May 10, 2011
Day Four: Quindanning to Narrogin
My goal for today was to get as close to Narrogin as possible. It's about 65 km due east from Quindanning. I was hoping for more flat ground and no easterlies. I got a bit more of the flats, but sill some nice hills and of course I had my easterlies all day.
It's about 30+ km from Quindanning to Williams and the traffic was predominately local farming and Perthites taking the scenic route home. The odd mining truck and heavy rig added some spice to the mix. Again, back to narrow two lane paved roads without shoulders and an angled gravel drop off at the edge of the bitumen - keeps you focused on the task at hand.
Made it to Williams by lunch time.. ok it was a late lunch. I've been through the town many times in a car and have always found the cuisine a bit lacking, but this time found a really nice little cafe on the main strip (not the highway, but the town centre).
I left Williams a bit late to make it into Narrogin, so knew I was going to have to camp by the side of the road. Again it was a narrow two lane road with no shoulder. There was a lot of heavy traffic, moving at a rate of knots, much of it with wobbly double trailers. I don't like riding in the late afternoon wihen people have knocked off work and maybe stopped at the pub for a social drink and are heading home in the failing afternoon light. So I pulled off the road about 4:30 pm. It wasn't the ideal spot, but had to do. I was camped about 40 metres off the road on a turnoff for a dead end road that went to a couple of farms. Most of the people zooming by didn't even notice the tent - a couple of the farmers had a good stare as they drove past though. The trucks kept running down the road all night. I'd like to say I slept soundly, but the ground is stll very hard and these old bones are still complaining.
I got a message from Peter Bradshaw. He tells me Clayton's Road parallels the main hiway between Williams and Narrogin and it's much more bike friendly. Thanks for the tip Peter.
Highlights: * I had more flats than hills today * The friendly people in Williams * The fantastic view of the countryside from my campsite at the top of a hill
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Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 207 km (129 miles)
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