June 22nd, 2011
Margaret River to Dunsborough
Distance: 56km
Total distance: 6206km
Knowing that I only have about 50km of riding to Dunsborough, I started very late at 10am. I was immediately greeted by the warmth of the sunshine which felt like eternal heaven in this cold winter. Unfortunately that lasted only for the first 15km. This section of Bussell Highway was even busier. I looked into the Margaret River map and found the turn off at Cowaramup into small roads that zig-zags through the wine region all the way to Dunsborough (also recommended by Greg and Kathy). The first section of these roads were surprisingly smooth, traffic was extremely light too. Being a wine region, the road has a surprisingly mild gradient, all in all, this was a very pleasant route. Thanks to Greg and Kathy for the recommendation!
The final 10km to Dunsborough was a joy to ride. Earlier, I didn’t realised I was at a much higher ground until I encounter a long descent down to the coastal town. I had an embarrassing fall somewhere near Dunsborough, nothing serious as it was a slow speed fall. Took a sharp left turn and my left wheel lifted up and body thrown to the outer circle (right) but I managed to save myself from flipping over by pushing the ground with my right palm. I must look rather comical from a bystander’s view, thankfully there wasn’t anyone there! In the last 4km it started pouring, so I arrived at the YHA Beach House soaking wet. It was only 2.30pm and the reception was unmanned so I walked around the hostel. I noticed that there was only one hostel guest around at that time in the communal areas.
After checking in, I took a 3km ride to the town centre along the coastal bikeway. I must say they have a very decent bikeway here and while it stretches for quite a distance, I only rode a short section of it. I also learnt that Dunsborough is one of Australia’s fastest growing town with a current population of 3500. I had some home-cooked carbonara pasta for dinner while reading an encyclopedia of mammals. While I was preparing my dinner in the kitchen, more and more backpackers came in, presumably they just finished their grape-picking (or some other) work. That would explain why it was so quiet in the afternoon.
