Denmark to Albany

Wednesday 14th December

This was the last stage of the ride detailed in the Lonely Planet guide, Albany being the final destination. It was meant to be an easy day’s riding, being a short distance and fairly flat, but unfortunately weather conditions made it hard going.

It was raining again when I awoke so I stayed in the hotel until check-out time at 10, by which time the rain had eased off somewhat so I set off. However I’d only gone a few kilometers when it started raining again and though it was only a fairly light shower, the headwind made it seem much worse.

There were no scenic attractions or points of interest on the route either. I stopped at this tiny remote store after about 20kms, for a drink and to dry out for a while:

About 5kms on from here it stopped raining, the wind dropped, and for a change I was making good easy progress. But then the rear tyre got a puncture - the first one of the journey. I had a spare inner tube which was quickly fitted, however I then discovered that my pump was broken and I couldn’t inflate the tyre enough to ride on it.

Therefore I started pushing the bike and walked for about half an hour before finding some road menders who had a pump in their lorry, which got me on my way again. It didn’t take long to cover the final 20kms into Albany but it started raining hard for the last 5kms so I arrived fairly drenched.

Arrival into Albany. The building on the right, a bit like Sydney Opera House, is the Entertainment Centre:

It was a shame that bad weather again made it difficult to get any decent photos of this large town, which was the first European settlement in WA (1826), predating Perth by 3 years. It has a great position overlooking Princess Royal Harbour, and many fine old buildings:

If the weather improves I will try and get some more photos tomorrow before I leave.

Today’s distance was 57kms, giving a total distance of 1356kms cycled since leaving Sydney.

So - where to from here? Well, the Lonely Planet guide doesn’t have any more rides in Western Australia so I suppose it’s time to head back east. I had toyed with the idea of cycling back all the way across the Nullarbor Plain but having looked at the distances between places with accommodation on the way, it’s not possible without camping - and I don’t have a tent - what a convenient excuse! I will probably get the bus to Esperance and try and hitch a lift from there - there is no longer a bus service any further east of Norseman. If this doesn’t work out I will get another bus up to Kalgoorlie and get the Indian Pacific train eastbound from there, however having already ridden this train I know that it’s a somewhat boring journey.

Check the blog again in a day or two and you will find out what happened! Anyway, one way or another I’m headed for South Australia, where there are plenty more rides to do in the LP guide.

See you again soon, I hope!