Perth to Adelaide - Day 6 - Northcliffe

Due to going to bed at 8pm last night I was awake and on the move before the sun came up, riding east on empty roads before 6am. There was almost zero traffic but a heavy fog and really quite cold...I had the bike lit up like a xmas tree and kept a catious eye out for following traffic who would not be alert for nutty cyclists.

I made great ground for the first 50km, gradually  climbing  the whole time, and as the sun rose, the morning fog burnt off to reveal beautiful forest.

This forest got bigger and better the further East I rode. Karri trees are the most impressive, towering up to 90 meters, and the Beedelup National park was full of them

A lot more climbing  followed and the sun came out so was burning through the water..and there were no shops or towns anywhere for resupply today. Old Vasse Road was a nice off road detour and pretty easy going...just the odd car here, a very pretty spot.

Just short of Northcliffe I ran into the first cycle tourist on the trip...he was heavily laden and cranking up the hill in the opposite direction. But he'd ridden all the way from Brisbane and it was great to get some first hand info on the route ahead from the Nullarbor. The winds were still backwards and Easterly when he crossed, so riders going the other way were taking up to 2 weeks to get through.

Great character...he was completely in tune with touring and probably escaping the world for quite some time.

My day ended at Northcliffe and I camped with 2 mtn bikers on a trail ride to Perth so had great company.

Distance: 127km
Hills: 950m