May 13, 2011
Wagin to Nyabing
It's about 90 km from Wagin to Nyabing, more than I'm capable of doing in one day, so my goal is to get as close as I can. The road out of Wagin had a fair bit of mixed traffic, locals and commercial traffic - cars, 4WDs and trucks of all sizes. There was also a fair number of heavy mining rigs being transported to mine sites. Some of them had accompanying cars to let you know the rig was following, but interestingly enough, some didn't. One car was following about 1 km behind the truck carrying the big mining dump truck - that was funny. Most of the heavy traffic I saw coming, some snuck up behind me - that was exciting.
Now Dumbleyung has the award for the best rest stop and toilets; taken it away from Highbury they have. The Dumbleyung rest stop has a hot shower!!! And across the road, the local post office/internet cafe, run by Bill, is worth a visit. Have a chat, a cup of coffee and a whirl on the internet checking your email. They also have a 'road house' - that's a full service petrol station - a grocery store and a pub.
The road from Wagin to Dumbleyung gets 3.5 stars out of five.
I had a choice of roads to take from Dumbleyung. I could have headed down the main hiway to Lake Grace and Lake King and onto Ravensthorpe. Bill tells me Lake Grace is quite pretty and the road is mostly straight with a few hills. I chose the path less travelled, the road to Nyabing. There is comparatively little traffic on this road. It has a few more ups and downs and twists and turns, but the lack of traffic and the wide open spaces is fantastic. About half way between the two towns is a historic site, the remains of old school house at Datatine. I mention it because it's a good place to camp the night. I'm about another 10 km down the road camped at the top of a hill overlooking the farming paddocks, but still a good 10 km from Nyabing.
The road from Dumbleyung to Nyabing gets 4.5 stars out of five. If it weren't for the dratted easterlies, it would get a 5/5... it was a joy to pedal down.
Total distance travelled 73 km in 6 hrs, mostly up and down hills. Yeah, yeah, Australia is a flat continent.... not really. It doesn't have any grand mountains, but it has plenty of hills.
Highlights:
* Dumbleyung!! Surprisingly nice stop and they have a shower at the rest stop!!
* The road from Dumbleyung to Nyabing - if only every day could be like this...
Today's ride: 73 km (45 miles)
Total: 340 km (211 miles)
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