Day 30 | Near Hyden: almost out into the badlands
75 km | zzOz total: 1,551 km
Bike touring in Australia has certain merits.
Pick an interesting route, such as the SW corner of the continent, the Gibb River Road, Mawson Trail and every day holds interest.
On the other hand going cross country away from the coast and highlights may be few and far between, as they say.
Farming country around here has been mostly wheat, prices have been high even if the rainfall hasn’t. They used to talk about Australia’s sheep but numbers have halved over the years from the heyday back in the fifties.
So you have to say the landscape is all subtlety and nuances, ie, not a lot to see. Changing from richer soils to sandy and now laterite, from reasonable, reliable, rainfall, 1000mm a year, to less, erratic, around 300mm.
The locality’s shop may be closed, permanently as in Pingrup, or just because it’s the weekend, ie, Pingaring, nearby. There’s not much passing trade on these backroads I’m frequenting.
By the way that’s said Pin-gar-ing not the more colourful Ping-a-ring.
As I head north it’s certainly not as wet, actually today was the best day for weeks despite the continual climbing, how is that possible?, and a change of wind from tail to, you guessed it, head.
Guaranteed to be cold tonight.