Perth to Albany Day 5, Katanning to Cranbrook

October 26, 2008 · Filed Under 2008, Australia, Ride Reports, W.A.

Article submitted by: davidp

The thunderstorms overnight were a warning that we were in for a wet morning. So it was a damp start to the day as we rolled down the hill out of Katanning. The rain continued for a few minutes, but not enough to really wet us through.

We continued our regime of sealed back roads and took a route via Broomehill and Tambellup to get to Cranbrook. Another 92km on the odometer. This is getting easier by the day, my legs are feeling stronger and stronger. Alec says that his legs aren’t improving any; and that at 72 he has probably already peaked his level of fitness.

Our first stop was Broomehill where we had time to have a proper flat white at Henry Jones Winery and Cafe. What luxury !

Lunch was at Tambellup where we could jump on the internet at the Telecentre. The Telecentre is quite an impressive setup for a small place like Tambellup – and in fact it felt faster than my link at home in the suburbs.

Leaving Tambellup we saw some more rain and the wind was picking up. Again we were lucky enough to not get to that squishy wet sock feeling. So for me that doesn’t count as `getting wet’ on the bike. Even though we rode through a lot of rain we managed to stay dry over all.

For most of today we had the wind well and truly behind us. What a buzz to be able to sit on 45km/h for long sections. One thing for sure, we would find riding in the other direction a heap more effort. Going by our hosts’ description of how much rain fell in Cranbrook we were lucky to not have been washed away.

We arrived in Cranbrook expecting that we would be doshing down on the Baptist Church hall floor and cooking for ourselves. By the time we got there we discovered that we were being met for coffee and a shower at the Pastor’s house in Cranbrook and then for dinner and to sleep out near Tenterden. So we are all feeling so blessed and encouraged to be fed and housed when we were expecting to fend for ourselves.