Munda Biddi - first overnight trip, days 3-6, 30 May - 1 June

Planning for the first overnight trip on the Munda Biddi started more than four months ago, with researching light-weight camping gear and racks and panniers for the mountain bike. Finally, it was one week before the first multi-day trip, which was going to be three days (two nights). The last batch of online orders arrived the day before the trip. It took me a whole day to plan and prepare all my food and decide exactly what I needed to take, then how to pack it into two panniers.

Food for three days - focus on lightweight, small volume and tasty 

Luggage for the Munda Biddi

Clothing - focus on layers, with only a change of base layers each day. Everything else was worn for three days. I was pretty smelly by the third day!

Luggage - included bike spares, first aid kit, cooking equipment, lightweight and compact sleeping bag and mat and a luxury travel pillow :)


My luggage all up weighed approx 16kg, which included 3L of water in my Camelbak and 2kg of food. My bike was carrying 11kg and I carried 5kg in my backpack. This was a good weight for me, although after the first day I took some of the heavier items out of my backpack and reduced the amount of water in my Camelbak as the straps were digging into my shoulders. I discovered that the weight on the back of my bike actually helped me riding through loose gravel, which was a nice change. It was definitely tougher and slower going up hills, but I never ran out of gears when climbing.

All smiles before we started

I had two travelling companions for this trip, Wayne and Annie. We left home in cars at 7am to drive to Lake Brockman (our finishing point), leave a car there, then drive in another car with bikes to the starting point in Jarrahdale. After getting our bikes all set up with luggage, we finally headed off at 11:30am.

The first things we noticed after starting on the bikes were that the bike handling was different with panniers, and it was much harder to go uphill!

On the first day, we did 33km to Dandalup hut. We did 615m of climbing in those 32km! Our average speed was 7kph with a riding time of 4:40. This was much slower than I had anticipated, as we averaged 10kph without the panniers. With breaks for snacks, this meant that we didn't arrive at the camp until 5pm (total time 5:40).

Catching our breath after a hard climb. 

The route was quite technical, and particularly the uphill sections were rutted and steep and involved a lot of walking and pushing a 20kg bike and luggage up gradients of 10-20%. There were at least ten sections throughout the day where I was walking and pushing my bike, and some of those sections were so hard that I had to stop every 5-10m to catch my breath and prepare for the next push. There was also a small "river crossing" (large puddle) and lots of deep pea gravel. By the end of the day, I learnt that steering is option through gravel, just relax and let the bike find it's own way.


In spite of the challenge of the route, we enjoyed the forest scenery and found some nice spots to stop for a picnic snack and some pretty rural scenery.

Morning tea

We take the green "touring route" option - which was quite technical enough, thank you. 

We were very happy to see the dam at the Dandalup picnic area, which was not far from our camp site. The weather was ideal, not a breath of wind stirred the waters of the dam.

Bikes at Dandalup dam

Happy to see Dandalup - nearly at the camp! 

View from the Dandalup hut

Sunset and stars coming out

I was so tired by the time we got the turnoff to the Dandalup hut that I decided to walk some of the technical downhill sections as I didn't trust my bike handling skills. It didn't take me long to get back on the bike though. By this stage it was only 30min before sunset so it was hard to see where the trail went with setting sun in our eyes. However, the campsite was in a terrific location - perched on the edge of the ridge looking west. It was so great to get there and discover we were the only ones there. In fact, we hadn't seen anyone else on the trail all day.

 Dinner was re-hydrated spaghetti bolognaise sauce, pasta and parmesan cheese. Followed by mini chocolate bars, milo and port. We earnt it! 

Dinner - re-hydrated bolognaise sauce, pasta and parmesan cheese. Yum! 

Breakfast at the Dandalup hut

Day Two - started with porridge on the camp stove. After a sleepin til after 7am, by the time we made breakfast, packed up camp, packed up the bikes and had a last toilet stop, we got going at 11am. We rode 45km in 4:20, with 680m of elevation gain. Average speed for the day was 10kph. With breaks, including a cooked lunch, it took us 6hrs to reach Dwellingup.

I walked at least seven sections on the second day, and I lost count of the number of times I came off my bike. No major damage, but lots of bruises. Reasons I came off included climbing on technical sections and losing my nerve or not being able to keep the bike on track, and skidding too fast in gravel. I learnt that faster is not always faster, if it means that you come off and have to take the time to pick yourself and your bike back up, dust yourself off, ad check for damage.

I was very happy to reach Turner River mountain bike park, where we stopped for a cooked lunch. This meal was two minute noodles with tinned tuna, plus rice cakes and peanut butter. Followed by a cup of coffee and a mini chocolate. Enough fuel to tackle the rest of the trail!

Picnic lunch

Sadly, one of my companions didn't continue on after our lunch stop. Wayne pulled out as he was totally cooked. This was his first back-to-back days of hard riding, and he didn't have the energy to continue on. He phoned his dad, who had his car, to pick him up.


Annie and I continued on to Dwellingup. There was a long tough hill after lunch, so it was a good thing that Wayne did pull out. However, after that we had some long sections of downhill and rail trail, which helped our average speed. There were also some beautiful fast and narrow sections of singletrack winding through the forest between Turner River and Marrinup. After Marrinup, the trail was closed so we had to take the roads to Dwellingup.

In Dwellingup, we were staying the luxury of a motel room (thanks to Wayne who booked it a few days earlier!). We arrived at 5pm, so it was great to not have to put up tents or cook our own dinner. Shower, then to the pub for dinner :)

The next morning, we set an alarm so that we could get going early and finish at a reasonable hour. We started at 8:15am after a coffee at the local cafe and it was cold! We had all our layers on, and we needed it as the day started with a long downhill.

Setting off from Dwellingup

Day Three was a long day - 62.5km at an average speed of 11kph with 890m of elevation gain. Our riding time was 5:30, with total time from start to finish 8hrs including stops for food and approx an hour looking at maps and trying to figure out where the trail went.

Annie cresting a long climb - note the steep descent
sign (for the reverse direction) - 10% gradient. 

Emma enjoying the trails

We had some beautiful riding on the third day. It started with a non-technical trail through the forest, but there were some hard climbs to contend with.












We then headed past and through Lane Poole Reserve, where we got mislead by some confusing signs. Thankfully we spotted a Department of Parks and Wildlife Ranger who pointed us in the right direction.

Enormous mess made in the road by 4WD vehicles. 

After that was a quite fun section on North Junction Form, which was a highly compacted road used and abused by 4WD vehicles. It was easy riding but you had to watch the trail the whole way as pot holes would appear out of nowhere in the shadows.

We saw more than a dozen 4WD vehicles in an hour on the road and as we stopped for lunch at a beautiful granite outcrop. Picnic lunch included a cup of hot milo, rice cakes and peanut butter and cream cheese.

Technical downhill section  with rocks and gravel

Right next to the granite outcrop was a technical section of downhill. The photo doesn't really do it justice. The tricky thing about technical downhill sections is choosing a good line, as you are going downhill and trying to maintain the right speed. Then applying your bike handling skills, carrying 15+kg of luggage, to get your bike to take the line you have picked. Momentum helps with rolling through but it meas everything happens more quickly!

Tunnel with bike lane

After the 4WD road there was a lovely section of singletrack alongside Nanga Road. It was fun with a few tricky bits that made it interesting. We also went through a tunnel with a dedicated bike lane. There should be more of this in Perth!





The next 15km were unsealed roads connected by fun singletrack. Some sections of sand, where all the riding though pea gravel paid off with my bike handling. Annie and I were both getting pretty tired by this stage, with a few stops for food to replenish the stores and give us energy to get to the end.

The last 8km of the day were on an unsealed road, which was a detour due to construction work on Logue Brook Dam. It was definitely the least fun part of the three days, as we were tired and it was a corrugated unsealed road with sections of deepish pea gravel. Tiring after 55km and 4 1/2 hours already on the bikes.

Finally we reached the car - what a relief!

It was a fantastic trip. I couldn't have done it without my travelling companions Wayne and Annie, who were very keen to take up the challenge of three days off-road. It was much harder physically than I expected and I certainly appreciated reaching the end every day. I was also surprised how long each day took - next time we will try to leave earlier in the day so that we are not feeling rushed at the end of the day to reach our campsite before dark.

I'm six days into the Munda Biddi adventure of 2015 - and already planning the next multi-day trip!

Munda Biddi - third day out

Today was the third day-trip outing on the Munda Biddi. We were doing a shorter trip today than the last two - only 30km from Albany Highway (Gleneagle picnic area) to Jarrahdale. Based on our previous trips, we expected this would take 4 hours - 3 hours of riding with a couple of 20 min breaks. We set off at 7:45am and expected to finish before 12.

However, what I had neglected to appreciate from the map was that the gradient was mostly flat and we would be riding mostly on rail trails. So we had completed the first 15km of the trail in 45min when we stopped for our first break. We were flying!

Shortly after our first stop, we reached a sign "trail diversion due to logging". We were diverted from the rail trail, which had felt like a major road (compared to single track) to an unsealed corrugated road - which felt like a highway. The trail diversion was signposted, so we dutifully followed the signs, which lead us from unsealed road onto sealed road - Jarrahdale Rd. This was actual highway!

So the second half of the ride was on the unsealed road then Jarrahdale Rd the rest of the way back to town. Not exactly what we'd been hoping for. We were finished before 10am and all felt a bit cheated. But the logistics of trying to ride further were too hard to contemplate.

So we picked up the cars from the start point, loaded the bikes, got changed, and rewarded ourselves with the biggest parmigianas we had ever seen! We certainly hadn't done enough work to earn them and couldn't finish them, but we were in the country so we thought a big pub meal was in order.

No photos from the ride today as it was over so quickly! Thanks to Annie and Rod for joining us - hope you had fun. Hopefully the next leg of the trail is more interesting. 

Munda Biddi - second day out

Second outing on the Munda Biddi: Sunday 22 Feb 2015, 40km from Albany Highway north to the Core Cider House in Pickering Brook (sadly they were booked out for lunch and couldn't squeeze us in).

Departed home 6am ish, coffee stop on the way, dropped the first car at Pickering Brook, drove to Albany Highway and departed on the bikes at 8am. We rode to our plan of stopping every hour for something to eat and a mental break. Each stop was about 20 min, and we rode at an average speed of 10kph. So we finished 40km just before 1pm - total time 5 hours, with riding time a little under 4 hours.

Our second day out on the Munda Biddi was thankfully cooler than the first one (around 30 degrees max), which helped us to feel fresher and less tired. By the 30-35km mark we were starting to get tired though.

This section started with 4km of "moderate" track, followed by 6km of "challenging" track. I was worried about the challenging track - but we didn't even realise we were in the challenging section until we had already done 5km of it. The last 800m or so were up a steep hill that was a combination of loose pea gravel and eroded clay gullies. We walked that whole section, which was tough going. But I much preferred walking up a steep climb than trying to ride or walk down it.

As we went further north the pea gravel became deeper and sandier. I was hoping that my recent conversion to tubeless tyres would help me power through the sand without getting bogged down. No such luck. I think I need to use an even lower tyre pressure. I was sitting at about 20psi for today's section.

I am hopeful that as we continue south along the trail the pea gravel will start to reduce. We had some nice sections today with gravel rocky outcrops and carpets of pine needles, which were much more fun to ride on.

I really enjoyed the ride today. It was so nice to ride without worrying about traffic, without worrying about keeping up, without feeling like I was supposed to be working hard. I did have to concentrate all the time and try to relax and pick the right line and try not to brake all the way downhill. But other than that it was basically a long recovery ride! With interesting scenery. :)

We also visited one of the Munda Biddi huts to see what they are like. The hut setup was awesome - a large hut with bed platforms, tables and chairs, two large water tanks, two sets of covered bike racks, and a composting toilet. It was in a lovely patch of bush and very tranquil - can't wait to get out for an overnight bush camp and wake up to that!

I was joined by my trusty Munda Biddi buddy Wayne. He gets to feature in all my photos - and this time I have some photos of him relaxing instead of looking like he's just climbed a big hill! He did have a little stank this time though, which required administration of first aid to patch up a graze on his leg. Nothing too serious. The other minor issue was that my front derailleur doesn't seem to change into an easier chain ring. I'll have to get that sorted before the next ride.

Next outing is only two weeks away so hopefully I'll retain some of my skills between rides!

The Munda Biddi in 2015 - first day out

I rode my first section of the Munda Biddi today, and it was such a super day! Joined by my adventure-loving friend Wayne.

Wayne - partway through the ride

I'm excited at the very start of the Munda Biddi adventure

We started at the Northern terminus of the Munda Biddi, in the Sculpture park in Mundaring. The first section (10km or so) was pretty cruisey - mostly downhill on non-technical singletrack and fire trails, and very well sign posted.

There was a short section on bitumen on Mundaring Weir Rd where we got yelled at by some road riders. I wasn't sure where we were going, so when I saw the sign to turn right I stuck my arm out to turn as some road riders were flying down the hill behind us. Thankfully they yelled "bikes back" and I didn't turn without checking behind me. But boy they came past fast and I didn't see the last one (who was around the corner when I looked before I turned). She yelled expletives at me on the way past. Admittedly I probably pulled out in front of her and scared the crap out of her - but she also scared me and made me feel like crap.

It made me think - road riders are to mountain bike riders the same way drivers are to road riders. Maybe it's because they are faster or they feel they have more rights to the road? My takeaway thoughts were "yeah its stressful riding on the road, I guess you've gotta vent that somehow".

Anyway, we got off the bitumen and the next few kilometers were undulating along fire trail. We then crossed Helena River - the track down and up from the crossing was heart-in-the-mouth stuff. Big rocks and technical. I was SUPER impressed with myself for getting through it. I basically just had to commit and have faith in my bike. I love that my bike can get me through stuff that I am scared of and I don't know if I can do.

Early in the ride - feeling chuffed with myself and enjoying the scenery

After the Helena River crossing, it got tough. Singletrack climbs, pretty steep and dry pea gravel. For a kilometer or so I think there was more walking uphill than there was riding.

Then we reached a decision point - keep going on the "main track", which was zoned Challenging, or go via the "touring route". It was a quick decision - neither of us fancied walking on pea gravel for 6km on the main track. So we became tourists!

The tour route was not totally straightforward. Still some climbing with a few rocks and gravel. But then we got onto some bitumen - yay! Time for a nice picnic under the trees in the shade, get some food in. No chance to eat when on the mountain bike!

Nice spot for a picnic

Then we became proper tourists - and took a scenic detour through the Camel Farm mountain bike trails. With so many trails it was hard to figure out where the Munda Biddi trail went. After a detour down and then back up some green trails, and lots of map consulting, we got back on track.

The Munda Biddi track through here was where the pea gravel started to get less compacted and more like riding through sand. I got bogged down, stopped, walked, tried to get back on, and walked some more.

Dry loose gravel and dappled shade - challenging conditions

The next section of gravel I was more determined not to stop as I didn't want to walk! Tips for riding through gravel:
- Pick your line. Look for underlying rocks or firm ground, or ride on the edges closer to the fringing plants.
- Be aware that the gravel will grip your wheels, slow you down, and your wheels will slip. Go with it, this is OK.
- Keep your bum on your seat to keep weight on the back wheel.
- Keep pressure on the pedals, use a slightly lower cadence and higher torque.

I did have one little "off" through the gravel - actually it was a combination of gravel and trying to get up on the firm but steep banks. My wheels slipped out and I skidded off. Grazes on my elbow and hip but otherwise ok.

Much of the second half (20km) of the route we did today was single track or fire trail with pea gravel at various stages of looseness. Oh and some climbing with rocks and gravel. I was super excited to get up (and down) some of the climbs. I could feel my skills improving along with my determination to stay on the bike. I also had less "heart in my mouth" moments. My back wheel sliding in gravel no longer made me freak out - instead I was determined to pedal through it and I looked for firmer ground to get my wheel onto.

Still, by the end of the day's riding I was very happy to see Core Cider House for some well-deserved cold drinks and real food in the shade. Thanks so much Core Cider House for squeezing in two dirty, tired and hungry mountain bikers and looking after us so well! 

Mmmmm lunch :) 

We left at 8:30am, finished at 1:30pm, and did 44km riding (probably at least 1km walking!). I lost track of the number of stops to eat and check the map. 

What an excellent day!

AVCC National Championships - Road Race 29 Sept 2014

Last day of the AVCC National Championships today - the road race out at Chidlow. It was another rainy start to the day - raining all morning and the further east I went the wetter it got! It rained quite hard at the start of my race, but then the sun came out and it was fine for the rest of my race.

Only five of the women in our peloton turned up to ride the road race today, due to varying reasons. There were two fast ladies - Erin Kinnealy and Amanda Nabi. Plus myself, Margot and Leila. We had four laps of the course, a total of 71km. We mostly stayed together for the first lap, although Leila struggled on the hills. I think she gave everything she had yesterday at the crit! She was dropped early then came back, but then was dropped again before the end of lap 1.

On the second lap, Erin attached early - on the first short sharp hill. Amanda followed and I did my best to go with them. But Erin picked a really good place to attack - not only was it a hill, but the road was bumpy and slippery from the rain. I jumped out of the saddle to sprint up the hill after Erin, and my back wheel started slipping and sliding on the road like a bucking bronco! So I sat back down and powered up from a seated position, but that short pause was enough for Erin and Amanda to get a gap on me. I pushed hard for the next 3km, but couldn't quite catch them.

I looked behind me, and I had dropped Margot. She was at least 100m behind me. I decided to push on. I figured I could probably time trial better than Margot, and if I kept in front of her, I would win third place for the race. I only had another 50km to go - not much more than a 40km time trial!

So the second lap I pushed hard, at time trial pace. I figured once I got out of sight of Margot it would be harder for her to chase me. Without having a visual on her "rabbit" to chase, I thought I could probably get away.

Laps 3 and 4 I continued to try to push hard, but I was getting tired. The dead roads didn't help, my arms were sore from trying to tuck in and get aero on the descents on rough roads! However, I had the thought always that Margot would suddenly appear behind me, so that kept my pace up at a reasonable level. I kept checking behind me, and it wasn't until I was about 10km from the finish that I thought "ok, I've got this".

The last 15km I was counting down the distance to the finish. Tired arms, tired legs, sore back. But I still managed to put out a pretty respectable sprint to the finish line for the spectators!

I finished third overall, I've no idea how far behind Erin (first place) and Amanda (second place). I'm told they stayed together for the race and sprinted it out at the finish. Margot finished a few minutes behind me, and Leila was about 10min behind me. I got silver in my age group (Amanda was in my age group).

So, a weekend of three different styles of races, but I essentially did three time trials! Very happy with my one Gold National Champion medal and two silvers. Thanks to Sam Davis from Hall Cycle Training for my coaching, and to our sponsors Nicheliving, Puravida Energy, GoodEarth Hotel, Hays recruiting, The Vic Hotel and ThyssenKrupp.

A very special mention to Leila Spurgeon who won the Bill Long shield for the most meritorious performance across the whole championships. This is a huge honour as it is selected from all 165 riders who participated in the event. Leila was a well-deserved winner. In the time trial she rode so hard that we dropped her on the recovery ride back to the registration area. In the crit, she rode out of her skin to hang on for 40min with A-grade women, and then backed up to ride in the hilly road race today. Leila struggled on the hills today and was dropped on the first lap, but she continued on and finished the race. The referees followed her for the last lap, asking if she was ok - her response was yes, she would finish the race, but she was just going a bit slowly!

Leila is also a regular racer in the Perth racing scene, she races the UCI qualifying event, she races the West Coast Masters CC races often, and enjoys mixing it up with the old boys in D Grade :)

What a terrific example of a woman who enjoys the racing opportunities in Perth and works to the best of her ability with a positive attitude.

AVCC National Champs - Criterium 28 Sept 2014

The second of three races in the AVCC National Champs today. It was a Criterium on a nice flowing circuit in Rockingham. The sun even stayed out for most of the race, although when it did rain it felt like needles on my bare arms!

My race ... Didn't quite go the way I had hoped. As there were only a few women in each age group, they combined the 30-45 year olds. And the fast ladies in my race took off right from the start line. I'm looking at you Melissa Robinson, Erin Kinnealy and Amanda Nabi! I don't think I ever really got on the bunch, so I'm not sure if I can say I was dropped. I could see them riding away from me and I just couldn't do anything about it! I was trying but apparently not hard enough.

So, the first 10 min or so of the 40 min + 2 laps race was a solo time trial. I could see Shannon Arnott ahead of me, and I think I was gaining on her about 2m per lap - very gradually! Then eventually Shannon sat up and waited for me so that we could work together. She knew that if I finished the race I would get the silver medal for my age category, but because there were more women in her age group she was already out of medal contention.

We worked together well, swapping off turns about once a lap and getting lots of cheers from the crowd as we went past the start/finish line. That continued until about 5 min before the end of the race, when we were lapped first by Erin Kinnealy (who had about 30 sec lead over the pack), then by the rest of the field.

Shannon and I passed a couple of other riders over the next few laps as they got dropped from the bunch. Kudos to Leila Spurgeon and Margot Biggs who stayed with the bunch until almost the end of the race. Also Cathi Dixon rode very well (from the brief glimpses I got), coming back from injury.

Shannon and I finished together. The race was won by Erin Kinnealy, with Amanda Nabi second and Mel Robinson a close third place.

On the plus side, I was really happy with my cornering and it is nice to get a chance to practice cornering on a safe circuit. Oh and I got a very nice silver medal to go with my gold one :) Looks like I'll need to do some more sprinting practice before the crit season starts ...

Road race is tomorrow ... I expect it will be another hard day in the saddle!

AVCC National Championships, Perth - Individual Time Trial 27 Sept 2014

It was crazy weather for a bike race. Heavy rain and strong winds. The rain was so heavy on the drive out to the start at Chidlow that I had to pull over at one point.

My warmup was only 15min, but then I headed down the road in the wrong direction to the start line and ended up at Great Eastern Highway! So I had another 15min flat out to make sure I got to the start line on time! This actually worked out well because I had a good warmup and less time standing around getting cold before my start.

There were only two women in my age category - myself and Amanda Nabi, who is significantly faster than me. So I figured I only had to finish and I'd get silver, and how hard I rode wouldn't matter. But I have been training hard and feeling good, so I wanted to ride to the best of my ability.

Amanda started 1 min behind me, and passed me at the 5km mark. At this rate I figured she would be at least 5 min faster than me overall, how depressing. I continued on, trying to keep pushing down the hills as well as up, and Amanda quickly moved out of sight.

The course was 12.5km out, then a U-turn and back to the start. As I headed back after my U-turn, Amanda was stopped and trying to fix some problems with her wheel. I felt bad for her, but there wasn't anything I could do to help. I also thought - if I can stay 1 min in front of her then I might win the gold medal!

There was a head wind on the way back, which also drove the rain into my eyes. So I hunkered down as low and aero as I could and half-closed my eyes to protect them. And I powered on. I couldn't see much ahead, let alone the numbers on my Garmin, so I just went hard. I kept thinking Amanda would be coming up behind me any minute, and I didn't want to get to the finish and be slower than her, and think "gosh if only I'd gone a little bit harder".

When I got to 3km to go I was counting down the kilometres. I kept powering on. At 500m to go I picked up the pace. It turned out the race was 25.3km so I actually still had 800m to go! Keep going, don't ease up until you cross the finish line! Phew. My power data shows that I averaged 10watts higher on the way back than I did on the way out, which goes to show how hard I can go with the right motivation!

I crossed the finish line and waited to see how far back Amanda was, but it turned out her mechanical issues were serious enough that she couldn't ride so she didn't finish the race. Which means I got the gold medal and National Champion jersey!

I'm really excited to be a National Champion. Even though in the end how hard I raced was irrelevant to the race result, I know I raced damn hard so I feel like I've earned it!

Well done to everyone who raced today in very ordinary conditions. And a HUGE thanks to the organisers and volunteers from West Coast Masters Cycling Club and AVCC who stood around getting cold and wet while marshaling and manning the start and finish lines.

Great to see some of the old guys still out and racing - the oldest age category was 80-85. The 70-75 year olds looked positively sprightly! Inspiring. 

Also a special mention to Deb Kempe who trains with Hall Cycle Training and was the FASTEST WOMAN on the day. What an honour for a lovely humble lady.