After your first day of cycling, one dream is inevitable. A memory of motion lingers in the muscles of your legs, and round and round they seem to go. You ride through Dreamland on wonderful dream bicycles that change and grow.(H.G. Wells)
Blue line with yellow dots = Munda Biddi Trail.
Green line with yellow dots = Touring route.
Image for illustration only. Important information has been erased from this map. Do not use.
Temperature at 4 AM.
Rise and shine.
*Yawn!*
Breakfast.
Setting up the V.I.O. POV.1 lipstick cam on my helmet.
Path to the self-composting toilet.
The path on the left continues to the camping ground.
Time to bomb Tokyo.
Voyeuristic Blackboys.
Wungong Campsite in the morning.
A previous occupant's idea of leaving a snack for the wildlife (and lightening his/her pack).
Close up of the maintenance stand. In the mid-ground are the service racks.
Started off at 1:10 PM.
Temperature 21° C (69.8° F)
Journal
Flew off descending the slope from Wungong Campsite when I forgot to take into account the wider profile — and turning radius — of the trailer. Cloe came to a dead stop. I didn't. I flew off, landed on my right hip (again), and then tumbled down the hill. This means the flies will bother my face less from now on — they will be more attracted to my new wounds. Yay!
'Love the dark humor in this one.
A portion of the trail temporarily re-aligned to facilitate tree harvesting.
'Went the wrong way crossing Jarrahdale Road and had to double-back.
At least it's a downhill.
Highest temperature for the day.
A dead Shingleback Skink (Tiliqua rugosa) by the road.
A closer look.
What the unfortunate critter looked like before its fateful meeting with a speeding automobile.
Crossing Jarrahdale Road.
On Cobiac Road.
Vroom!
Turning east onto 37 Mile Road.
What the lipstick cam looks like on me.
2 hours 37 minutes and 8.43 km (5.27 miles) covered. Not good.
Approaching Balmoral POW Camp.
13 km (8.125 miles) of this to Jarrahdale.
Eating another muesli bar.
The trees were not marked with the trail signs regularly here, so I double-checked with my backup compass to ensure that I'm on the right track.
Looking back (not in anger).
Giant logs lay strewn everywhere.
As if I'm in a cathedral, the branches arch overhead, and Banksia flowers stand sentinel like votive candles.
Refueling with half a muesli bar.
A dry water crossing.
Scientology Spaceship coming to get me.
This is my favorite part of the day.
'Can't decide if the above shot is better, or this.
Wider view.
6:15 PM.
Jarrahdale.
Elevation reading at current site: 820 ft (250 m)
Cateye AT-100
Elevation climbed 580 ft (176.8 m)
2 hours 36 minutes 6 seconds
Average speed 6.2 mph
Maximum speed 17.5 mph
Distance 16.1 miles
Temperature 21° C (69.8° F)
Enduro 8
2 hours 30 minutes 55 seconds
Average speed 10.4 km/h
Maximum speed 28.4 km/h
Distance 26.28 km
The name of the road I descended.
A sanctuary I found while exploring the town.
The ride was supposed to be easy today (and it was) but I guess I either got too tired over the last couple of days; did not eat enough — thinking it will be an easy ride today, I did not follow the time table of 1/2 a muesli bar every 30 minutes; or, I misjudged my water intake — drinking only 2 liters the entire ride. Whichever it was, I ran out of energy 6 km (3.75 miles) from Jarrahdale. Only the gentle downhills (and a few uphills) stopped me from wasting a "pick me up" energy gel reserved for situations where the going really gets tough.
The spot designating a hotel on the Jarrahdale town map is erroneous; I climbed the same hills around it thrice before flagging down a resident at Jarrahdale Road and Munro Street. He directed me to a tavern down the street. The friendly bartender gave me detailed directions to Holiday Haven.
I never discovered what the holiday carriages were all about.
After passing a house with three very bad-tempered Rottweilers and an even lower fence (house on the left), I found Buckland Road, which led to Hughes Road.
Buckland Road goes over an old railway.
Heading northeast.
Southwest.
When I reached the front office of Holiday Haven at 8 PM, a sign read, "Closed."
At this point, I wondered if it was time to try out Yehuda's brand of guerilla camping... but wait! There's a courtesy phone that automatically rings the staff!
A few minutes later, Stacey drives up on a canopied ATV. They do have a room available and it is within my budget. On top of that, she gave me a discount. Wonderful!
The cottage though, is half-way up a rather steep slope, slippery with pea gravel. One foot at a time, I slowly pushed my rig up. 15 minutes of huffing and puffing later, I arrive at #28.
Watching the sun go down on me.
The cottage goes for AUD$90 per night, but they let me have it for $80.
There's a pot belly fireplace too, but I was too tired to make the trip down the hill to purchase firewood.
Full kitchen (minus smoke hood).
Too tired to do much (and ravenous as usual), I made dinner, washed my soiled clothing, and indulged in my first, nice, long, hot shower in a couple of days.
- 11:30 PM.
DATA
Start 1:10 PM
End 7:56 PM [reached Jarrahdale at 6:15 PM]
Total 6 hours 46 minutes
Cateye AT-100
Elevation climbed 700 ft (213.4 m)
Distance 19.4 miles (31 km)
3 hours 13 minutes 4 seconds
Average speed 6 mph
Maximum speed 22.8 mph
Temperature 10° C - 28° C (50° F - 82.4° F)
Cateye Enduro 8
3 hours 4 minutes 28 seconds*
Average speed 10.3 km/h
Maximum speed 36.5 km/h
Distance 31.62 km
Cumulative distance 131.06 km (81.91 miles)
* = The Enduro 8 doesn't appear to keep time or give a speed reading below speeds of 3.6 km/h (2.25 mph). E.g. when I'm pushing Cloe and Bob up steep hills. Distance, however, continues to be tracked.
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