Distance: 217km
Dep: 8:30am
Arr: 3:30pm
Temperature: 19°C - 24°C
Total distance to date: 5314km
Route:
- Fremantle
- West Swan
- Gidgegannup (Peter Brock Memorial)
- Zig Zag Scenic Dr, Gooseberry Hill
- West Swan
- Fremantle
Just under a year ago, a rider named Cathy stepped into our Melbourne shop to gear up for a trip to the USA. She was visiting from Perth, and mentioned that she runs a motorcycle group there. While it is called GLOW WA (Gorgeous Ladies on Wheels), it's a mixed group in that male partners can join in on most rides. We kept in touch since, and naturally I reached out to her when I knew we were safely across the country without any bike dramas. We didn't want to make any plans in case we had to delay our landing in Perth.
On Tuesday (Day 12, when we landed in Margaret River) Cathy noticed we were finally in the Southwest, so she messaged us during our 711km journey from Esperance.
Cathy: "Remember when you get here if you need a bed or anything from us, you get in touch"
Steph had already booked accomodations for us in Fremantle, so instead I suggested a GLOW ride on Saturday.
Cathy: "Yeah I can sort a ride babe come on we can do a day ride into the hills, sunset cruise on the coast [...] whatever you want"
Me: "Day ride to the hills sounds amazing"
Cathy: Last minute is no problem hun. I'm gonna take you on roads we call the rollercoaster!"
Because we were only 4 days out from the ride day, I had expected a small group (less than 5 riders) to show up. About 20 came to meet us at the meet point at Margaret River Chocolate Company (where you can sample free chocolate!) absolutely ready to ride. Familiar faces appeared with new ones, including Michelle who I met via FaceTime during Cathy's visit to Peak Moto, and Grace who we met at our last Meet and Greet event in Perth. The power of community!
Caption: Meeting at Margaret River Chocolate Company in West Swan. Great turnout!
We made our way into the hills, and my goodness, they were very much in the hills. There was a short snippet of a wide open view of how high we actually were - a jaw dropping lookout that made the trees below look like tiny shrubs. I always thought that Perth was relatively flat, but was proven wrong.
The Rollercoaster was in fact just that - the type of downward drop that puts G-forces onto your body at the bottom before you accelerate up. I've never seen this type of road in real life before - an actual wall right in front of you, not dissimilar to the movie Inception. A couple of riders were coming in the opposite direction, and they looked like specks of dust that slowly drifted down to the bottom. My jaw dropped. I screamed in my helmet. My soul left my body. It was simply an outer body experience that could not be replicated in Victoria.
We couldn't really see where the road ended at the bottom, just that we hope the cops weren't waiting there. Speeds are largely unknown but were... fast.
There were only two main hills before we turned off into a quick and flowy twisty section with a couple of 30kph hairpins thrown in for fun.
Peter Geoffrey Brock AM, known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. He unfortunately passed away in a car racing accident in WA, and there was a cutout in the road at his memorial. We gathered there to regroup and have a chat before continuing onto lunch at the Ugly Duckling.
Caption: A regathering to get the group together at Peter Brock Memorial.
Country pubs = decent portions, so Steph and I split a schnitzel and chips which proved more than enough. Others in the group had their own, and a flock of very happy local birds benefited off the unfinished chips.
Caption: Cathy becoming a Disney character thanks to some leftover chips.
Steph and I bid the group farewell as we needed to catch up with an old friend, and prepare ourselves for a 600km day of riding the next day.
Caption: Lunch with the GLOW group - relaxed conversation and meeting the feathered and furry locals.
Laundry was a 7-minute walk carrying the Roxby, and dinner was an indulgent seafood meal as a sendoff to our last night in Perth.
Tomorrow we are fully loaded and back on the road to a tiny resort town up north!
