Jinung Beigabup to Denmark
Munda Biddi Trail
Start
Jinung Beigabup Hut
Time
3-6 Hours
Finish
Denmark
Date Ridden
8th September 2021
Length
49km
Elevation
663m
Traditional Custodians
Minang People
The Ride - Arriving at Jinung Beigabup, this was meant to be the finish for this particular day but given the weather, I had other plans. With a decent chunk of rain predicted for the afternoon and most of the following day, I didn't want to experience the only section of coastline you see on the Munda Biddi in rainy conditions, plus have the camera put away for the entire day as we got soaked. With that in mind, I powered through the first 56km of the day and met Aron at the campsite after he had taken a shortcut along Harewood Road to ensure he could make it Denmark.
To say the reception at camp was a little frosty would be accurate as Aron was not a happy bunny at the thought of riding almost 100km in a day. The reward was a rest day in Denmark and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with pushing the boundaries every now and then, although I don't believe he saw it this way at the time. I was excited to ride on and was hoping the weather stayed away until we reached town so refilled my water bottles, had a snack and signed the log books. Aron left before me to get a head start on the final 48km and I took the time to photograph the campsite before loading up the bike for the second half of the day. With Jinung Beigabup located on top of a hill and the coastline being located at sea level (for obvious reasons), I was expecting the first half of this day to be a nice cruisy downhill. Leaving camp, this was certainly the case with single track through some dense undergrowth providing some fun times as you negotiate the twists and turns.
Reaching Champion Lane, you join the gravel road as it makes its way through the farmlands situated north of Denmark. This is the type of relaxing country road riding that makes for an enjoyable experience as the thick trees that have been saved from the chop provide a nice little shroud. Turning left onto Harewood Road, this is the route Aron took due to his shortcut and I found him not far along the road, which was a surprise considering how long of a head start he had. Turns out he met a man walking his dogs and stopped to have a chat and more importantly, pats with the doggos. I noticed that even though it wasn't raining, he had chosen to put on his horrible yellow pack cover but given I was making him double hut today, I bit my tongue on this terrible life choice. At the end of Harewood Road you turn onto Scotsdale Road and being a popular tourist road, I advise a bit of caution when riding along here. Aron seemed in a slightly happier mood and the gentle riding along the paved road as we passed Harewood Estate and Ducketts Mill certainly helped.
Managing to safely negotiate Scotsdale Road and unfortunately not having the time to pop into Harewood Estate for some tastings, we turned off onto Freds Road and started the biggest climb of the day. Traversing gentle gravel roads for the first part, this is idyllic Shire-like scenery that was super photogenic. The rolling hills, distant forest and green farmland was a nice distraction as we pedalled up the ever increasing gradients. Checking in with Aron every now and then, I decided it would be best if I didn't ride off into the distance on this climb so we meandered along together. Stopping a few times to admire the nearby sheep, the climb started to get much steeper towards the end and the last little section was hike a bike thanks to the 15% gradients. The reward was reaching the highest point of the day at 224m ASL and this meant it was a fun downhill run towards William Bay. Turning onto Point Hillier Vista, this is the first time you can properly see the ocean on the Munda Biddi.
As the name suggests, you can see Point Hillier, a place I'd hiked many moons ago on the Bibbulmun Track so that was a nice piece of nostalgia. This next part is really good fun if you're riding N-S as the paved road drops plenty of elevation and you can hit some decent speeds (I clocked 61.4kmph at one point). It certainly makes you forget about the previous climb and the excitement for reaching the coastline was starting to build. The views were a little teaser of what was to come and after descending the steeper parts of the road, they disappear as you descend down into the swampland below. At the bottom of the hill you settle into a flatter run as the paperbarks provide a nice change to the scenery. There is still 11km of riding to go until you reach Greens Pool despite seeming within reach, so we continued along an old railway form as it carved through the landscape. Reaching McLeod Road, we were back on the paved road again as the trail heads towards South Coast Highway.