March 21, 2024
Bluebird Day Bluebird ride
Dwellingup to Bidjar Ngoulin hut.
We’d planned an easy day today and lingered at the Blue Wren cafe for well over an hour. I fuelled up with a massive Brekky roll and 2 decent cappuccino’s to wash it down. Every cafe we’ve been to have been happy to shout us both coffee and we put $10 towards the ‘Two Good Blokes, One Good Cause’. They were no exception and wanted a photo as well.
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Our chalet was comfortable enough, although we were woken abruptly this morning when the local school kids started hurling rocks onto the roof. Well that’s what I thought was happening as I tried to prise my eyes open. Then I realised it was the gum nuts falling from the overhanging trees. I didn’t hear any drop overnight but as soon as the sun rose the cockatoos came alive and the gum nuts came down in a barrage.
On a bike trip many years ago through northern Victoria we rode through the little town of Mudgegonga just as the final bell rang at the local primary school. A group of good solid country lads raced down to the fence and yelled a barrage of abuse at us, questioned our sexuality and started hurling rocks at us. We scarpered in fear of our lives!
After shopping for 2 days worth of provisions we were on the road by 10.30. It was an archetypical bluebird day, mid twenties and not a cloud in the sky. Just out of town we turned onto single track and spent the rest of the day in the Jarrah forest. With no wind the only sound was the crunching of gum nuts as we rode over them.
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Todays ride was an absolute gem. The forest was at its pristine best, the dirt roads smooth and flowing and best of all no pea gravel. All that whinging yesterday worked so that’s my strategy from now on.
Not far out of town we hooked onto the Dwellingup mountain bike park. We rode about 8 kilometres on the best manicured and enjoyable single track I’ve ever seen through a stunning tree scape.
Most mountain bike parks give each of their tracks a name, mostly boring titles like ‘river run’ or ‘mountain goat’. Sometimes they’re a bit more interesting like the one we rode today that was named ‘Snotty Gobble’. I definitely rate this track as the best I’ve ridden.
Lunch was on the Murray river. We followed a track for a few hundred metres along the bank that opened up onto a little jetty that you could dive off. A pre and post lunch swim perfectly bookended my favourite lunch of all. A ham and salad sandwich with beetroot.
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9 months ago
We lingered for quite a while, made a cup of coffee and then rode the last 10 kilometres down a long since abandoned rail corridor to the Bidjar Ngoulan hut. The huts we’ve seen appear almost identical, the only downside to this one was the putrid water in the water tanks. I guess that’s what happens when there’s no rain for months. We used our water filter and boiled the water and it still had a brown tinge to it.
We were the only at the hut until Philip* turned up a few hours later. He’s a guy of similar age to us cycling the northern part of the trail for a week or so.
It really was another great day of cycling and it was nice to arrive without feeling completely stuffed. Gnocchi in a tomato sauce with mushrooms and salami was the plat de jour for tonights meal, with a Kit Kat for desert. We opted to bypass a Margaret River Cabernet for a glass of slightly murky water.
There’s one more big day of riding and then a well deserved rest day.
Hopefully Philip doesn’t snore.
*His real name.
Today's ride: 33 km (20 miles)
Total: 224 km (139 miles)
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9 months ago