Distance: 270km
Dep: 10:00am
Arr: 2:30pm
Temperature: 16°C - 23°C
Total distance to date: 5097km
Route:
- Margaret River
- Busselton
- Fremantle (within metropolitan Perth)
I woke up at 6am to the sound of what I thought was a million insects smacking themselves into our hotel window. The optimism I once had from yesterday's very enjoyable introduction to the West Coast has now evaporated well out of my mind. I squinted outside to find our bikes enduring a free powerwash from the heavens, with small streams forming in the hotel driveway. High winds caused the windows to tremble, and the trees outside shook out all their loose leaves in panic.
Campervans were already on the move, opting to squeeze through the narrow streets of Margaret River to hit the open road before everyone else does. Interestingly, everyone had the same idea, so I watched a nearby roundabout fill up quickly with an equal distribution on 4 sides of holidaymakers who shouldn't have passed their road tests.
I crawled back into bed. This was, afterall, only a 270km ride - the shortest one since we left Victor Harbor to ferry across to Kangaroo Island 9 days prior. It was also meant to be an easy run - totally sealed, lots of petrol stations, and very little risk of finding ourselves in a perilous position should be have mechanical failure, puncture, or what not. In saying that, in my 15 years of riding motorbikes, I have found that the greatest risk to riders is often other drivers - made worse by a waterfall coming out of the skies.
Caption: A freshly powerwashed Nena in Margaret River, ready to head north toward Perth. Thanks, random rainstorm!
We started packing our gear into their usual homes in each bag while peeking out the window every 15 minutes for a break in the storm. When it eventually came around, we loaded up the bikes and set off north in search of breakfast.
Steph was in dire need of some poached egg on toast, specifically at an overly gentrified cafe. So, we found a decent one in Busselton, complete with activewear-clad mothers and their children, cavoodles and pugs, and extra sides starting at $5. It's like it came straight out of the heart of South Melbourne.
The sun had come out and warmed up the area just enough to trick us into removing most of our layers, including the outer rain layer. By this point the temperature rose to the mid-20s and it was deceptively sunny. I opted not to wear a rain jacket, but Steph wore hers to as she usually feels cold on the bike.
Caption: Feeling comfortable and dry from the time this photo was taken, until about an hour later.
Joke's on me, because not long after we left our final stop in Fremantle, a dark grey mass formed and started teasing us with sprinkles. By the time we entered greater Perth, we could not see a thing. Billions of white droplets of water came off every other vehicle we were sharing the highway with. It was though we put ourselves through an automatic car wash, or opened a garden hose directly at our visors.
I was only wearing my summer jacket, so needless to say, I was saturated while Steph was bone dry. When we finally made it to our hotel in Fremantle, the very friendly and accomodating hotel owner allowed us to park in a gated, undercover garage rather than the outdoor parking lot we paid for. As it turns out, he was also a rider who moved here from Italy, and has done a fair few kms around the place. I was sitting in the chair at reception in a pool of water while he advised us to visit the Bungle Bungles.
Caption: Grabbing some much needed Korean food before a 2-hour stint of arcade games.
After a hot shower, strategic hanging of clothing, and a night at the games arcade, we were ready to fully enjoy the next few days in Perth.
[Day 14-15: We took a very relaxing day off, followed by a trip to Rottnest Island. Home to the selfie-friendly marsupial, the quokka, as well as a 22km loop that proved fairly difficult to complete on a broken e-bike.
Caption: A quokka! "The quokka is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. It is the only member of the genus Setonix. Like other marsupials in the macropod family, the quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal. The quokka's range is a small area of southwestern Australia." - Wikipedia
