Midland to Moora 1990

Midland to Moora, 7 day tour 1990, cumulative distance 450 km.

Midland to Gingin, day 1, Monday 29 October 1990. I left Midland rail terminal at 9:25 and went up the Great Northern Highway. Winds were strong from the side, sometimes with and sometimes against me. There was intermittent rain. I stopped for a drink at 19710. As I passed through Bullsbrook a Macchi Trainer passed so low over me that I could smell its exhaust. I rested again at 19724.

A shower of rain passed over the road but I missed the worst of it – most of the rain fell ahead of me, as I was to find splashing through puddles some time later. I turned on to the Brand Highway at Muchea. On this last stretch to Gingin a noisy thunderstorm approached from the west, but I was able to get ahead of its path and could see it passing behind me.  ... Read more

Gingin to Lancelin, day 2, Tuesday 30 October 1990. From the Lands Dept. map, which did not give the distance from Gingin to Lancelin, I had guessed it at 60-odd km. The night before riding it I increased the estimate to at least 70 km.

I left Gingin at 7:28 on a cold, overcast morning with intermittent drizzle. The wind was strong WSW, against me for half the day’s journey. When I got to the Brand Highway and turned onto the Lancelin Road I had already done 5km and a sign said ‘Lancelin 75km.’ There were going to be 80km, 35 into a headwind and the rest with the aid of the wind backing more SW as the day went on.  ... Read more

Lancelin to Cataby, day 3, Wednesday 31 October 1990. After breakfast in bed (milk, brie, jam roll) I went for a lovely morning swim, then got going at 8:57. There would be tailwinds nearly all the way on this day.

The Lands Dept. map showed no back roads across country to Cataby, only the long way round by sealed road, looking like about 80km. Fortunately I had a copy of part of an RAC map showing all roads and distances in the area in complete and accurate detail. This showed that there were back roads to Cataby, including about 33km of unsealed track, giving a road distance of 64km to cross a straight-line distance of only about 40km. It also showed 84km as the road distance via Regan’s Ford and Brand Highway.  … Read more

Cataby to Moora, day 4, Thursday 1 November 1990. I left Cataby at 8:32. The turnoff was only about 200m down the highway. Once on the Dandaragan Road it seemed increasingly difficult to push the bike, and I thought that the previous day’s work had done me in. But after a couple of km I looked back and was rewarded with a panorama of the country behind. On long country rides I become affected by ‘hill-blindness’ and can’t often tell whether the road ahead of me is climbing, falling or level. I first noticed this in 1978, when on entering Margaret River for the first time, from the north, I couldn’t understand why the bike wouldn’t run easily ‘downhill’ from the bridge to the hotel.  ... Read more

Moora to New Norcia day 5, Friday 2 November 1990. The morning was fine and cool with a light southerly. I left Moora at 8:11. I had decided to go to New Norcia the short way, through Koojan and Gillingarra rather than through Walebing. This meant that I would be going due south early, while the wind was light, then as the wind freshened from the SW later on I would be riding eastward with it. Going through Walebing I would be riding straight into the wind for the last part of the ride. The short way was 3km shorter and included about 13km of unsealed surface.

As expected the Midlands Road was flat and straight, running as it did close beside the railway line.  ... Read more

New Norcia to Bindoon, day 6, Saturday 3 November 1990. I left New Norcia at 7:42. The morning was fine and cool with a light headwind, which wasn’t to freshen until it didn’t matter. There were steep hills. One started near the seven mile well nature reserve. Another long climb ended in a sign saying ‘Bindoon Hill, 285m’. I had got up without stopping. I rested at 20017 and 20033. Much blue leschenaultia on the roadside.

I reached Bindoon Hotel at 10:42. It is 4km north of the town proper, so I dumped the heavy luggage and rode to the shops to get a paper, some milk and food for breakfast and some tangelos from a roadside seller. Rested back at the motel ($30 for a small room with its own plumbing but little else) then went for a walk down to the Brockman River, (flowing well) and back.  ... Read more

Bindoon to Perth, day 7, Sunday 4 November 1990. Left Bindoon at 7:51 on a sunny morning with a fresh south-easterly which was to turn south-westerly later in the day. There were to be significant headwinds all the way. I stopped at Chittering at 20072. The shop had no milk of any sort.

I rested again at 20090, and at 20106 where I watched two model planes being flown in a paddock. They achieved great height and speed. One kept doing the stall routine, where a plane cuts its engine, falls straight down and restarts in time to regain level flight.

At 20110 I turned onto West Swan Road and enjoyed a scenic run through the Swan Valley, but I was suffering increasingly from the constant headwind and various cramps.  ... Read more