June 4: Just Git ‘Er Done!

Ah...the wind doth blow strongly today...and not in my favor! I gave myself the best chance of making it to my planned destination of Mungilup by leaving at 7:15 (after taking photos and saying goodbye to Rob and Lynn).

Although there weren’t no trucks on the road today, it did seem like there were less than it would have been had it not been the holiday. That was a good thing. The wind was primarily a crosswind, and that makes it hard for me to hold my line on the road.

The one bright spot of today’s ride was seeing Belinda and Dale (if I remember his name correctly) again. I met them at Fraser Range Station. They passed me, then pulled over to say hi.

From 48kms to go, I was counting them down one by one. At one point, I figured if I could do at least 10kms/hour, I could get to Munglinup by 4:00. There were a few faster downhills (but also a lot of uphill slogs) that helped. 

I ended up arriving in Munglinup at 3:00, after 106kms. Not bad, I thought. However, I am exhausted. It was 7 1/2 hours of ride time.

Munglinup is not much of a town. In fact, beyond some houses that I’m sure must be here, but I can’t see them, there is really just a roadhouse. Across the street from the roadhouse is a truck rest stop. I’m camped there, along with a couple of Dutch guys (in a tent), and another couple in a caravan (I passed them today while they were pulled off at a rest stop).

The wind is actually going to be worse tomorrow with gusts up to 50kms/hour. Also, it will not be a holiday, so there will be more trucks on the road. I can’t really stay here, as here is really nothing. Those three strikes against me gave me the courage to go ask Shane and Carol (the couple in the caravan) if they would give me and Tilmann a ride to Ravensthorpe tomorrow. It’s only about 80kms, but it would be a very tough ride. There is a proper caravan park in Ravensthorpe, so I can hole up there until the weather improves, if necessary.

Shane and Carol said they could take me, so tomorrow I will put Tilmann in their trailer, and the bags wherever they will fit. 

Oh, one other thing that happened today. The one and only time I stopped to pee (even though I drank almost 4 bottles of water—it was also much warmer than it’s been), I was attacked by a mob of ants. They were crawling in my shoes, and up my pant legs. I slapped the heck out of my legs, and dug them out of my shoes. They were biting little buggers! As fast as I could, I got back on Tilmann and took off. So much for that break!

Dust and wind