In July 2011 I had planned to revisit the Munda Biddi Trail, a mountain bike trail, riding the new section from Nannup to Collie and then on to Jarrahdale. (You can read of my first tour on the Munda Biddi Trail here). The overall tour was to involve riding from Fremantle to Nannup via Martins Tank Campsite (Yalgorup National Park) and Donnybrook and then returning to Perth via the Munda Biddi Trail, leaving the trail at Jarrahdale. As it turns out I aborted the tour after returning to Donnybrook having only ridden the Munda Biddi Trail between Nannup and Donnybrook.

(Updated July 25, 2014)

I aborted at Donnybrook after I realised on the Friday morning at Donnybrook that I had lost in the past couple of days, my wet weather gear. The forecast for the day was thunderstorms (and there where thunderstorms) and more rain to come later in the ride. Having experienced the onset of hypothermia in the past I had no desire to go down that path again. As it is I did ride for about 10 minutes in the rain and it was seriously cold … I was drenched within minutes. My decision was further reinforced at the time by the lack of weather gear which could be purchased in Donnybrook and that it was the only day Anne could come down to pick me up. I also was so annoyed at myself for loosing $300 + of brand new wet weather gear and really want to go back and look for it.

As it turned out, I was not able to find the gear and I should have just weathered out the day in Donnybrook and ridden on to Collie and got something to act as rain gear there for the reminder of the ride, but I didn’t and that is history as they say.

So the reminder of this posting documents the tour as ridden, what could have been (gray part of the itinerary) and the associated planning. I hope it is of interest and use to future riders of the Trail and touring in general.

The post is broken into the following sections:

The Itinerary As it Panned Out â€“ Actual Kilometres

Day From and To Facilities at Evening Campsite Daily Distance Cumulative Distance Meals 1 Fremantle to Martins Tank – Yalgorup National Park (Preston Beach) Water tank

Toilet

Picnic tables

Telstra Next G coverage 123 km @ an average speed of 15.4 km/h 123 km L, D 2 Martins Tank – Yalgorup National Park (Preston Beach) to Donnybrook Small town – resupply at IGA Supermark

Town campsite – Donnybrook Transit Park

Telstra Next G and Vodofone coverage 117 km @ an average speed of 14.6 km/h 240 km B, L 3 Donnybrook to Nannup Small town – possible resupply at general store

Town campsite – Nannup Caravan Park

Telstra Next G coverage 75 km @ an average speed of 11.4 km/h 315 km B, L 4 Nannup to Donnybrook (Sidings Rail Trail and Jarrahwood to Donnybrook on the Munda Biddi Trail) Small town – resupply at IGA Supermark

Town campsite – Donnybrook Transit Park

Telstra Next G and Vodofone coverage 78 km an average speed of 11.30 km/h 393 km B, L 5 Donnybrook to Nglang Boodja Campsite 48 km 441 km B, L, D 6 Nglang Boodja Campsite to Collie 47 km 488 km B, L 7 Collie to Yarri Campsite 45 km 533 km B, L, D 8 Yarri Campsite to Willowdale Arboretum 55 km 588 km B, L, D 9 Willowdale Arboretum toDwellingup 53 km 641 km B, L, D 10 Dwellingup to Dandalup Campsite 45 km 686 km B, L, D 11 Dandalup Campsite to Churchlands (Perth) 118 km 804 km B

B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner. These are meals carried from Perth. On the evenings in towns, meals where obtained locally. On Day 11 lunch was to be obtained on the road to Churchlands.

The links take you to the map of the route at RideWithGPS where it is possible to download the route in various fora.

Ride Diary

Day 1 – Fremantle to Martins Tank Campsite in Yalgorup National Park (Preston Beach)





It was raining when I left Fremantle around 8:00 AM and it rained continuously for most of the day, easing off on the last hour or so of the day. I could test of my Showers Pass Elite 2 jacket and Storm Pant.



My route took me through the ship building area south of Henderson. There are often some pretty speccy looking luxury boats being built here. That said, route choice out of Fremantle was not the best given the time of the morning. Anketell Road was truck after truck. Not good in poor visibility on a road with little to no shoulder. A contrast to my weekly early morning rides on the same road.



With the conditions it was good to reach Mandogalup Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade where I took a quick break (toilets here).



From Mandogalup I turned south on the Kwinana Principal Shared Path (PSP) briefly stopping at the memorial for a cyclist recently killed on the PSP. After this point the ride south to Pinjarra Road on the PSP was briefly “interrupted” in a positive way by a chat with a nice bloke riding a Giant TT bike, otherwise it is a pretty unexciting path.

I pulled off the Kwinana PSP at Pinjarra Road to grab a bite to eat. There is a service station, Caltex about 1.5 kilometres west of the Kwinana PSP. This is the last service station when heading south for 56 kilometres.



Once back on the PSP after “lunch” it quickly came to an end and the long slog of the monotonous Forest Highway began. Forest Highway has a great wide shoulder, but that is all it has going for it. It is long, read long straights with cars/trucks/semi trailers/B-trains repeatedly flying past. In hindsight a bad route choice. The only relief on this section beening the quirky art works and the John Tognela Rest Area which has its own special art work. The photos below give you are little taste of what can be experienced.



The above object appears a little early, on the Kwinana PSP. I have no idea what it is meant to represent. It looks like a giant lollipop.



This artwork is known as “The Water Dance.” According to the interpretative sign at the site the cones are cupped hands catching the precious rain, whereas the poles are representations of river water markers used to record water levels. Well it was a good day to visit given the rain 🙂



This artwork is part of the work at the John Tognela Rest Area, a nature stop along the highway.

Once I got to the Preston Beach Road, the noise of the highway quickly disappeared; oh the joy of the relative silence.

The turn-off to Martins Tank Campsite is eight kilometres from the highway. It is not signposted so look out for Preston Beach North Road. From the turn-off into the limestone track it is approximately four kilometres to the campsite itself.



The campsite is pretty standard Department of Environment and Conservation fair but with the addition of a water tank. You will find individual campsites with a fire ring and picnic tables as well as larger group camping areas. In addition there is a drop-box loo with the water tank behind it. There is an honesty box for paying the camp fee which was $7.00 when I visited.



I had a good night here; including a visit from a friendly possum.

Other points to note about this section:

There is a Shell Service Station at the Thomas Road/Kwinana Freeway interchange;

There is a Caltex Service Station approximately 1.5 kilometres west of the Kwinana Freeway PSP on Pinjarra Road;

There is Telstra Next 3G coverage at Martins Tank Campsite;

Day 2 – Martins Tank to Donnybrook

Late start meant a late finish: not the best day of the ride for sure. I arrived in Donnybrook at ~ 6:30 PM only to find that the BP Service Station had closed and hence I didn’t have access to the Donnybrook Transit Park (one needs keys to access the shower/toilet ensuite). As a result of my late arrival I enjoyed the “luxury” of a room at the Donnybrook Motel ($110 for the night). The other downside of arriving late is if you plan to eat out, the options can be very limited.



Getting back to the ride, once I had crossed the Old Coast Highway, I joined Johnston Road which continues on to Yarloop. It initially starts with a short but sharp climb, from which at the top you get a nice view over the plantation and beyond. The photo doesn’t really capture the vista at all.



The ride itself turned out to be a reasonable route, a mix of bitumen and a few unpaved roads (such as the one above) which where not to bad to ride on and a limited amount of highway time. The highways being the Boynup-Piction Road and South-western Highway are not great to ride on but.



Lunch was had at a very pleasant irrigation waterfall at the corner of Government Road and Hope Avenue, Wokalup.





There where two highlights of the day. The first was a North Bannister traffic jam, well two in fact followed by the rescuing a long-necked tortoise at the South-west Highway/Raymond Road intersection. Hopefully it lives a long time!

I did have one issue today with my Garmin Edge 800. The battery was low and due to my error I didn’t recharge it overnight with the Garmin Battery Extender as I didn’t turn the Extender on properly and thought it was flat! Lesson learnt: Make sure you know how to use new gear before going on a tour! In the process of sorting out the Edge 800 I managed to loose the first ~ 47 km of the ride from its history. On a positive note the Extender did get the Edge going for the rest of the ride.

Thankfully today was the last of my long days till the end of the tour which is great.

Other points to note about this section:

The only service on the route is at Burekup which has quite a good general store.

Vodafone and Telstra Next 3G are available in Donnybrook;

Donnybrook has an IGA supermarket which is open 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM as well as two bakeries and the Fruit Barn which is open to 8:00 PM. All are good/helpful with resupply.

Day 3 – Donnybrook to Nannup



My plan today was a pretty straightforward on road route through to Nannup, climbing out of Donnybrook through Upper Capel before turning west and then south through the Jarrahwood State Forrest. Well it started out as planned.



The climb out of Donnybrook was through beautiful farming country, lush green paddocks and a crispy cool morning made it great riding. When I reached Claymore Road I noticed a sign saying Jarrahwood 8 km, well I thought it said eight kilometres. Either it is wrong or I got it wrong because it was more like 18 kilometres to Jarrahwood.





Anyway with the idea of Jarrahwood being eight kilometres in the back of my mind I head off along Claymore Road, an undulating road through the Jarrahwood State Forrest.



Later in the ride along Claymore Road, I came across bicycle warning signs and then trail markers for the Munda Biddi Trail. A quick play with the Garmin Edge 800 had a change of route sorted and I was now off to Jarrahwood because it was close right, with the idea that I would ride the Old Timberline Trail into Nannup, allowing me to ride this trail today and the Sidings Trail tomorrow. Isn’t this what touring is all about?



After a quick stop at the Nala Mia Campsite (Jarrahwood) where I discovered that Jarrahwood is an alive and well town, not an abandon mill town as I thought.





From Jarrahwood I picked up the Munda Biddi Trail, well the Sidings Rail Trail really, following it through to the Cambray Siding where the Old Timberline Trail northern terminus is to be found.



The Old Timberline Trail is a 20 kilometre walk and cycling trail running from the Cambray Siding into Nannup. It runs through the St John Brook Conservation Park and has a campsite called Sleeper Hewer’s Camp which provides a good camping option. Further south it pass through Barrabup Pool and Workman’s Pool, both car camping spots.





Sleeper Hewer’s Camp is an interesting campsite, built to replicate to some extent the experience of the old time workers, so it is an interesting place to stay for sure.Â The normal trail campsite facilities can be found here: picnic tables, water tanks, hut and drop-box loo.

The Old Timberline Trail provides a picturesque alternative route to the Sidings Rail Trail but whilst it is shorter at 22 km it is far more hilly but fun to ride … the single track is great to play on! Personally I would plan to riding the Old Timberline Trail over the unimaginativeÂ Sidings Rail Trail. The Old Timberline Trail is shown on the Department of Environment and Conservation Sidings Rail Trail map.



I discovered this sign well into the Old Timberline Trail just before reaching Barrabup Pool. It was a bit late for me as I had ridden the “closed” section!



I got into Nannup later and tireder than I had planned but it was a good day’s riding. I camped at the Nannup Caravan Park. A unpowered campsite was $15.00. The caravan park is a basic setup: showers, laundry and a basic camp kitchen. One good thing about it is that the caretaker lives on-site.

Oh the Blackwood Cafe is good for pasta, pizza and burgers. Seriously good food when I visited (twice).

Other points to note about this section:

There is no shops on this route.

Telstra Next 3G is available in Nannup but NOT at Jarrahwood;

Nannup has a few cafes, liqour store, service station and a small general store etc.

Day 4 – Nannup to Donnybrook

Nannup, 182 miles from Perth. I didn’t do the maths but to check if my route was better or worse 🙂



Nannup marks the official start of my tour, with my joining the Munda Biddi Trail at a new section for me. The trail starts off utilising the Sidings Rail Trail, a 26 km trail through to Jarrahwood.



The Sidings Rail Trail southern trail head is at the Nannup Foreshore Park. You cannot miss the trail head as it is marked so to speak by the Nannup Totem Poles.



Thanks to Rod Laws, there is now a bicycle repair stand at the trail head in Nannup. How cool is that?

After you cross the Blackwood River, the Sidings Rail Trail starts proper. It is frankly an unimpressive ride. The trail climbs out of Nannup at a 1 to 2% grade for approximately seven kilometres to near the Bibilup Siding and the trail undulates through to Jarrahwood.



The Trail is literally old rail bed, gravel rail bed that is with steep cambers. It is not a great surface to ride on and takes a lot of concentration to avoid sliding off to the side. Really disappointing given the option of the Old Timberline Trail.



The above comments notwithstanding the Sidings Rail Trail and the Munda Biddi Trail are generally well signed with trail markers and other warning signs as per the example here.



One feature of the Sidings Rail Trail, as the name suggests is the sidings. There are three sidings on the Trail: Bibilup, Dellerton and Cambray. I missed completely the Bibilup Siding and I believe this photo is of the Dellerton Siding. Not much left today.





In addition to the sidings the Trail does cross the St John Brook which provides picturesque views and an opportunity for a break if you so desire. Mind you is only six kilometres on to Jarrahwood and the Nala Mia Campsite.



After a brief respite at Nala Mia Campsite (a pretty standard Munda Biddi Trail campsite with sleeping platforms, picnic tables, drop-box loo, repair area, bike racks and tent sites) I continued on the Munda Biddi Trail proper. This section of the Trail is a mix of forestry roads and single track here and there; all rated essay.

When I rode through there was a “diversion of sorts” in place. I say “of sorts” as the information provided at Nala Mia didn’t much the on the ground signage which which in-turn didn’t much the signs on the Trail. Not a good look Department of Environment and Conservation! To give you are an idea of the thoughtful trail marking that was in place, there was at least two t-junctions where as one arrived, one was facing a trail sign indicating a left and a right turn! A bit of a problem given the trail tends to wind its way through the forest.



On a more positive note I did find a nice lunch stop and the riding was good with the exception of a 13% grade climb on Vernon Road thanks to the diversion. It hurt!



This time I made Donnybrook in time to book into the Donnybrook Transit Park. I picked up the key from the BP service station where I was allocated a camping bay. My camping bay turned out to be a concrete slab for a powered site: as you guessed I found another suitable location to pitch the tent.Â The cost of camping here was $16.00 which gave you your own ensuite (shower and toilet with power outlets – handy for charging phones and GPSr). There is no laundry or camp kitchen as such. Just a lot of open space, a clothes line and a picnic table. Not the most hospitable place by any means.

Other points to note about this section:

Vodafone and Telstra Next 3G are available in Donnybrook and Telstra Next 3g is available in Nannup;

There is no phone coverage at Jarrahwood

Donnybrook has an IGA supermarket which is open 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM as well as two bakeries and the Fruit Barn which is open to 8:00 PM. All are good/helpful with resupply.

Jarrahwood Community Association has a cottage available for rent. According to the notice at Nala Mia the cottage is $60.00 per night for four people and it can sleep up to nine people with each additional person costing $10.00 per night. If you are interested please phone 9756 2065 or 9756 2036 for booking details.

Day 5 – Donnybrook to Nglang Boodja Campsite

Well this day became a stay in Donnybrook day and I ultimately aborted my ride here. I awoke around 4:00 AM as the tent was flapping in the wind. Of course when I pitched the tent the previous evening I was tired, there was no wind and I hadn’t considered the wind picking up during the night so of course I was pitched side-on rather than with the big end of the tent into the wind as it should have been.

Anyway with the wind picking up I fired up the bat phone to check the weather situation.Â Radar showed serious rains on the way, so I went to grab my wet weather gear to have it on stand-by. Wet weather gear, what wet-weather gear!Â Oh know $300+ dollars of brand new gear gone missing. Great! A check of the camera showed I had it on the bike at Jarrahwood the day before so I had lost it either at Nannup or at lunch or possibly on the trail. The weather forecast for that day was looking horrific and for the next few days there was more rain and possible thunderstorms predicted.

Thinking I could possibly pick-up my lost gear either at the lunch spot from the day before or at Nannup and knowing Anne was keen on coming down for a weekend meet I made the decision to abort the ride and have to have Anne meet me in Donnybrook that evening. In hindsight I probably should have weathered out the day and rode on to Collie (two days away) to try and purchase wet weather gear there (reasonable chance). I could also get a bus at Collie if necessary. Hindsight is of course a wonderful thing and as it turned out I had a nice evening and day with Anne wondering around the area.

With Anne coming down I booked back into the Donnybrook Motel and made use of the Western Australia Community Resource Network centre in Donnybrook. Great value Internet access at around $5.00 per hour.





Other than that when the weather cleared a bit I took a wonder around town. The Bankcard accepted here is a real blast from the past for me … sad I know. There is also a nice walk along the banks of the Preston River.

Finally, transport home.

Day 6 – Nglang Boodja Campsite to Collie

Not ridden.

Day 7 – Collie to Yarri Campsite

Please refer to my April 2008 ride report of this section of the Munda Biddi Trail for details.

Day 8 – Yarri Campsite to Willowdale Arboretum

Please refer to my April 2008 ride report of this section of the Munda Biddi Trail for details. An update on the Logue Brook Caravan Park. The caravan park is now and has been converted to a Munda Biddi Trail campsite. The campsite is located at the southern end of the dam wall, approximately 1.2 kilometres off the Trail.

Day 9 – Willowdale Arboretum to Dwellingup

Please refer to my April 2008 ride report of this section of the Munda Biddi Trail for details.

Day 10 – Dwellingup to Dandalup Campsite

Please refer to my April 2008 ride report of this section of the Munda Biddi Trail for details.

Day 11 – Dandalup Campsite to Churchlands (Perth)

Please refer to my April 2008 ride report of this section of the Munda Biddi Trail (Dandalup to Jarrahdale) for details.

Equipment List



My equipment all ready to be packed up.



The BOB Ibex with my gear and all the food for the ride packed away.

My equipment does vary depending on the tour or bushwalk being undertaken. That said I do keep a summary spreadsheet of my equipment and it does provide an idea of what I take on my tourers. You can find it via this blog posting.

In terms of this ride, my detailed gear list for the ride can be found here. An overview of the gear list and weights is provided below:

Giant XTC 2 Mountain Bike BOB Ibex Trailer and a Ortleib Handlebar bag 9.85 kg Accomodation and Sleeping 3.66 kg Camp and Town Clothing 1.84 kg Bicycle Clothing Camp Kitchen 1.45 kg Personal and Sundry Items 2.08 kg Bicycle Specific Equipment (Tools and Spares etc) 2.44 kg Total Equipment Weight excluding the bike

The Menu





The food went from this …







to this …





the to the bags and hence ready for BOB …



Breakfast

My standard on tour breakfast is rolled oats which I supplement with sultanas and shivers of almond. What I do is mix a single breakfast Glad snap-lock bag with the rolled oats (usually Uncle Toby’s Quick oats), sultanas, shivers of almonds and brown sugar. In a second snap lock is the powdered full cream milk, normally Sunshine. The “cooking process” is simply a matter of adding water to the milk and bringing it to the boil. The rolled oats mixture is then added. Within a minute or it is ready for consuming. I pre-package each day’s breakfast before leaving on the tour, this way it is a simple matter of getting breakfast ready on those cold mornings. I add to this a cup of coffee. My preference is to use coffee satchels such as the Nescafe Cappuccino or similar. One satchel make a drinkable morning brew. My breakfast weighs in at approximate 200 grams.

On this tour I prepared 10 breakfasts in advance.kraft

Lunch

Lunch is either something I can buy in town and take with me for the day (e.g., bread rolls, tomato and sausage of some sort) or what I carry with me. My standard carried lunch is crackers (e.g., Kraft Premium or Arnotts Vita-Weat) plus jam (carried in a small container) and Jarr as it keeps well unrefrigerated. As this is a very dry lunch, I may supplement it with a piece of light fruit cake and a good ol cup of tea. Lunch weighs in at approximately 145 grams.

Dinner

Dinners are a cup-a-soup (great for the wet and/or cold days), a hot chocolate drink (e.g, Jarrah Choc or similar). I find the Jarrah sachets an esay way to carry the right amount for a drink. Two per night do the trick. I finish offer the evening meal with a couple of pieces of Lindt Excellence chocolate (dark of course).

The main course is either a dried at home meal (e.g, mince and Continental Deb potato) or a pasta meal such as the Continental Pasta and Sauce (four serves). I add to this a tin of tuna or salmon. I do try to find the pouches of either but these are becoming hard to find.

I also carry condiments such as a small amount of olive oil and salt and pepper.

All up my average dinner weight is around 320 grams per day.

Snacks

Snacks etc are predominately riding food. At the core I carry sufficient Gatorade or similar for the ride. On this ride I also loaded up with muesli bars (Mother Earth or the like); enough to have one each hour of riding. This really didn’t work for me due to the number of bars I had to carry so I need to review this approach. My thinking is to plan around having a morning tea and an afternoon tea rather than eating on the move hourly. Hopefully this approach combined with the breakfast and lunches will provide sufficient carbs without having to carry so much food.Â I may also look at carrying nuts to have a few of in between the “meal breaks”. This ride snacks weighed in at approximately 460 grams per day which is way to much. Oh I also carry a few tea bags in case I want a cupa at lunch or in the evening.

In summary my food weighed in at around 1,140 grams (1.14 kg) per day. This is really too high and I would like to get it down to somewhere between 750 and 1,000 grams per day.

I did carry all the food I needed for the whole trip but could have allowed for re-supply which would have reduced the weight carried.

Lessons Learnt – Changes to Be Made

As I tend to find, there are always changes that can be made to fine tune and improve one’s approach to touring. This ride is no different. The changes I plan to make for the future are:

Not loose any more gear ! I broke my golden rule of checking the campsite/resting place before moving on this ride and stuffed it up; Food – A few of lessons learnt. Reduce the snacks/ride food carried to get the total load under 1,000 grams per day; My food tastes are changing and I am less interested in takeaway style meals in towns so will look now to cook my own meals when in town; Re-consider my approach to re-supply and look to utilise the shops on the way more, at least in terms of dinners which can be easily picked up along the way. The bike . I found, particular on the single-track that I was lifting the front off the ground fairly easily. I also found that the trailer’s loaded weight made use of the Greenfield Stabilizer rear mount a bit of pain as it lifted the front wheel enough for it to rock to the left or right. This tended to result in the trailer jack-knifing. My plan with the Giant XTC 2 is to fit a front rack , probably a Tubus Swing to allow me to shift some load forward. The Adventure Cycling Organization in their guide, What to Take and How to Pack , suggest a front load weight of between 7 kg and 20 kg when using a trailer and if riding with just panniers, having approximately 60% of the weight up front and 40% down back. The Tubus Swing has a load rating of 15 kg so should work fine. This will also take some of the bulk from the BOB Ibex allowing everything to go inside … my preference from my bushwalking days. Emergency Spares : Need to add a FiberFix Spoke, a derailleur hanger and a spare quick connect chain link to the kit. Dyno light : Will look to upgrade the lighting on the is bike buy fitting a dyno and dyno power headlight. I needed lights more than I anticipated on this ride. Camping Gear : My home made quilt worked a treat and whilst it weighs in at around 1 kg it is bulky. I would like to get this bulk down so will be replacing it with a quilt that packs much smaller, probably a Nunatak Arc Specialist which weighs in at 450 grams and packs down small.

worked a treat and whilst it weighs in at around 1 kg it is bulky. I would like to get this bulk down so will be replacing it with a quilt that packs much smaller, probably a Arc Specialist which weighs in at 450 grams and packs down small. Tent : My Big Sky International Evolution 1P is okay but it is the first version and well I don’t really like it: not sure why exactly. Anyway I am pretty keen on a Tarptent Scarp 1 so will likely upgrade to one of those.

: My Big Sky International Evolution 1P is okay but it is the first version and well I don’t really like it: not sure why exactly. Anyway I am pretty keen on a Tarptent Scarp 1 so will likely upgrade to one of those. Pillow : The Sea to Summit pillow I have is bulky and big. Will likely replace it with an Exped Pillow Pump

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