeed park inside the hotel back yard. I
introduced myself to the man and a plump, tongue-tied young blonde woman who
might have been his daughter. She was working at the bar later on and took
my order for dinner. They let me put my bike inside near the front door that
would remain locked, and gave me the key to my room, No. 1. The cost was
$35, which included tea and coffee any time, and all the cereal and toast I
could eat which was available any time in the morning. The room had a
comfortable bed, a radio which was a bit cranky, a bedside light, a bedside
table with drawers, and an old brown wooden dresser with a mirror. The man
told me to have a rest and he would see me later.
I had a bit of sleep, then got up and had a shower and changed, then walked
around the town. I dropped into the Post Office to put more money into my
mobile phone. I didn’t know the procedure so she said she would do it for
me, but she couldn’t get it to work inside the building. She told me what to
do and I went out into the street and it worked. I also was able to find out
that I had $54 credit, so the call to Mum from Tenterden had only cost $1.
It is easy to make calls from Tenterden because there is a major transmitter
at Sukey’s Hill, only a few km away.
I didn’t need to do much shopping but bought some drinks, including a sports
drink with a pop top that was to become my spare water bottle for the rest
of the trip. I used a call box to phone Mum, then also tried to phone the
Katanning Motel, and the Dumbleyung Tavern, but only got answering machines.
I continued my walk around the town, was impressed by how nice a town it
was, well kept with some life in it, unlike many country towns. I went right
over to the sports ground, then I tried again to telephone Katanning, using
my mobile, and this time got through, but nearly lost contact with them
while making the booking – I had to turn around and contact came back. I
looked at the school and the churches and saw the G and T Bed and Breakfast.
It looked nice, but I would have been surprised if they had had room for
more than one or two people.
Before crossing the tracks to the hotel I tried the coin phone again, to
save the mobile as much as possible for any crises that might lie ahead.
This time I got the Dumbleyung Tavern and booked my room, for Saturday.
I ordered my dinner, beef rissoles, at the bar. I ate it in the old dining
room, then went to watch TV. I had been told there were videos too, and
indeed they were, but most of them hadn’t been rewound and the video machine
was unable to rewind them, so I just enjoyed a few TV programs and had a
reasonably early night. I slept quite well.
Reading at Tambellup, end of day: 327 km. Day's ride: 44 km.
DAY 2, Tambellup - Katanning
FRIDAY 19 OCTOBER
I left Tambellup Hotel at 10:04 after a good breakfast and rode up the Great
Southern Highway. The morning was cool and sunny but cloud was increasing
and there was a ENE headwind. I rested at 343 and passed through Broomehill
at 352. I was aware of becoming dehydrated – I had not taken in enough
fluids at the start of the day. I would take care about that in the days
that followed. I rested again at 359, then came to a sign saying ‘Katanning
town Boundary’ when I was still 10 km south of the town. They must have
urban ambitions. As I approached Katanning I came to a right turn that said
‘Cornwall St. – Town Centre’ so I took that and eventually crossed the
railway line and came to the town centre in Clive Street at 1 pm, 372.
It was during this last push to Katanning that something happened which was
important for the success of the whole enterprise. I was listening to the
country hour and just after the 12:30 pm news came the detailed weather
report. It said that the next day would see a south-westerly change sweeping
across the whole southern part of WA. This would be helpful going to
Dumbleyung, which lay E and N from Katanning. I was a bit scared of this
journey and wanted all the help I could get. I had had visions of climbing
hills and pushing warm headwinds across 52 km of empty country, but it
seemed that was not to be.
I had not been in Katanning since the 1993 ride and couldn’t remember
exactly where the motel was, or what it had been called. I had booked the
New Lodge Motel and guessed that it was off to the west of the town centre.
This was correct, but the motel was not the same one in which I had stayed
in 1993. That was further off Clive Street and was called Katanning Motel. I
recognised it from the layout.
I went to Reception and had to wait while a couple booked in and asked a lot
of questions and ordered their breakfast for the next day. They went off and
I checked in, then there was a delay while the receptionist chased after the
couple because she had given them the key to the room that was supposed to
be mine. I got Unit 11 – it was $80. It faced north so there was some sun to
dry my clothes.
I had a rest then showered, washed my riding clothes, changed and set off to
walk around the town. I had already booked Dumbleyung so I wanted to book
the Wagin Motel for Sunday. I did that using a public coin telephone. I
wanted to find somewhere to buy dinner later, and also buy some cakes and
pies to have for breakfast in bed before getting going the next morning. I
needed to have more drinks too. The next day would require me to ride 52 km
across country with nowhere to stop, no towns or localities or shops of any
kind until Dumbleyung.
In 1993 I had bought dinner, Beef Rendang Padang, at a Malay-Indonesian
restaurant – there is a strong Malay-Indonesian community in Katanning. But
I couldn’t find it any more. There was a Chinese restaurant set up in an
abandoned church in Carew Street. I took a picture of this later when I went
to order. Carew Street was in fact the street I would have to turn left
into, to head for Dumbleyung the next morning.
I strolled around the town and took a few pictures. I was also looking for
other dinner options. I found a pizza shop and thought a pizza would be
nice, but when I went in they didn’t supply them below large size, which was
too much for one person. I decided on the Chinese dinner and walked back to
the ‘church’ and ordered boneless duck in plum sauce, with fried rice. While
I was waiting for this I took a couple of pictures of the restaurant, inside
and out.
I went back to the motel and enjoyed Friday night television. A little rain
fell outside at about 7 pm. I slept quite well
Reading at Katanning, end of day: 373 km. Day: 46 km. Cumulative 90 km, 45
km/day.
DAY 3, Katanning - Dumbleyung
SATURDAY 20 OCTOBER
I set off down Clive Street at 10 on a cool morning with a helpful
south-westerly, as predicted. This got quite fresh as the day went on. The
phrase ‘huge tail-wind’ came to my mind as I climbed a big hill later on.
The day was cool and cloudy and some of the clouds to the south looked quite
threatening but there was no rain on me that day. There was some sun later.
The road went through pleasant country, with a rising trend which I had
expected because I had a topographical map of this area, which started 24 km
from Katanning, and it showed a big hill half-way between the towns, then a
steep descent to a flat area around Dumbleyung and the lake. I rested at 392
and since I had three litres of drinks with me I had most of one litre. The
place where I rested was a rest bay formed by a section of old road that had
been bypassed by the building of the new section a few metres to the east. I
kept going, being quite comfortable and optimistic and enjoying the day and
the countryside. I rested again at 410, at the summit of the expected big
hill, and took pictures looking ahead and behind, to show the climb I had
achieved and the downhill rush I was about to enjoy. I reached 56 kph going
downhill, the highest speed of the trip. At the bottom the country was
nearly flat, and there was a causeway across wetlands where ducks and other
birds were active.
I stopped a couple of times before Dumbleyung to take pictures. Once was
when I had come to the end of 10 km of straight road which was about to take
a turn to the east, and I stood in the middle of the road and took pictures
of it stretching straight back. Later on the computer I could blow it up and
see a vehicle in the far distance. It would have taken ten minutes for it to
overtake me. Later I was riding up a gentle rise and could not see beyond
the top of the road, and the fields on both sides stretched away and I could
not see over the top of them either. It was like coming to the edge of the
world. Then I got to the top of the rise and there was Dumbleyung, on the
right, about 4 km distant according to my calculations, which proved to be
correct. I took a couple of pictures of that, one zoomed.
I came to a road running off to the right and a sign saying ‘Bartram Street’
which was the address of the hotel, so I turned right. Bartram was an early
pioneer in the area. I went along for a couple of km and could see the old
hotel on the right side of the road. It was a grand old two-storey structure
of the typical kind. I arrived and was able to walk in and find people in
the bar. I checked in and again was given room 1, $38.50. It was the usual
upstairs room with the usual furniture but there was a TV! But reception
wasn’t very good. One arm of the antenna was broken and it was all loose.
There were no other guests that night and all the other rooms were open, so
I sneaked around to find a better antenna, also a double adapter because the
furniture in the room also included an electric heater, of the sort that you
can hang things on to dry. I replaced these items before leaving the hotel
the next day.
Again, the price of the room included breakfast. I could help myself to all
the cereal and toast I wanted at any time in the morning, and tea or coffee
whenever. The dining room had some old stuff like a 1950s radio, I don’t
know if it was in working order but it didn’t have all its knobs.
After my rest and shower and laundry I walked around the town. I decided not
to bother to book Narrogin until I was in Wagin the next day. It would be
Monday in Narrogin so with two motels and several hotels there shouldn’t be
any problem.
The town was neat and spacious but not as well kept as Tambellup, and the
houses were older and weatherboard and iron were more in evidence. It was
still interesting. I had not been here since passing through it on the way
to Lake Grace, only 80 km to the east, in 1962. The hotel was on the other
side of the railway from the main town. There was still a little passenger
station but there was no sign telling of its history, like there is at
Wickepin for example. I would assume that passenger rail services stopped at
least 50 years ago. There was a spacious yard next to the station, and a
roadhouse. There were on display some old tractors and wagons used by
pioneers in the district. They weren’t kept in good order.
I walked around the streets, saw the school, the Ag Supply shop, the
Anglican and Catholic Churches. The Anglican Church was shared with the
Uniting Church and didn’t have services every Sunday. Its foundation stone
was laid in 1957. They wouldn’t bother to come and build a new Anglican
church there now. The Catholic church had a foundation stone rather
pompously inscribed entirely in Latin. It was laid in the 1920’s.
I went back to the station area and called a friend on the coin phone. I
said ‘can you hear the raging? Saturday night in Dumbleyung, big party,
hoons screaming about!’ I was just teasing her. The place was quiet, no-one
was about.
I went back to the hotel and ordered mixed grill for dinner. A good
old-fashioned country dinner, steak, a chop, a sausage, some bacon and chips
and salad. Then I went up to relax and watch Saturday night TV. I stepped
out onto the broad upstairs verandah where I had hung my washing – it had
got nearly dry earlier and I had brought it in. I noted that the wind was
still blowing briskly from the SW. I hoped it would turn around to at least
the SSE by morning. I expected it to – that is the usual pattern with the
weather cycles in Spring. There was actually a light shower in the early
evening.
In my room I turned on the electric heater to dry some things that had not
fully dried in the moist cool breeze. I settled down to a relaxing evening.
Reading at Dumbleyung: 426 km. Day’s ride: 53. Aggregate: 143 km. km/day 48.
DAY 4, Dumbleyung - Wagin
SUNDAY 21 OCTOBER
The wind had indeed turned around to the SSE during the night. I had only 40
km to go to Wagin but wanted to take a diversion or two to get as close to
the lake as I could. I had studied the map in the Information Bay and knew
that I would have to make a left turn down Lake Road at about 6 km out of
Dumbleyung. After a good breakfast I left my hotel at 9:40, 426. I rode back
over the railway line to get onto the main street of town, which would lead
to the Wagin Road.
The morning was sunny with some cloud. It was cool to start but warm in the
sun. I reached Lake Road at 432.7 and as expected it was all gravel, with a
steep slope that I chose to walk up, and down on the way back. The sign said
‘picnic area’ but when I got there, after less than a kilometre as expected,
there was just a gravel turning circle, no facilities. The lake was at last
in view but was some way off, down a thickly wooded slope and through an
area of mudflats and dead trees. I took some pictures, then headed back to
the road, which I reached at 434.4. At 436 I saw the sign ‘scenic drive – no
through road’ on the left, so decided to try that. Once again the road was
gravel, with some unrideable slopes and a cattle grid which I had to walk
over carefully. Had this been a through road back to the main road I would
have kept going, but I only went a km in to find a reasonable view of the
lake and take more pictures. The sun was warm and there were a lot of flies.
I was glad to get back to the sealed road at 438 and get a cross-breeze.
I passed the sign W 30 at 439 and rested at 444. At one point I was going up
a rise and saw what I thought would be my last view of the lake, so I took a
picture, but the lake was still visible later on so I took another. I rested
again at 458 then started to look out for signs of the approaching town. I
hadn’t been here since 1993. At last I was at the head of the long straight
road into town. Away ahead of me I saw a vehicle stopped in the middle of
the road and a group of people talking and playing around it. They slowly
dispersed as I passed them and left them a long way behind as I proceeded
into the town.
I was looking for my motel in Tudhoe Street, but I couldn’t find Tudhoe
Street. I was actually on it – the main road into town changed its name to
Tudhoe Street while in the town. I rode slowly on through, looking at signs.
I would have passed right by my motel. I had a hope when I saw a sign that
began TUD but it was Tudor Street. I passed a lady in a park and asked her,
but she didn’t know. She suggested I go to the Ram park and look at the
tourist information map. I went into the park, which has a giant ram and
picnic and barbecue areas, and a little stream and walkways and a miniature
bike path for children. I found the map and realised that I had just come
along Tudhoe Street, so rode back to the motel. There was no-one there and
no-one answered the bell. So I rode back to the park. On my way I saw a sign
near the open door of an old hotel saying ‘Mitchell’s Motel Units’ so I went
around that corner and saw these rather tatty looking units. At least they
were open for business so I had that in mind as an option if I couldn’t get
into the one I had booked.
In the park, a few people were enjoying a Sunday picnic. A couple of
children were riding on the path. One fell off his bike with a crash and his
mate, or brother, was so distracted by this that he crashed his bike into a
rotunda. But they were both all right and resumed riding about. I sat for a
while and looked at the map for the next day, and finished a packet of
biscuits and a bottle of water. Then I rode back to the motel I had booked.
Same problem. But there was a phone number on the door so I got out my
mobile and rang that. It was answered after a few rings. A man said he would
be with me in a few minutes. After that time a truck came into the motel car
park and a man got out with dirty white overalls and black greasy hands. He
explained that ‘Bec’ was away somewhere and she would deal with the
paperwork that later in the afternoon, and he would give me the key and my
milk and get back to the other job he was doing.
I was relieved to get into my nice unit, No. 12, $75, and have the rest, the
shower and change. There was an air-conditioner which I put on warm and
angled down to dry my stuff.
I bought some stuff to have for breakfast and another bottle of drink. I had
assumed that the main road from Dumbleyung that became Tudhoe Street, became
in turn the main road to Narrogin as it angled north after it left the town
centre. It was just as well I checked because such was not the case. That
road actually led to Arthur River. The Ram park where I had been earlier,
was off that road. To get to Narrogin, I would have to turn right off Tudhoe
into Trent Street, which became Ballagin Street, which in turn became the
Great Southern Highway. Trent Street is just a minor side street and there
is no sign saying ‘Narrogin >’.
The mobile came in handy again when I was west of my motel still looking for
dinner options and decided to ring the Albert Facey Motel in Narrogin. I had
the number with me. My call was successful but the lady said she would ring
me back in a minute to confirm that there was a unit available. I ended the
call and put the mobile back in its case on my belt and waited for it to
ring. I didn’t hear anything but after a while I was aware of some vibration
at my waist. The mobile was vibrating rather than ringing. I snatched it out
and tried to receive the call but it didn’t work, but somehow by stabbing
buttons I was able to ring them back and complete the booking. I didn’t find
out how to make the mobile ring rather than vibrate, until a 15 year old boy
did it for me when I got back. It must have been set up for a deaf person.
I had already had a look at the main street of town and the park so I just
wandered around the back streets. I found a Baptist church whose foundation
stone had been laid in ‘07’ and found another church whose foundation stone
had been laid in ‘02’. At this second church I had to walk in the open gate
to see this, and a man came out and asked me if I was coming to the
barbecue. I apologised for coming in, he said that was all right. I said I
was just visiting the town. I said I presumed that 02 meant 1902, and he
smiled and agreed.
I just got a couple of hot pies for dinner and settled into my unit to watch
Sunday night TV, which was ruined by the Great Debate, complete with worm.
The usual ABC programs had been cancelled. I saw something on SBS, which can
be received in most country towns now.
Reading at Wagin: 473. Day: 47 km. Cumulative 190 km. kpd 47.
DAY 5, Wagin - Narrogin
MONDAY 22 OCTOBER
I left the hotel at 9:45 am on a cool sunny morning, with winds SSE, helpful
again, a tailwind. I found the Great Southern Highway without any trouble.
There was a long climb out of Wagin, and when I stopped at the top of it and
looked back there was a great view of the country behind. I passed through
Piesseville – there were a hall and a few buildings – and rested after that,
at 490. I reached Highbury at 507. There was a shop, established 1945. I
went in and bought a drink. The lady was dressed in a thick cardigan and
asked how I could go around in just a shirt when it was so cold. I said I
got warm from cycling. (Why did she think I would be driving about dressed
and looking like that?) She asked me if I enjoyed cycling about. I said yes,
I didn’t have many more chances to do it because I was 62 already. She said
I was doing pretty well.
After that I kept going into Narrogin. I should have copied the town maps of
some of these towns and taken them with me on this trip. I wasn’t sure where
the turn-off was to go up the hill to the motel. My memory of the town
layout was not accurate. At Forrest Street there was a sign saying ‘motels’
but it didn’t say ‘hospital’ and I remembered the Narrogin Motel being
opposite the hospital, and the Albert Facey was in the same street a bit
further up. Anyway I climbed Forrest Street, got right to the top without
seeing motels or hospital, then saw a sign pointing right at Narrakine road,
saying ‘motels’. I turned right and went on climbing until the road levelled
out and I came to Williams Road. This actually angles into the centre of
town and connects with Egerton Street, so I had probably taken the shorter
way after all. My motel was right there. I arrived at 524, 1:10 pm. The pool
was in front of the reception area. I checked in without any delay - Unit 3,
$95 -and got into my unit for the usual rest and chores.
When I had rested I fancied a swim and put some other shorts on and walked
over to the pool, only to see a sign that I hadn’t noticed before, saying
‘pool out of order’. There was no sign of the advertised spa either – there
must have been individual spas in the de luxe rooms. Mine was a standard. I
might as well have gone to the Narrogin Motel and paid less. But the unit
was nice, and spacious. The TV got all the channels and a couple of in-house
video channels.
There was a fine view of the town and countryside from the car park of the
motel. I took a couple of pictures.
I didn’t walk around the town because the motel was more than 1 km from the
centre, so I took my bike with a minimum of luggage and cycled about. I
bought some drinks and things for breakfast and took them back up the hill,
then cycled about some more. I went to the other side of the railway line
and visited the well-remembered street whence I had made phone calls in
1989, next to the Cornwall hotel and in view of palm trees which are still
there on the other side near the town centre. There are no public phone
boxes in the area any more. I went a bit further on and watched some boys
playing on their BMX bikes on a specially built bike and skateboard area.
They weren’t wearing helmets or elbow or knee pads. They were doing some
good jumps. The wind blew cold from the SE. I rang mum on my mobile and told
her where I was.
I had a decision to make at Narrogin, about the best way home. I had been
listening to or watching forecasts every day and there had been no major
revisions to the expected winds on the days to come. I could either go
north, to York, then west to Mundaring and Midland, or I could go west, to
Williams and Boddington and Dwellingup, then north to Armadale. It had
seemed likely some days before, that the latter course would be better,
though neither would be ideal, so that was what I decided. I had been very
lucky with winds on the three days and the journey to Williams would also be
favoured by a tailwind. I didn’t bother to book Williams Motel – it was only
30 km away and there could be other options. Also, Liz had said she would
start back home on this day and would break her journey by staying overnight
either at Williams or Kojonup. I had suggested to her that my plan made it
possible that I would meet her in Williams because if I went home that way,
I would be there on the 23rd . We could share a unit and I could pay for
that and buy her dinner again.
I rode back to the centre of town and saw the Duke of York hotel in the main
street, where I had spent a disturbed night back in 1989. They are doing
some new construction out the back, where there had been a fire escape and I
had stored my bike in 1989. After that I went along the main street looking
for dinner options. I ended up just getting Chicken Treat and going back to
my unit and settling down for an evening of TV and videos.
Reading at Narrogin, end of day: 531. Km for day: 58. Aggregate: 248. Km per
day: 50.
DAY 6, Narrogin - Williams
TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER
I left the motel at 10 am but didn’t head for Williams straight away. I took
the opportunity to ride into Foxes’ Lair, a nature park on the other side of
the road from the motel. The motel brochures encouraged guests to visit it.
There were gravel tracks going in to a car park, where there were
information boards about walk tracks of different lengths. I took one of
these and took some pictures. The wildflowers were splendid. At one point
the walk track ran along a cliff edge and there was a view of the woodland
and country.
The wind was behind me as I turned back onto the main road and headed for
Williams. I rested at 547. I moved on a few metres from where I had
initially stopped because there was a pile of small stones in the orange
gravel which signified an anthill. The ants had a super-highway extending
about 30 metres so I got clear of that. A big pipeline ran along the side of
the road. I couldn’t get over it or sit on it so I leant on it while I took
my rest. There was a peaceful pastoral scene of hundreds of sheep in the
field opposite, munching away in the sun, so I took a picture of that.
Further on was a ruined house with half its roof missing, surrounded by tall
weeds and a barbed wire fence. I assumed that the fence would have been
pushed down in one spot and this turned out to be so. I climbed over and
stepped up onto the broken verandah and looked into the rooms. The front
door was locked but a door at the side allowed entry to one room. Through
the broken windows of the others I could see linoleum, wallpaper, beds, an
old TV set, a fan. I took a picture of the house before leaving. It looked
quite old.
The road from Narrogin to Williams used to run right past the motel and
caravan park and join up with the Quindanning Road on the other side of
Albany Highway. But a few years ago, between 2003 and 2006, a bypass road
was built south of the original road, so the road past the motel is now a
quiet cul-de-sac a few hundred metres long. I looked out for this as I
approached the town, and rolled off to the right and easily onto it to reach
the motel, at 562, about noon.
At Reception I asked if they had a unit available and they said they sure
did. It was a quiet day for them and they were glad to have a customer. I
asked about Mrs Henderson, and they said she had stayed there the night
before, and she had been very tired, and she was gone now. I hoped she was
all right and hadn’t had any problems at Tenterden.
I got into Unit 10, at the end of the building, $75.
A ginger cat came trotting up crying while I was settling in and making a
cup of tea, so I gave it a cuddle and let it in for a while. It jumped on
the bed and made itself at home. I had to kick it out later. With the warm
dry wind I had an opportunity to wash my jumper, which still smelled of
smoke from the leaky wood stove at Tenterden. I washed the back pack too,
since the warmer trend in the weather had caused it to become damp with
sweat. This hadn’t happened during the first three days of cool weather and
winds.
I rode back into the town and went to the Woolshed café to see if they had
anything I could buy for breakfast, but there was nothing much there so I
went to the shop in Brooking Street.
While I was having my shower the hot water system went ‘clunk’ as it usually
did when going on, and the water went cold. I turned it off then on again
and pushed a few handles but it stayed cold. I thought maybe a
circuit-breaker had tripped so I decided to leave it and check it later. I
hung the washing outside my unit in the convenient sun which shone on that
end of the block, and the dry wind, while I walked up into the town to shop
and look around.
I passed the old homestead built in 1860 and noticed that the door was open
and a family with children was sitting outside. I asked if the house was
open, and they said that it wasn’t officially yet, but I was most welcome to
go in and look around and I should be careful not to trip over anything. I
had never been in this house before. I looked around the cluttered rooms and
took some pictures. There was a lot of authentic old stuff and also the
family’s stuff and tradesmen’s stuff lying around. The Facey house in
Wickepin is more interesting, being more basic and authentic. This one will
be good when it is ready.
After that I went, then I noticed that the Telecentre was open, so I took
the opportunity to go and have a session of emails. I paid for half an hour,
then paid for another to give me a full hour, $6. I told everyone where I
was and how well it had gone, so far. I was indeed feeling very healthy,
having cycled well within my capacity and having nothing to do for a week
except ride, eat and sleep.
By this time it was after 5 pm so I went back to the unit and took in my
washing, which was dry enough. The little cat tried to come in again. I
checked the hot water but it was still cold and didn’t go ‘clunk’. I went to
reception to tell the lady, and she tried to ring her husband on his mobile,
but there was no answer. She said he must be on his way back from Narrogin
and would come and look at it when he arrived.
I sat outside for a while and talked to the cat, who was very friendly and
purring. It wasn’t long before the man came over to look at the hot water
system. He noted that I had made a new friend, said it wasn’t even his cat,
didn’t belong around the motel. All that was wrong with the hot water was a
blown fuse, and the box was right on the wall at the end of the block of
units. After a couple of minutes I had hot water again.
I went to the roadhouse restaurant and bought a pie, a cheese sausage and a
sausage roll and went back to my unit to watch TV and lie around. During the
evening, every time I went out for a smoke the cat was there wanting to come
in. I used the mobile to ring Liz and find out if she were all right and why
she had gone home a day earlier than planned. She was fine, she had had a
great time and had benefited from the break and having a few days to
herself. She was very happy and relaxed and we had a good chat.
Reading at Williams, end of day: 565. Day’s ride: 34 km. Aggregate: 282.
Km/day: 47.
DAY 7, Williams - Boddington
WEDNESDAY 24 OCTOBER
The day was warm and sunny with north to north-easterly winds, a headwind
for 40 km of my planned day’s journey. I left the motel at 9:26 and turned
onto the Albany Highway and made my way over the bridge and past the hotel
and the craft shop and the Woolshed and out of town. There is some climbing
to do until about 10 km north of Williams, then a view of country ahead and
a downhill run for a while. I felt optimistic and energetic despite the
conditions. They weren’t so bad and I had the left turn at Crossman and 12
km of wind-assisted riding to Boddington to look forward to.
I rested at 583 and 601. The day was getting quite hot – I believe the
maximum in Perth that day was 31deg – and I was sweaty and thirsty and the
flies were bad when I stopped. At 601 I was at the top of a rise with a
downhill run ahead of me and Teedermully Hill visible ahead on the right.
I had a few more hills to climb before I reached Crossman at 605. I turned
left onto the Boddington Road (a sign said 13 km which turned out to be
correct) and this should have been the easy part of the day’s ride, but
suddenly I felt I was sick of it. I had the wind behind me but the road was
hilly and I started walking up the hills. I seemed to have run out of juice
for the day.
I passed through Ranford, which is really only a suburb of Boddington, at
616 and arrived in Boddington at 618, 12:41 pm. I checked into the
Boddington motel, Unit 1, $80. There was a microwave oven and there was
toast and cereal and sugar and coffee in the cupboard, so I didn’t need to
buy stuff for breakfast. I did go shopping and bought more drinks for the
road and a frozen pizza to put in the microwave for dinner.
In the unit there was a big old-fashioned dressing table with a huge mirror,
it was more like a sideboard, as well as the more standard furnishings. I
had my rest and a shower and washed some clothes and the sweaty back-pack.
There was, as before, a rotary hoist around the back, which enabled me to
get everything dry before sunset.
I tried to book a unit at the Dwellingup hotel but they were all booked out
and could only offer me a room in the old hotel. I should have kept to my
earlier rule of booking two days ahead.
I went for a walk down to the bridge on the main road, then down into the
park for the walk along the river. A new war memorial has gone up since I
was here last. I walked all the way to the weir, which I don’t think I have
ever done before. The building of the weir was proposed and promoted by a
man whose two sons were drowned in the river in 1957. The weir was finally
completed in 1979. It explains why the river is so broad and tranquil and
why there are quite mature dead trees in it on the eastern side of the
bridge. The river was just a creek but has been dammed with a weir so it
forms a peaceful lake and in a good season, the water will overflow the weir
and run away into the creek. This fizzles out into a damp green muddy area,
which I ventured into.
I came to a rotunda and picnic area where a man was rushing back and forth
to his van with boxes of drink and food and picnic furniture, setting up a
pleasant evening by the river. I walked further along and saw some
wildflowers and a horse who posed obligingly for a picture.
I couldn’t find the skateboard and BMX park where I had watched some boys
playing in 2003. I thought it was near the riding school.
As evening drew on I strolled back to the motel, fetched in my washing and
settled in for the evening. The pizza really needed to be baked, not just
heated up, but it filled the spot. Before bedtime I went over to the pub
which was still open, to buy cigarettes. A sad-looking man slumped at the
bar. There were a couple of girls playing pool but they were hopeless so I
didn’t linger to see the outcome of the game. When I went to bed I had a
really bad night – I just couldn’t get to sleep. I had constant muscle
spasms. I tried taking more pills and going out for a walk along the very
quiet and dark road. Eventually I dropped off at about 4 am.
Reading at Boddington: 618. Day’s ride 53 km. Aggregate: 335. Kpd 48. Kph to
Corrigin: 17.
DAY 8, Boddington - Dwellingup
THURSDAY 20 OCTOBER
I ate the entire supply of breakfast stuff, meant for two. I didn’t feel too
bad after having got a few hours’ sleep. The day was warm and humid and
there was a NW wind now due to the movement of the low-pressure trough and
the approach of the cold front, which last night had still been predicted to
arrive at the capes ‘at dawn on Friday’. Some high cloud was coming in. The
wind would help me a bit for the first 8km or so to the Marradong turn-off,
but after that it would be a headwind.
I was amazed by the thousands of previously ‘rare’ blue orchids all along
the road from Boddington to Dwellingup. They were blue and deep purple and
violet, with round petals and pointy petals and blue, purple or yellow
centres. I stopped a few times to try to get a good picture.
Again as the journey went on I started to feel weak and sore, tired of
riding, lacking the energy that I had had in the first days of this ride. I
was walking up hills again. The headwind had quite strong gusts. I rested at
635 and 652 and finally rolled into Dwellingup, turned right into the main
street and arrived at the old hotel at 669, 1:02 pm.
I went into the bar, paid and got the key to Room 6, $40. This did not
include any breakfast. I had to wait because the barmaid was on the phone
in the side office. I mentioned that the hotel was haunted, and told her
about the incident in 1989. She was amused. I took my bike around the back
and parked it under cover against the rain that might start the following
morning. A man was smoking at the door to the rooms. We exchanged greetings.
The hotel was being painted so I was lucky to have had my booking accepted
at all. The doors were all open and the place stank of paint, and the
painter and a woman were having a long conversation, or rather she was
talking non-stop to him all the time I was getting organised. My room had
been left unpainted for now and the painter did ask me, later on, if I were
staying more than one night. I said no and he was relieved. If I shut the
door of my room and opened the window – there was a fly-screen – there
wasn’t much paint smell. I took two Mersyndol and had a most welcome and
refreshing sleep.
I had seen that the pool was available, so I put on the spare stubbie shorts
and went to have a swim before having a shower and changing. Then I did some
washing and hung things on a rotary hoist under which someone had parked
their truck. I had the stubbies on a coat-hanger. I never saw them again.
The other stuff was all there but the coat-hanger was empty. I asked around
but no-one knew anything about them. It wasn’t a big deal. I only had them
with me because just before leaving on the 15^th I couldn’t find my spare
cycling shorts which I was sure I had put in my bag, so I chucked in the
stubbies, only to find the spare cycling shorts when I was rummaging in the
bag for something else in Tenterden.
I walked around the town, bought some stuff for breakfast, then went into
the forest to look for orchids. I went into the forest to the south of the
town, and found a rare purple enamel orchid and spent some time trying to
get a decent picture of it. My camera often distorts purple or violet
colours and makes them look blue. I say often, because a couple of pictures
of a violet-coloured orchid beside the road from Boddington showed the
correct colour. This enamel orchid was more a pinkish-purple, not the
bluish-purple shown by the camera. I then took the walk trails beside the
Del Park Road that heads north to North Dandalup. I found more blue orchids
and some delightful yellow ones with red marks, growing in pairs in a patch.
I tried several times to get a sharp picture with the correct yellow colour.
I had to brace the camera against a log.
While wandering along the walk trails I rang my mother to tell her I was in
the forest and coming home the next day. She was out because it was my
sister’s big retirement party, which I didn’t find out about until I got
online at Williams Telecentre. I couldn’t have got home in time for it.
I found my way back to the hotel and went to the bar to order dinner. The
special for the evening was roast beef, only $10. I ordered that – it was
very nice. I had a lemon lime and bitters with it.
There were other guests in the hotel, a strange family of lumpy people in
the front room opposite the TV room who yelled at each other in slow blurred
voices. I needed to get control of the TV for the night before they had
finished sorting themselves out. I needed the weather report, then there was
Catalyst which I wanted to see and also a program about the Catalpa rescue
in 1876. I went in and camped in the TV room before seven. The TV was one of
those which just shows a blue screen with meaningless characters on it until
you fiddle with a box on the table beside it. I got the hang of it, got
channel 2 and settled in.
The lump people went on at each other and occasionally lumbered in, shaking
the floor, to put stuff in the fridge. We exchanged ‘how ya going’
greetings. They weren’t ready for TV until after eight, at which time they
came to the door and stared at it, then at me, for a while, perhaps hoping I
would go away and let them have the mindless yammering of commercials. But I
took no notice and they went away after a while.
After the Catalpa story I went for a walk in the dark town, noting the
weather and the movement of clouds. Then I went to bed and had a better
night.
Reading at Dwellingup: 669 km. Day’s ride: 51 km. Aggregate: 386 km. Km/day:
48.
DAY 9, Dwellingup - Armadale
FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER
The morning was mild and cloudy with fresh westerly winds but no rain yet. I
awoke to the yammering of the television at the end of the passage – the
lump people had got hold of it and were making up for last night. I needed
to get going early so that I could be sure of getting to the Fremantle train
before the rush hour ban on bikes took effect. To do that I wanted to get to
Armadale no later than 2 pm. The journey should take no longer than four
hours but I didn’t want to be pressed for time in case anything happened, as
things can.
I had my breakfast in bed then just got dressed and checked I hadn’t left
anything behind before I unlocked my bike and got going at 8:15.
I had previously ridden from Dwellingup to Armadale twice, the last time in
1994, so my memory of the journey wasn’t detailed. I remembered a downhill
rush over a viaduct at some point, where I thought I had reached a speed of
about 70 kph in the old days of cable –operated speedos. In the event, the
journey was up and down and the wind was across me and not very helpful. The
downhill rush I remembered was only a preface to more climbing. I didn’t
walk up any hills and just kept going on and on until at 688 I thought hang
on, I’m entitled to a rest stop, so I took one. During my stop the day’s
first light rain blew in. It didn’t last long. I had expected a rainy day so
had everything well protected with plastic bags.
After more ups and downs I finally came to the big downhill run onto the
coastal plain. I reached North Dandalup at 695 and turned onto the SW
highway and kept going. The wind wasn’t very helpful – it was fresh and
mostly from the side rather than from behind. The clouds in the west looked
dark and threatening and were heading my way. I came to Keysbrook at 704 and
there was a little shop with a sheltered front porch, and rain was imminent,
so this was a good opportunity to stop, buy a drink and sit and watch the
heavy shower pass over. I was 35 km out from Dwellingup so I was almost
exactly half-way to Armadale.
The rain had passed for the moment, so I got going again. But the showers
kept coming through and there is only so wet you can get so I didn’t bother
looking for shelter any more, just kept pedalling on. I rested and sheltered
briefly at Mundijong. As I approached Armadale I couldn’t remember the
correct street at which to make a left turn to get to the southern end of
the station. I turned left and ended up at the shopping centre, then had to
find my way through there to the station, at 12:48, 738. It was the northern
end and I didn’t know how to get to the platform. I got into a lift, went
up, got to an overhead walkway and got down to the platform where the 12:50
train was waiting. I just couldn’t get my ticket and get on it before it
rolled away, but there would be another one at 1:05 so I went down the
platform to have a smoke beside a flower bed. A guard came and told me it
wasn’t allowed just there, there were video cameras, but we could both have
a smoke on the other side of the barrier, so we did.
The ‘07 ride ended as I got on board the train and it rolled off towards
Perth.
Final reading at end of ride: 738 km. Km for day: 69. Aggregate: 455. Kpd:
51
Charles A. Pierce
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