The express route

Another early start so we could cover the 75kms to Albany - our final day on the trail.  It was cool and slightly overcast with light winds - perfect cycling weather.  We retraced our route back into Denmark even though Jonathan had shown us another faster route but it was much steeper so we decided to stick with what we knew. A quick stop at the IGA for sandwiches and we headed out of town to pick up the Wilson Inlet Heritage Rail trail with its distinctive marker.  The trail followed the Denmark river and we stopped on the Heritage Rail Bridge to admire the calm, still water. 

The trail continued to wind its way along the inlet, with occasional glimpses of the water before heading inland.  We followed a mix of trails and road before picking up the highway.  We had a few options to detour onto side roads but decided that as the highway was quiet we would keep to the faster route. We were soon at Youngs Siding where we stopped at the General Store and used some of their outdoor seating for our morning coffee and the brownie we had bought at the Top Shed two days previously.  It had lasted well and tasted delicious.  We chatted to another couple - he was completing the Munda Biddi whilst she was joining him on an overnight jaunt to Cosy Corner. 

We stopped briefly at the Good Food Shed to buy some strawberries for a morning tea snack and then continued along the highway.  We reached Elleker in time for an early lunch.  We had bought sandwiches as we thought we would arrive much later at the Elleker General Store and Tavern.  The food looked good as we ducked in to use the toilets.  The sandwiches were disappointing as the bread was quite stale, but the leftover pizza went down a treat. 

Finally we turned off the highway and made our way through farmland to the outskirts of Albany.  We had been unclear on how the route would work into Albany as there was new road construction, but the Munda Biddi route was well signposted and easy riding.  It was just before 2pm when we arrived at our AirBnb and it was nice to be able to check in straight away. It turned out that our highway cycling had shortened the trip by 10kms!

We rested for a while and put on a load of washing before heading out again to take the scenic route to Middleton Beach and the Hybla Tavern for a well-earned beer. Simon navigated us onto the Boardwalk route, which took us through the port area and then wound its way along the coast with views over King George Sound to the Vancouver Peninsula. 

It was very undulating and we enjoyed the paved surface and the incredible views before finally finding the boardwalk as we approached Middleton Beach.  Minutes later we were in the pub, beers in hand, toasting the end of our journey from Busselton to Albany. 

A couple of beers later, we cycled a few hundred metres to the Hooked on Middleton Beach Fish and Chips, renowned for its fresh fish and good chips.  We enjoyed the fish and our first hot chips for the tour before taking the shorter and more direct route home. 

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