March 17, 2024
And they’re off!
Mundaring to Pickering Brook
Pete’s nephew Rory picked us up and drove us to Mundaring, the official start of the Munda Biddi trail. We wanted an early start to try and beat the heat, but that rarely happens especially on the first day. We had to shop for 2 days worth of meals, get all the bits you need for camping like gas canisters, matches and Werthers Originals. Mundaring has Colesworth and Aldi but they don’t open until 11am on a Sunday. That’s a pain, but I did find a fresh food market that had most things except for the Werthers.
By the time we repacked the bikes, had a coffee it was past 11am anyway so I ducked into Woolies for the remaining items and still forgot the Werthers. I asked the young barista in the cafe if she minded grinding 200g of coffee for us to take so we can make coffee at our campsite. She was so sweet and only charged us $2.00. Turns out she had given us spent coffee grounds which would have made for a pretty disgusting brew in the morning!
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By 11.30 we made the northern terminus of the trail with the temperature already into the 30’s. We were in the forest almost immediately with plenty of tree cover so it was quite comfortable. It didn’t take long for the pea gravel to feature. You need to keep your wits about you. A thin layer is fine, but deeper pockets make the front tyre washout so picking the right line is essential. It makes for slow going especially up hill.
My high tech navigational devices worked a treat up until kilometre 12, when my over confidence got the better of me and we veered off track, ending up riding an extra 8 kilometres because of my error. And when I say my error, it really is Pete’s error because I have told him numerous times never to believe what I say regarding directions no matter how confident I sound.
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There was some merit in our unexpected route diversion. As we backtracked a young guy yelled out to us from an adjacent mountain bike track. His father had had a big stack and they were trying to walk the 3 kilometres out to the road. They had run out of water so we gave them our reserve bottle. I think he’d cracked a few ribs and was concussed as well. I should have been more forceful in getting them to stay put and call triple 0, but he insisted they were OK. Within half an hour we heard a helicopter hovering in the direction we’d come from so I suspect things had taken a turn for the worse.
Meanwhile my navigation device was telling me it was 37 degrees, we were running out of water and feeling a little deflated so we jumped on the tarmac and rolled into the village of Pickering Brook to look for accomodation. Both Airbnb’s were full, but one allowed us to camp out the back of her place and use the facilities.
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Despite the heat the days riding through the forest was magnificent. If today’s ride is the amuse-bouche of the rest of the trip then we really are in for something special.
Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 40 km (25 miles)
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8 months ago