Beverley to Mundaring 1995

Beverley to Mundaring, day 10, Saturday 4 November 1995. In 1989 (see 1989 ride story) I went from Midland to Wooroloo on Day 1, then from Woorooloo to Beverley on Day 2, going by the gravel West Talbot Road through the State forest, connecting with the Talbot and Waterhatch Roads. This was supposed to be a short cut, shorter than going via York and making the whole ride (after Day 2) easier than if I had stopped at York on Day 2.

Mundaring statues

I wanted today to do this short cut in reverse, to see how much shorter it really was. On reaching the Great Southern Highway, however, I was going to head west for Mundaring.

I had another self serve breakfast, all the cereal, toast and jam you can eat, with the truckies, and heard a dirty truckie joke.

It seems three boys were discussing what they would do when they grew up. One said “I’m going to be a doctor, because my uncle’s a doctor, and he’s got a BMW!” The second boy demurred. “No- I’m going to be a lawyer, because my uncle’s a lawyer, and he’s got a Rolls Royce!” The third boy nonplussed the other two by saying, “I’m going to grow hair all over my body!” “What?” “Why?” “Because my sister’s got just a bit of hair down there, and she’s got a BMW, a Rolls Royce, and a yacht!”

The lady who ran the hotel suddenly appeared again and chided me for not having left early as I had intended. I explained that this was early for me, the earliest of the trip so far. She waved me goodbye as I rolled off. I left Beverley at 7:16. The morning was cool and the wind perfect, a south-easterly. I was well prepared with a number of drinks and plastered with sunscreen and insect repellent. I had a climb getting out of Beverley, then the going was better.

About 11 km out of Beverley I passed a sign saying “The Lakes 38 –” It was an old sign and the units of distance were obliterated. I thought about this as I rode on. It couldn’t be km, it must be miles. So that made about 61 km. So the total distance from Beverley to The Lakes must be 72km. Going round the long way, through York, would have been 80 km. So I had committed myself to (I estimated) 40 km of gravel track to save only 8km of total distance. It made no sense, but maybe the old sign was wrong, the road had changed in the quarter-century since it was probably painted.

I did 21km in the first hour, then took a drink break. The tyres were still hard. I had only had one drink. The task looked easier. I had been doing a nice 30 kph when I hit the gravel, 20 km out. I had to get off and walk much of the first 3km. I took my drink break after 1 km of gravel.

I did some calculations. If I had to walk the entire gravel portion of the route (since I had done it the other way in 1989, I knew this would not be so) what would be my ETA at the Great Southern Highway? This started off at nearly 6 pm, but as the ride went on it pulled steadily back through the day and became ever more acceptable. I felt that I had won already. Somehow these challenge rides are easier than the easier rides, because I have a better mental attitude before and during them.

I took another drink break at 3315, at a junction that enabled me to check my position on the map. I saw that if instead of following West Talbot Road to its junction with Great Southern Highway, I turned right with 4km of gravel to go and travelled a bit of sealed road to Great Southern Highway, I would add about 1km to my journey, but 5km of sealed road was a fair swap for 4km of gravel.

There was not much traffic. What there was went too fast and kicked up a lot of dust and stones. There was a tractor. I got off the road entirely for that, and we waved at each other. I had to tighten the pedal crank on the shaft again at 3324. I took another drink break at 3330. Finally at 3337, after 38km of gravel, I found the sealed road and turned right. The total gravel would have been 42 km, close to my estimate.

I had a stiff climb, then a descent. I met Great Southern Highway at 3339 and took a downhill run at 60kph in top gear. It was 14 km to The Lakes and another 15 km to Mundaring, but I felt as though it was over. I reached The Lakes at 11:52, 3353.

Thus the distance from Beverley to The Lakes via this ‘short cut’ was 74 km. Going via York, according to the distances on the map, it would have been 80 km. So I had saved 6km of total distance by going a route that had 38 km of gravel, when I could have had sealed road all the way, as well as a major town at which tyres and tubes could have been bought and where I could have stopped if necessary. It made no sense and I will not be doing this ‘short cut’ again until it is all sealed.

I made a phone call and had a leisurely lunch, then left The Lakes at 12.31. The Great Eastern Highway is a bit of a shock after quiet country roads, but there wasn’t too much traffic on this Saturday afternoon. I passed through Sawyers Valley and reached the Traveller’s Rest Motel, Mundaring at 1:14, 3368. The room was enormous, complete with kitchen and gas stove. The rooms at Quairading and Beverley would have fitted into one corner of it. The rate was $50 Friday to Sunday, or $45 Monday to Thursday. There was cereal in the room and they provided fresh home-grown eggs, bread and milk for your breakfast. Very reasonable, but I was the only guest.

I had a swim in the small but refreshing guests’ pool, then had a rest, a shower and change and went to hunt for the rare blue sun orchids that I had discovered in 1993. I found a few, but they weren’t open.

I took a stroll into Mundaring later for some Chinese food later. It was a longish walk but I had cycled enough. There was no need for any more shopping.

Km for day: 89. Aggregate: 535. Km/day: 53.5. Speed to The Lakes: 16.1 kph. Speed from The Lakes to Mundaring: 20.9. Speed for entire trip, including rests: 14.9 kph.

Charles A. Pierce

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Beverley to Mundaring 1995

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