Day 100th! Last day to Perth!

Date: 17-05-2010
Day 100: Perth, WA
Distance cycled: 97km

YAY! We made it! We can finally say “We cycled across Australia on our push bikes!” This phrase was almost 3.5 months in the making and we set off not really knowing what to expect in terms of what is ahead of us or how far we would make it. Now, we can say that, after 40 cycling days, we have been through all that was ahead of us and made it thus far to our destination, Perth. This milestone not only marks the end of our trip, it symbolizes the end of our chapter in Australia and the beginning of a new chapter for us as global citizens.

Australia is the place where we both met as strangers almost 5.5 years ago, the soil where we grew as individuals we never expected to be, a realm foreign at our birth yet a familiar place we fondly called home until the next few days when we will leave Australia for many years to come.

This last day riding to Perth was as exhilarating as it was intimidating. We knew what to expect about our departure from Northam when we arrived in Northam rolling down the Avon Valley: hills. Before Mundaring, there were some pretty tough climbs in and out of valleys. Yet we considered ourselves lucky that today was suggested to be the only sunny day of the week as we closely followed the weather forecast in Northam. With every hill conquered, we were excited that we were getting closer to Perth.

The flip side, however, was that traffic flow was noticeably heavier and it was hard not to become nervous as the shoulder (increasingly) became narrow and eventually non-existent. Sometimes, a raised divider came between the road and the footpath leaving practically no room for us to move further off the road while some drivers were allowing for less room as they went around us.

From Mundaring, it was about 34km to Perth and given our satisfying progress, we enjoyed a long lunch before continuing the last leg. Several kms later, we found ourselves zooming downhill quickly followed by a visual contact of the sky-scrappers of Perth. For those who attempted (or will be attempting) to ride from Perth to Sydney via the Great Eastern Highway and up this incline, we feel for them. ; ) We were thoroughly enjoying reaping the sweet rewards of the hills that we have been climbing earlier today.

Getting into the city centre was an experience in itself. We were very fortunate and grateful to have met a cyclist, who was on Day 2 of his ride from Perth to Sydney, in Northam in the morning and he gave us a map of Perth-Fremantle including all bike paths and bike-related information. It was challenging navigating into a big city and for a short time, we found ourselves heading into a very busy highway (Roe Hwy) where the shoulder ends with no warning. We backtracked on foot and quickly found a bike path which led us all the way into the city. These paths were unbelievable! It took us along the river and through some parks as we approached the city centre away from most traffic. Before we knew it, we made it! We are in Perth! ; )

Destinations: [NSW] North Sydney - Heathcote - Coledale - Wollongong - Robertson - Moss Vale - Goulburn - Queanbeyan - Yass - Gundagai - Wagga Wagga - Narrandera - Darlington Point - Hay - Maude - Balranald - Euston - [VIC] Mildura - [SA] Renmark - Barmera - Morgan - Burra - Orroroo - Port Augusta - Kimba - Wudinna - Streaky Bay - Ceduna - Nundroo - Yalata - Nullarbor - Border Village - [WA] Eucla - Balladonia - Kalgoorlie - Coolgardie - Yellowdine - Southern Cross - Merredin - Cunderdin - Northam - Perth