Wednesday 26th September - Caiguna to Madura via Cocklebiddy.

Wednesday 26^th September

An Aussie couple I passed shortly after leaving the roadhouse at which we'd all stayed last nigh. They were doing shorter days but an even longer trip from the North of Australia, down to the west than across to their home in New South Wales

I take up a place of safety on the gravelly shoulder when I get a warning from a pilot vehicle, that a couple of oversize loads are coming along with their bow wave!

Cocklebiddy - human population 8, one of whom was the amusing manager.

We have seen a number of live and dead snakes, mostly these brown ones. This one raced across the car park towards us which was a little alarming. We don't know if it is venomous as we cannot get to Google out here.

Late afternoon riding due to too long a lunch break.

Our budget accommodation at Madura Roadhouse. Most neighbours were truckers.

Although most guests were truckers the restaurant was rather posh. They even served a salad. Of sorts.

After a blustery finish to yesterday we are surprised to wake up to cold and fog although it is a thin enough layer to see the sun up through it. I wait for it to dissipate a bit before setting off to the east with an intermediate stop at Cockelbiddy Roadhouse. Just outside the roadhouse pass a time zone change of 45 minutes (why not an hour?!)  I come across a retired Aussie couple who stayed at Caiguna last night too and are cycling heavy self-supported bikes and stop every 10km for about 100km a day. They started at Darwin and now are heading back to Cough’s (spelling uncertain) Harbour in New South Wales. I leave them and carry on through a significant distance with many road kill kangaroos. It is really unpleasant both as a sight and smell. The Ravens don’t go hungry here and also we saw Wedge Tailed Eagles helping themselves.

Do really well to Cocklebiddy but then order what turns out to be a very large meal which rather knocks my cycling edge! The manager is quite a character and it has more style and character than the other roadhouses so it is a shame we could not fit a stay here into our itinerary. Mandy buys some secondhand books to while away the time waiting for me.

We follow notes from the bird finding book and go 10 km north on the Cocklebiddy to Rawlinna Road which is a dirt track through arid low scrub. We see White Winged Fairy Wrens and Pippits but not the Quail Thrushes or Blue Bonnets we’d been looking for. We spend almost 3 hours in all so after that it is a struggle to get to Madura before dark. We do it but only just. Madura Pass Oasis Motel is at the foot of an escarpment which is the most significant change on the road since the climb out of Perth. The budget room that was all they had left is OK but we won’t be eating off the floor! Oddly the dining room is almost posh and the lasangne too filling. On another table there is an incredibly boring group of golfers going on about how badly their golf club is run. It’s just a series of monologues on the same subject started midway through the previous monologue. If Armando Ianucci did a skit on golfers, this could be his work.

Going back to the room need the help of Mandy’s trucker chum to unlock or door!

Tomorrow is a shorter day so hopefully my saddle soreness will get some rest.

157.65 km today in 5 hours 39 minutes – an average of 27.9 kph. Total so far 1450.40 km which is over a third of the total trip.