Keep Cycling! Perth to Gold Coast - 2022

I wonder who noticed that my last post covered, in fact, 2 days of cycling - 66kms to the bush camp, then 20kms the following day to Coolgardie. Today we allowed ourselves a sleep in! After a fruit breakfast, we visited Coolgardie's prized museum.  Held in what was previously an old courthouse, its awesome displays are truly a visual reminder of the hard life of gold prospectors and the rapid development and then decline of the town. It originally boasted 23 hotels and was the 3rd largest town in WA. Afghani cameleers were brought in to provide transport of gold and water. By WW1, it was in decline. After a pork and gravy roll, cinnamon doughnut and coffee at the one and only cafe in town (a caravan with a few tables and chairs outside) we walked 1km or so to the widely advertised rodeo. Tickets could only be bought on line and today was children's day. Events started in 3 hrs! We decided not to wait! Tonight I think w...

Bush fires are essential for the healthy  regrowth of the bush. Our camp area tonight has recently been in a fire judging from the blackened dead branches and the healthy regeneration of new growth.  Del had to do alot of cleaning up of fallen branches, dead and blackened, before our camp site took shape.  No sooner was the tent up than it rained again!!! Less water found its way into the tent this time, thank heaven. Nevertheless the ground sheet, shoes etc were caked with red sand as we packed everything up in the morning. The weather and wind were perfect for our short cycle into Coolgardie. Our first major destination has been achieved! Once the third biggest town in Western Australia, Coolgardie in now virtually a ghost town - shops deserted, one small supermarket, a few historical buildings, a museum dedicated to its history - and 2 pubs! We arrived around 10.30am at the Coolgardie Caravan Park. The manager...

It was another wet and windy night! It's quite a performance to do the simplest of things such as going outside (in the rain) for a pee. Putting your shoes on is the first challenge! By morning the rain had stopped and we decided to break camp (everything was wet and heavy) and head off.  We had our first tail wind! Yay! All the roadside ditches had become mini billabongs. We passed a couple of ute wrecks along the way. AND 3 fully grown emus trotted out of the bush and onto the road right in front of us. By the time cameras were located, they'd disappeared again. And look what I picked up along the way! Del eventually removed it and guess what? His anti thorn trick with the extra lining of tyre strip worked! No puncture!! Bob and Helen (and dog) stopped their travels and chatted about the trip. Nice to have met them. We contacted the Coolgardie Caravan Park to make sure that our chalet was ready. The old gentleman, wh...

Del has calculated that our average daily cycle ( including walking inclines and taking lunch and rest stops) is around 50kms. Yesterday we got away around 8.15am. The weather was reasonably good, though heavily laden road trains are on the increase and we battled a head/cross wind all the way. At 50kms we set up camp, hidden from the road and snuggled down for the night. The flies swarmed around us as the sun went down! Particularly attracted to the scratches on Del's legs! Then the rain started!! We'd hoped to be ahead of the front that had been forcast but, no, we were getting the full effect of it . It rained all night and by morning we'd decided that the wind and rain would make cycling with trailers too dangerous.  So here we are, huddled in our tent,  mopping up the odd leak occasionally, and  reviewing plans for our shorter than expected stay in Coolgardie. We've tried to change our booking at Coolgardie Caravan Pa...

Decided to take advantage of Sunday's good weather -and the fact that Southern  Cross closes on Sundays! Followed the Golden Pipeline and the long ribbon of highway 94 towards Coolgardie. There'll be (hopefully) 3 bush camps before we get to Coolgardie on Wednesday. We met cyclist John  who was on a road trip in his SUV a few days' ago and today he stopped to say "Hi" on his way back.  Thank you, John, for the lovely coffee and biscuits. We enjoyed your hospitality and wish you all the best with your cycling endeavors. The gradually undulating highway continues to test us. We're enjoying winter sunshine and a tail wind today. Hoping that the rainy weather that has been forcast stays behind us and that we manage to make it to Coolgardie before it does! 

                      The Whitebark Tree We've come to the conclusion that, since COVID's disruption of Australia's usual way of life, major infrastructural developments must be now underway. Every kind of accommodation in the small towns is booked out as itinerant workers' 'pads' during the week, then become vacant at the weekend when they head home. We managed to get a room here at the Southern Cross Caravan Park, only because a worker had to leave early because of some urgency. We have to vacate on Monday when he returns. All rooms at the park have been fully booked for 2 years now. Unbelievable! Camping in the bush during winter has its disadvantages. The red soil tends to be soft and builds up on tyres and shoes, and  transfers to pedals making them slippery. Also, being near the road, sleep tends to be disrupted. We'll have 2 bush camps and 180+ kms of cycling between here and Coolgardie. We spent a couple of ...

Southern Cross is a neat, little town with a main street, small supermarket, bowling club, sports complex and at least three large, historic pubs.  Berms are wide, gravelly and devoid of grass. We're in WA, so everyone's focus is on Aussie Rules at the weekend. We've cycled 354kms since we set off but  our cycling stats have been lower than hoped - hills, building cycling fitness and, recently, my problem with seat pressure being some of the factors. This required another look at our plans from here. Southern Cross is our last taste of civilisation for some time.  From now on there are long distances from roadhouse to roadhouse involving several campouts between each.  We must calculate our needs along the way  (food and water), and where we can find them. Water is particularly heavy and very expensive at the roadhouses. At present we're resting, recovering and planning the next phase of the trip.