September 26, 2022
Day 70: Bindoon to Perth
It was still quite cool in Bindoon overnight so I enjoyed my night in a bed with two doonas. I also enjoyed the cereal for breakfast. I had three bowls but the bowls were really small.
Bindoon is a long town strung out along the highway but I rolled down into the main set of shops and saw about 10 people gathered outside the Bindoon Bakhaus. Turns out it was 7:59 and it didn’t open til 8. I got in line when they opened the door and by the time I got served, there were about 20 people in line behind me. Where did they all come from? Jen did some work over here a while ago and said whenever they did a trip north/east they’d stop at Bindoon. I assume it’s like people talk about stopping at Aratula bakery on the way out to walk in the scenic rim, even though I’ve always found it to be a bit overrated. Still, I was willing to give bindoon a go and got an apple turnover to takeaway. I didn’t need to eat to anything immediately after my three bowls of cereal.
I had another five or so kilometres on the great northern highway with lots of trucks heading north.
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Then I turned left onto Chittering Road, just before a hill on the highway.
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The road follows the Brockman river. I love riding roads where you feel like you’re riding straight at hills but the road somehow slides around them. It was definitely getting more rural residential and a bit well to do hippy, there was also a Buddhist monastery. After a little while I stopped at the Djidi-Djidi ridge nature reserve and walked up a hill.
Unfortunately my apple turnover was let down by some substandard pastry, in my opinion, although it’s hard not to enjoy apple and cream.
Once I got back to the carpark it was busy, and it was a bit busy on the road as the day trippers and motorcyclists and weekend DIYers were all up in the valley by then. I could’ve kept riding the Chittering Valley road but the map showed easier access to a bike path if I cut across to Muchea so I had to go over two hills and through some new subdivisions instead of winding along the valley. Luckily the second one wasn’t very steep and it gave a great downhill run to the highway.
I realised I had staked all my faith in this bike path appearing, and being easy to get onto. After a slightly nerve wracking intersection, that turned out to be the case.
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It’s a bit hard to read but that sign says Perth 52 and the bike path really did run all the way along the Tonkin Highway into the city.
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It was only a few metres from the highway so it wasn’t terribly scenic or quiet. If you knew Perth, you could find ways to maximise your riding time in places like the Chittering Valley before getting onto the bike path but it was extremely easy entrance for an out of towner. At the end of the Tonkin Highway, about 10k from the city, they’re doing roadworks and the bike path was abruptly closed and I got a bit confused trying to follow the detour signs and also find somewhere for lunch at 2:30 on a public holiday. (In WA, the Queen is basically a less efficient Jesus this year: her death holiday was Thursday and her birthday holiday is Monday).
I made it to Maylands which had a nice looking strip of shops and restaurants which were all closed except a pizza restaurant at the end.
I felt pretty tired after the beer and pizza but managed to follow another bike path into the hostel I’m staying at. Now that Mum and Dad are heading back, almost out of WA, I have to sort out my own washing so I did that before I head south.
I went for a walk along the swan river, then decided I can explore Perth more when I’m back and retreated to my bed.
I’m going to catch the train to Bunbury tomorrow, to do some of the Munda Biddi mountain biking track through the forest!
Today's ride: 95 km (59 miles)
Total: 4,870 km (3,024 miles)
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