Booner Mundak campsite to Walpole

I continued to make good progress along the undulating sand Middle Road between Mount Roe and Mount Frankland South National Park.

The character of the ride changes rapidly as I cross Valley of the Giants Road.  Open woodland heathlands becomes first dairy farmland then mountainous forest land, wet beautiful and really steep.   Heart racing, slog to assent tens of metres then rest steep, but oh what a view.

The forest grows on a rich red clay soil, which after a day's rain becomes a sticky gloopy mud. I did not always succeed in staying upright.   Heading down hill on a path chewed up by a four wheel drive I grabbed a handful of brakes to no effect.  I lost control of the bike and faceplanted into the mud.  

Lesson learned,  feather the brakes.  Once the wheels lock up you are going wherever the mud takes you. Lesson two learned, on soft sand the compacted tracks of a car are your friend.  The opposite is true on clay.  Lucky picked this tip up quickly because the rest of the run involved a lot more steep down hill paths chewed up by four wheel drives.  And for my troubles my chain, derailer, front chain ring, rear triangle everything was gummed up with a gooey clay mud. 

When I reached the end of the Monastery Road I found a road closed sign reading "Slippery Road Conditions ... Vehicles not to proceed from this point, Walkers and Cyclists Welcome".   

Goes where even four wheel drives cannot, score one for the fat bike.

I arrived at Walpole a day earlier than expected, physically exhausted and covered head to foot in mud.  I had completed two stages in one day, but found myself wondering whether it was wise. Yes its do-able, but the need to make it to Walpole before dark gave the riding an urgency that detracted from the beauty of the country I was in.