On To Albany; Dennis Pulls the Plug

Before I forget, thanks to everyone out there for all the positive karma you've been sending. Di's hip felt a bit better walking around yesterday and this morning. It's still sore and more so after she's been walking around on it a bit today, but the pain is not as acute as it has been.

Sadly, the stage from Walpole to Albany was the last day we had the pleasure of Dennis's company. He'd been finding it hard to cope with the cold weather we've been experiencing, making the riding less enjoyable than he'd imagined. Here he is, ready to set off from Tingle All Over, for the last day of his ride with us ...

Dennis ready to go

It was my intention to do a little vignette of each member of our party. Dennis's imminent departure caught me on the hop a bit but I did manage to have a few chats with him. He has done a lot of triathlons in the past, and enjoyed some large group tours in various parts of Australia with Cycling Victoria, as well as some small-scale bike tours in exotic places like Vietnam. Dennis is a high-powered Information Systems Engineer, which means he's pretty slick with technology. His skills have taken him to work in many places around the world, but now he's back home in Victoria.

Ironically, this day produced the mildest start we've had to date, with 10 C the temperature when we set off, and would also prove to be the warmest day of the trip so far, with the mercury rising to 19 C during the afternoon. At least Dennis had an enjoyable last day on the road with us so his departing memories will hopefully leave him with a more positive vibe than he might otherwise have had. We're going to miss you, Dennis.

The riding was also much easier than the previous two days, with far less climbing. There were a few short hills in the first 50 kilometres or so, but nothing as long as steep as either the stage to Pemberton or Walpole. At one stage I sprinted ahead up a gradual incline so I could get a bit of footage of Peter, Di and Dennis leisurely pedalling along behind me ...

For the first hour and a half our riding was pure bliss, with barely an interruption from passing traffic. Aeolus must also have been in a benign mood, as there wasn't a breath of wind. The forecast had suggested the possibility of a shower so the four of us had decided we'd skip the morning tea stop and ride through to Denmark which was, at 65 kilometres, just past the halfway point of the ride. Di and I arrived a little before Peter and Dennis and made our way to Raven's Coffee, a great little café that had been recommended to us by Claire, an itinerant pharmacist who was staying at Tingle All Over while doing a locum in Walpole. We would second the recommendation if you happen to be passing through Walpole sometime.

Peter didn't get the text I'd sent him until he and Dennis had already settled into a café back towards the western end of town so, after having a chat with Collis, Di and I set out for the last part of the ride by ourselves. There wasn't a lot of striking imagery that made me feel like stopping to take photos but Di did persuade me to take these two contrasting photos from two sides of the road where a fire had gone through ...

Burnt vegetation, just starting to recover

Unburnt vegetation across the road

It was just before this that I had remarked to Peter that the vegetation was a lot like some of southwest Tasmania, which isn't surprising given the similar rainfall levels and the fact that both places are at similar latitude.

About 17 kilometres east of Denmark we turned off the main highway to take the scenic route for the last 40+ kilometres into Albany. One of the first things we saw was this gaggle of geese in a field ...

Geesescape

Shortly afterwards, we started to get views of the sea ...

Di sees the sea

A little further along the road we started to get glimpses of a wind farm, which made me think about Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey. Thankfully, the riding was so enjoyable those unwanted distractions soon disappeared.

The last 15 or 20 kilometres into Albany were almost pancake flat, and Aeolus must have decided we'd earned a helping hand as we enjoyed a gentle tailwind into the town. About 10 kilometres out we passed this old utility, which I just had to go back to get a picture of ...

Rusted in place

A short, gradual hill brought us up to this view over what might be the filtration ponds for Albany's sewerage system on the western outskirts of town ...

Afternoon light over the water

Albany is a very historic place, being the oldest permanently settled town in Western Australia and its association with the sea is an integral part of its history and still seems to play a significant role in the town's raison d'être today. For a long time whaling was of major importance; now there is a whaling museum to help folks understand the role the industry played. 

Before we knew it we were cruising towards the harbour, passing by this old ship that may have been part of the whaling industry ...

High and dry

Fittingly, Albany's entertainment centre is located down by the harbour. I'm wondering if its shape is meant to reminiscent of an old sailing ship fully rigged ...

Albany Entertainment Centre

... or maybe it's meant to suggest a wind-battered version of the Sydney Opera House ...

My last photo of the day is of this mural as were coming up into the town ...

What is Chicha?

I'm not sure, but I think it might have just been an artistic advertisement for a café.

We are on another rest day. Collis has rejigged the itinerary a couple times. This rest day was always part of the schedule but the one in Walpole must have be an afterthought, taking into account the two relatively hard days from Margaret River to Walpole. The next time you hear from me will most likely be in Esperance, as we will be covering approximately 495 kilometres in the four days between now and then. Two of the three nights will be in bush camps, with no opportunity to hook into power and probably no internet. The one night in a caravan park is after a 150 kilometre day and I reckon I'll just be happy to have a feed and then crawl into my sleeping bag.

By the way, if anyone is interested in a stage-by-stage breakdown of the whole ride, the original itinerary can be found here. The trip out to Cape Le Grand National Park has been removed, and we are having an extra rest day. Apart from that, hopefully the rest of the schedule will remain as is. So far we've been incredibly lucky with the weather. The longest stretch of headwind so far has only been about 40 kilometres, and that was steady and not too strong. We haven't had any rain while riding at all, although that might change tomorrow. It's raining on and off today and the forecast is for that to persist into morning. Still, I'd rather have rain than a headwind any day. Whatever.

Que sera sera ... eh!