Day 12, Jerramungup to Ravensthorpe, 115km.
Day 13, rest day (bad weather)
Day 14, Ravensthorpe to Munglinup, 80km.
Day 15, Munglinup to Esperance, 108km.

Sorry for the pause folks. It's been a tough week and I couldn't find the will power to write a blog but I'm back now with lots to tell you.

Departing Jerramungup, after a short 80km the day before, I had 114km to complete to reach Ravensthorpe. After leaving the campsite and heading straight into some climbs I immediately started questioning wether I had enough in me to push out 114km. I felt really sluggish and was finding it really difficult. I kept on going but in a manor that worried me, I didn't feel annoyed or down I just felt completely indifferent. The indifference made me question my motivation for doing the ride, it was a horrible state of mind. As I carried on slowly grinding out rotation after rotation I kept saying to myself, I need to loose some weight, I'm carrying too much. I spent the whole day setting myself small targets. I would have a half an hour break after every hour cycling, this made for an extremely long day. I cycled for 7 hours but was on the road for 9 hours or so. My average speed was 16.3km per hour, that is a horrendously slow pace. When I pulled up to the campsite to pitch my tent I was gone, until I noticed another tent, (it's rare I see another tent)and a bike!!!!(it's even rarer that I see another bike). I noticed an older chap sat in the camp kitchen and asked him if the bike was his, indeed it was. As I slowly unpacked my gear I was looking at his set up and I think he was looking at mine with some curiosity. I kept thinking where is all his stuff? Where is all his STUFF!!!

After pitching my tent I returned to the camp kitchen to chat with the Belgium cyclist Michael. He had come east from Sydney so was on the last leg of his trip to Perth. We started to exchange tips on routes and revelled in cyclist comradery. I asked him about his gear and he explained that he carried no cooking gear, which meant no food. He would buy a sandwich in the morning and the evening and that was enough to get him through. This is outstanding in its own right! as you all know I have a very healthy appetite at the best of times so imagine how much food I consume on the road. The next amazing thing he revealed was how much water he carried, 3 litres! And that was on the Nullabor when it was 40C. He even said in a Belgium accent, " a bit to drink and a bit to splash on your feat". I was a gasp thinking, you carry 3 litres of water and you use this precious 3 litres to splash your feet, are you crazy!!!!! Michael had cycle touring down to a fine art, he had been doing it for years and been around the world. I was envious of the simplicity and his European minimalism. I in no way believe in divine intervention or a higher power but the sheer coincidence of meeting Michael after a day of muttering to myself about the weight of my bike and the amount of gear I had was certainly a pertinent coincidence and a reaffirming one. The weather forecast for the following day was horrendous so I decided to have a rest day and go through my gear and send as much as possible to my auntie in Brisbane. I woke early eager to get the job done and before long had gone through all my bags and amassed a large pile of stuff to dump. In my eagerness to be prepared for the trip I think I had over prepared. When was I ever going to need a burger flipper that doubled up as a cheese grater! I managed to shift so much stuff that now all my gear fitted into my rear pannier bags, this was massive! That meant I could get rid of my front bags and rack which would lessen my wind resistance. I marched to the post office anticipating how much it all weighed. This is also the only time I have ever gone to the post office wanting something to weight more, i was going to celebrate every extra kg. The lovely lady at the post office helped me box it all up and stuck it on the scales, 10kg!!!!!!
I left the post office in a state of jubilation and my indifference from
the day before washed away, it was game on. I celebrated by cooking a massive fry-up with the cooking gear I had left and that's the thing even with 10kg's gone I still have everything I needed. I recon I could cut more out, it just depends on what level of comfort you want to have. Unlike Michael I like having the ability to cook and frankly need it to keep me going.

The next day I packed up and put the gear on my bike and was left with the Surly 2.0.

Heading to Munglinup, even with a strong headwind, I was bloody flying. The 10kg's made a massive difference mentally and physically. It also no longer felt like I was pedalling through treacle. I managed 80km in 3 hours 45 minutes with an average speed of 20.5 km per hour, not shabby at all. It was a really nice days ride even with the wind and rain and before long I reached Munglinup.

Up bright and early the next day, I was eager to reach my next major way point, Esperance. I quickly devoured a bacon and egg sarny from the roadhouse, said bye to the roadhouse dog that had befriended me and cycled off into the wind and rain.
Even with my renewed enthusiasm I knew it would be a hard slog and it was. It was another day of harsh headwinds! My only solice came in the form of startling a Cow. I was cycling past a field of cows, those facing me had stopped munching the grass to glare at me. They have no problems with massive road trains or caravans hurtling past but when I come along they take great interest in me, giving me a look of what the hell is this moron up to. One cow had its back turned and with the headwind it hadn't heard me huffing and puffing along. Once I had past behind it, the cow must of caught me in the corner of his eye and leapt forward, kicking its back feet out and swinging his head round. It gave a look of distress and I saw a flash of fear in its eyes, untill it came to the same conclusion as the other cows, what the hell is this moron up to! For some reason I found this unbelievably funny and chuckled all the way to Esperance. I reached Esperance after five and a half hours and settled in at the amazing YHA, which is directly opposite the ocean, shame the weathers s*** though.