A new trail starting in the outskirts of Perth brings cyclists face to face with a marsupials and cockatoos in stunning, and formerly inaccessible, woodlandI am ploughing through what feels like pea soup. Pushing down with all my strength is getting me nowhere, and the harder I try, the more the ground resists. The sun is slicing through the trees, baking the path. I'm hot, tired and increasingly fractious, so admit defeat and plunge one foot into the gravel before swinging the other over the saddle.I'm quickly learning that the Munda Biddi Trail is not for the faint-hearted.It is Australia's newest long-distance cycle trail, and new sections are opening all the time, offering cyclists the same access to this area of stunning woodland that hikers have enjoyed for years on the Bibbulmun Track. The Munda Biddi Trail Foundation has, after years of planning, building and securing funding, got half of it open, a 498km route that takes roughly two weeks to complete.Beginning in the suburban outskirts of Perth, the trail winds south through otherwise impenetrable forest (Munda Biddi means "path through the forest" in the Aboriginal Nyoongar language) on its way to the historic mill town of Nannup. Once finished, it will connect Western Australia's capital with its second city, Albany, on the windswept south coast.But you don't have to be a fully paid-up member of the Lycra-shorts-and-Hydrapak brigade to enjoy it. The trail has been designed ? in theory at least ? to be suitable for everyone, and sections of it can be done as day rides.My guide, Leanne is offering me a taster, trying several short sections. W start our first in Jarrahdale, the state's first logging town, about 60km from Perth. This is one of the easiest places to join the Munda Biddi: the trail meets the road here, and the terrain is classified as "easy". Riders looking for a short section to complete may find this a good place to start.Jarrahdale is a fascinating place to visit. In its heyday it was a prosperous community exporting timber around the world, but today it's grateful for the passing trade the Munda Biddi brings. We start on easy-to-navigate bitumen, but soon enough the trail plunges into the depths of the forest and it is here that I come a gutser, as they say in these parts.The problem is the thick layer of slippery, pea-like gravel."The key is to go through it at speed," Leanne shouts over her shoulder. I grit my teeth, push off from the next crest and come off the brakes as I descend. To my amazement I glide straight through the gravel.After this epiphany, the trail seems easy. The marri and jarrah trees are sometimes so close I could touch them; at other times we are out in the open. We pass numerous varieties of banksia, huge grass trees hundreds of years old, and tenacious wild flowers poking their brightly coloured heads through the dust.After 13km we reach Balmoral POW camp. During the second world war, 220 Italian prisoners were kept here, but nature has now reclaimed the area and, 65 years on, little is visible ? testament to the power of the forest.As I am not doing the whole route we head back to Jarrahdale from here and I start to spot wildlife, such as lizards lounging at the sides of the trail. But the real treat comes when a rustle in the undergrowth alerts me to a kangaroo. Startled by my gravelly progress, it bounds off, but stops about three metres from the track, thinking it has camouflaged itself behind a tree ? it's obvious why they're so easy to hunt. And just before we reach Jarrahdale, we see a group of red-tailed black cockatoos: they call to each other in long lazy bursts, like someone rolling their Rs absent-mindedly.From here we drive south to Nannup and the Blue House B&B. Owners Michael and Susan Pickup built the house in 2003, but it's very traditional in style, with a deep veranda on all four sides ? perfect for a well-deserved glass of local wine before the blue wrens in the woods sing me to sleep.Next day, with one of Michael's fantastic omeletts inside us, we start our ride in the deserted logging town of Jarrahwood, 25km to the north. The stretch between here and Nannup is currently the final section of the trail. There is one of the Munda Biddi huts here, a basic shelter for overnighting (for free!) on the trail, with water in tanks, and composting toilets.From Jarrahwood we follow the old logging railway south, passing cleared areas where stations used to be, and bouncing over submerged sleepers. Watching the track curve away into the distance, I feel a little like I am on a train.All too soon, we leave the railway route behind and the trail becomes rockier and more winding. Trees seem to come out of nowhere, and every time a rock blocks the path I bounce painfully over it. "Look at where you want to go, not at what you want to avoid," yells Leanne.Arriving in Nannup at last, we celebrate my being in one ? albeit slightly battered ? piece with homemade cakes at the Blackwood Cafe. Leanne is already talking about her next ride on the trail and excitedly making plans for riding the next section, from Nannup to Manjimup, which opens next month (February).This stretch will take cyclists through some amazing eucalyptus forests, and includes a "challenging" section of single-track switchbacks climbing out of the Donnelly river valley. A new campsite, with one of those free Munda Biddi huts, will have great views of the valley.Although my muscles are aching and I'm covered in red dust, I have to admit that it sounds appealing.PerthAustraliaCycling holidaysAustralasiaWildlife holidaysguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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