Kym Ayling

WA Munda Biddi trip - Kym Ayling & Kym Raffelt - May 2026

After flying separately to Perth and visiting family, Kym A and Kym R both travelled by bus 10hrs and 400km to Albany on Sunday 19 May to begin their adventure on the MBTrail. 

The trail is a mixture of single track, fire trail, gravel roads, paved bike track and bitumen roads which adds to the adventure but downloading the MBtrail app ($29) provides a faultless navigation along the route. 

The weather throughout was cool with some rainy days but overall, quite pleasant in autumn. 

Staying in a range of backpackers, Trail Hutts, hotels and motels we carried our own cycling kit, clothes and some camping gear in panniers & backpacks (approx. 15kgs each).

Kym and Kym rode together for the first 8 days from Albany to Manjimup (approx. 500kms without punctures) and then Kym A rode the last (500kms with 4 punctures) over an additional 6 days from Manjimup to Mundaring.

Averaging approx. 75 kms a day with some days as short as 45 kms and some as long as 105kms in order to fit in accommodation. There was more elevation than expected with a total over 10,000 metres. Kym A's total kms were around 12,970.

The scenery was varied from windy coastal areas, rolling agricultural land, tall timber forests and open tundra.

Kym A's 26in Merida MTB was OK but had some minor gear issues along the way which needed some attention and my wet weather gear wasn't as waterproof as I hoped. My highlights were the changing country side, riding with an experienced bike packer like Kym R who bought all things I forgot or couldn't fit, ANZAC day service at Pemberton and having my daughter ride a section of the track from Dwellingup to Jarrahdale

Kym R's Specialised gravel bike performed well. His highlights were the Karri forests around Pemberton and seeing the expanse of native bushland in south west WA. The bus ride, the towns, travelling together and meeting the different riders in the trail huts all added to the experience.

Both our rides are posted on Strava and I'm sure we would be happy to chat with anyone interested in undertaking a similar trip. 

See the link for info:  https://mundabiddi.org.au/