Betten On Bike: DAY 61 - 9TH JUNE 2013

Day 61– 9 June 2013 - Cervantes to Yanchep

Also able to sleep in a bit today as the ride is shorter and we are all keen to have a look at the world famous Pinnacles only 16 km or so from Cervantes. Andrea wanted to make us a cooked breakfast today as we had more time so a lovely bacon & eggs & tomato & mushrooms hot breakfast at 7.30am and then Walter left at 8am. We were to meet at The Pinnacles and we decided to do the 4 km drive through the Pinnacles which was amazing and I had never realized how vast this display of limestone rock formations was. It was very well organized as you could drive though and stop at your leisure at various bays to get out and take photos. The look-out was amazing as you could view one section of The Pinnacles with a blue ocean coastal background.

Cycling Stats: 155 kms

Cycling Average: 34 kms per hour

Then it was time to drop Walter at the Indian Ocean Road so that he could continue today’s ride. The skies became progressively more clouded and heavy grey skies made us concerned about what the rest of the day would bring.

Walter was obviously enjoying the tail winds after such challenging conditions during the past week and was achieving great speeds during each sector.

The landscape was very interesting and very variable today. Parts were national park so many wildflowers, heath plants, and many many grass trees. Still so very green and lush. There were sections of lush green fields topped with numerous small white stones and rocks and very little trees. Then shortly thereafter huge full grown trees and also timber plantations. So lots to see today.

Walter wanted to stop around 40 kms further for lunch and the rain started to fall lightly. The actual conditions were favorable with a good tail wind resulting in a lot higher speeds on the bike compared to the last week or so. The plan was to continue to Wannaroo which is only 30 kms from Perth.

However we had to change this as it began to bucket down with rain and we stopped to wait for Walter as we believed an earlier stop today was in order. So in the pouring rain we decided to head towards the coast for our evening stop at close to Yanchep National Park. This is quite a big township with many new housing estates and because of the driving rain we decided to stay in a chalet in Club Capricorn Resort & Conference Centre. The accommodation is a bit tired looking but the gas heater in the living room is great as it is a very cold wet evening. The actual chalet is beautifully placed within the dunes and we have views to the ocean on this stormy rainy night. It reminds Walter of Holland and Andrea of Denmark.