Distance: 711km
Dep: 7:00am
Arr: 3:30pm
Temperature: 17°C - 22°C
Total distance to date: 4827km
Route:
- Esperance
- Ravensthorpe
- Nannup
- Margaret River
Caption: Beautiful Esperance in all her glory, from a lookout point we walked to during our 2 rest days off the bike.
We rolled out of bed after 5 hours of ineffective sleep. The anticipation of a brewing storm near our destination and memories of getting to Balladonia in a torrential rainpour was top of mind. So, we opted to try to make a run for it, with a plan to get to the coast and be indoors when the weather hits. The temperature was also supposed to drop, so we decided to layer up:
- Bra
- Singlet (tank top)
- Long sleeve midlayer
- Heated midlayer
- Motorcycle jacket
- Cypress Hoodie
- Cyclone Rain Jacket
Caption: Fully loaded and ready to leave Esperance. Both of us had enough layers on to combat antarctic winds.
I was undoubtedly rotund, but at least if I were to come off the bike, I'd likely just bounce a bit before rolling to a halt. Besides, the sun hadn't had a chance to warm the morning air yet, and flashbacks of Balladonia kept replaying in our minds. We shuffled onto the bikes and hit the road at 7am sharp, as soon as it was light enough to see the roads clearly.
Caption: A very comfortable and cruisy ride in the sunshine, if we ignore the crosswinds.
Layering paid off. We enjoyed a very comfortable run to Ravensthorpe 187km away, despite battling strong crosswinds from the north and reappearing roadtrains from the opposite direction. Reappearing with them were an increasing number of caravans with acutely unaware drivers behind the wheel. The petrol at Ravensthorpe came out at a slow trickle. The pressure at the pumps were so low that we stood there clenching the pumps for a solid 20 minutes while our bikes filled up drop by drop. A friendly rider on a fully loaded Royal Enfield was off to the side to adjust his chain, and we chatted about how he's left Melbourne with no address or job, ready to start a new life on the West Coast.
Caption: At times the lines on the road simply disappeared for many kilometres, but not a single soul in sight.
We were reminded that we are in fact still very far from Perth, which in turn is often considered the most isolated city on earth. Large mining machinery the width of two full lanes were loaded on beastly trucks that make regular trucks look like Tonka toys.
As we slowly progressed westbound, previously straight roads started taking a little bit of shape. Elevation changes started appearing slowly, enough so that if you were at the top of the hill, you were presented with a vast open view of trees that reached the horizon, only punctuated by the road you're about to find yourself on moments later.
Just when we were getting used to the dead straight roads, lateral curvature started appearing as well. Bends where you can comfortably hold the 110kph speed limit (suggested speed 90kph) along with increasingly thicker, greener, and taller forest. The sun finally came out at Broomhill Village so we were down to just two layers with the rest safely stored in our motorcycle luggage. Great timing too, because we needed the newfound mobility to enjoy the tighter corners and long flowy curves into Nannup. For long stretches of road, the trees on both sides combined to create a tunnel effect that blurred when higher speeds were introduced. The weather was absolutely perfect.
Caption: One final petrol stop in Nannup, a sleepy little town. Nena is looking fresh and shiny after her bath in Esperance.
The final stretch into Margaret River was a comfortable straight with long coniferous trees lining both sides of the road. The vibe was calm and inviting, and didn't feel at all like we had just done 650km prior. We hit bottlenecks of eager travellers that were either loaded into winery tour buses or 4WDs filled to the brim with camping gear. All the while, we were preemptively ready for 'the storm' to hit and it never came. In fact, by the time we rolled into the hotel at Margaret River, families and couples splashed onto the streets to begin their evening at the restaurants and ice cream shops on the main strip.
Caption: Finally in Margaret River after an exciting and pleasurable ride. It's time to eat!
We celebrated one of our best days of riding with tapas and craft ginger beer and an evening stroll in our t-shirts.
The storm never hit this evening, but as it turns out, it was saving it for later... tomorrow we begin the short stint up to Perth!
