One of my objectives for 2009 in terms of cycling was to complete an imperial century, i.e., 100 miles/160 kilometres.  Well I achieved it today with a Perth metro ride of 163.3 km.

The Route

The route map is below, but basically I rode north from Churchlands following the Mitchell Freeway PSP until the end, I then headed west to the coast, then followed the coast south through Fremantle to Kwinana, where I turned east to pick up the Kwinana Freeway PSP.  I followed the PSP south to where it is currently closed, then turned around to head north along the path to the city, then west to Subiaco and then back to Churchlands.

If I was to do this ride again at this time of the year (February) or in fact any time over summer when the south westerly winds are common I would reverse the direction. That is I would go south to the end of the Kwinana Freeway first, then back to Fremantle, up the coast to Kinross, east to the Mitchell Freeway and then south to Churchlands along the PSP.  This would break up the time spent riding into headwinds.

The numbers

Garmin 305 Imperial Century Screen Grab

The screen grab from my Garmin 305 pretty much sums it up, well excluding the maximum speed!  Looks like railway line interference at some point.  I had hoped to average 25 km/h but the long run into the wind plus some unplanned bike path riding on the northern end of the ride put claim to that.  Given the day, I am happy with the average. On the last leg with the tail wind my average was around 26 km/h.

I also tried to pace myself, but interesting as the ride wore on my average heart rate continued to increase. I guess as I got tired I had to put more effort into maintaining some sort of reasonable speed.

Food and Water:

I left home with two 650 ml water bottles filled with Endura. I called into the office at Joondalup and topped up a bottle with Staminade. After about two hours riding I ate a Go Natural bar. Once I hit Fremantle I called into Anne’s to refill my empty water bottle with Staminade and grabbed a couple of Tip Top muffins.  Once I got to the southern end of the Kwinana Freeway I ate a PowerBar Protein bar (probably not the best choice but it was what I had in the cupboard). I had also finished off a water bottle and was well into my second one.  Thankfully there was a water fountain just south of the Roe Highway, so I was able to fill a bottle with water.

In addition to the above I carried two Hammer Nutrition gel flasks containing eight shots of gel which I consumed.

I suspect that I was probably a bit light on with the food as my estimated calorie burn is around 5100 calories.   A discussion of note has know taken place at the Australian Cycling Forums on food intake on long distance rides. Worth a look or if you can add to it that would be great as well.

In summary:

Water – Drank four 650 ml water bottles

Food – 1 x protein bar; 1 x muesli bar; 2 x toasted muffins; eight gel shots.

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Tags: Audax,Century
Categories: Bicycling, Road and Off-Road Touring
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Registrations are now open for the 2009 Cape to Cape Mountain Bike Ride, which is being held this year from October 15 – 18, 2009 down in the south-west of Western Australia.  Full details can be found at the Ride website.

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Tags: Off-road touring
Categories: Competitive Cycling, Road and Off-Road Touring
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The Muttly Mob at Alderidge Cove

I joined a group of folks from the Perth Bushwalkers Club in February 2009 for a four day base camp at Thompson Cove, Nuyts Wilderness, Walpole, Western Australia.  We walked into Thompson Cove via the Nuyts Wilderness Walk Track, and also explored Aldridge Cove, Hush Hush Beach (via the Bibbulmun Track) and Mt Hopkins.  Photos from the walk can be found in the Gallery here. Click on the “View Interactive Course Map” buttons to be taken to downloadable track files or to view in Google Earth.

The diary from the walk follows:

Day 1 (Saturday February 7, 2009): We drove directly to the trailhead which is located on Tinglewood Drive, Walpole (at the foot of Mount Clare).  There is a small carpark here, where the Bibbulmun Track crosses Deep River and then commences the ascent of Mount Clare.  The drive down took approximately six hours with a brief stop in Manjimup for lunch.

Nuyts Wilderness Walk Trail

The Nuyts Wilderness Walk Track follows the Bibbulmun Track from Tinglewood Drive, over the Deep River Suspension Bridge until the boot cleaning station.  Here the Bibbulmun Track swings south, whereas the Nuyts Wilderness Walk Trail continues on the old 4WD track in a south easterly direction.  The track is followed until a t-junction is reached, high above Thompson’s Cove.  At this point, take the left track to descend to the Thompson Cove camping ground located amongst some Peppermint Trees.  There are no facilities here.  Nor is there mobile phone coverage,  Water is available from a fresh water spring which can be easily accessed via  short walk track.  A bridge over the stream provides a good point to collect water.

The walk distance from Tinglewood Drive is approximately 6.75 km one-way.  The trail head is located at 50 H 0467497 6126192 and the Thompson Cove campsite at 50 H 0468357 6121932.

Boot Cleaning Station, Bibbulmun Track, Nuyts Wilderness Area

Day 2 (Sunday February 8, 2009): Today we ventured out follow the Nuyts Wilderness Walk Track and Bibbulmun Track to Hush Hush Beach.  To get to Hush Hush Beach, take the return path on the Nuyts Wilderness Walk Track until the  Boot Cleaning Station.  Here swing south picking up the Bibbulmun Track until aligned approximately with the eastern end of Poison Hill.  Poison Hill is a distinct hill at the western end of Hush Hush Beach. At this location a “sand hill” should be distinct to the left of the track, just before the track swings inland again away from the coast.  Here a track comes off the Bibbulmun Track pretty much bee lining towards Hush Hush Beach.  Follow this track to the edge of the ridge where you should get a visual of 4WD track and car park at the western end of Hush Hush Beach.  From here it is a bit of off-track walking down to the carpark and then there is a track down to the beach.  There is no water at this end of Hush Hush Beach.

Thompson Cove to Hush Hush Beach Route

The walk distance is approximately 7.8 km one way.  Hush Hush Beach car park is at 50 H 0463911 6123592.

Hush Hush Beach

Day 3 (Sunday February 9, 2009): In the morning we explored Mount Hopkins (205 metres) and in the afternoon we explored Aldridge Cove.

The walk to Mount Hopkins is approx 3.5 km return with about 150 metres of climb.  We took about two hours to complete the walk itself.  There is a track to Mt Hopkins which is reasonably easy to follow, however, as you get closer to Mt Hopkins it gets overgrown, so long pants and a long sleeved shirt are recommended.  The GPX file would be helpful if you have a GPSr.

The track departs from the Thompson Cove camping area, dropping directly into the creek before climbing out again and then heading pretty much straight to Mt Hopkins.  Note:  The track with the bridge over the stream is not the right track.

The walk is well worth it, with great views to be had from Mt Hopkins.

Thompson Cove to Mt Hopkins Route Map

The trailhead is located at 50 H 0468371 612 1929, the boot cleaning station at the foot of Mt Hopkins at 50 H 0469393 6122434 (handy landmark) and Mt Hopkins itself at 50 H 0469554 6122570.

Mt Hopkins

Aldridge Cove is a must visit when in the area.  It is a pleasant walk,about 1/2 hour long, with a bit of a rock scrambling at Aldridge Cove itself.  It is well worth packing in some snorkelling gear as there is a great opportunity for snorkelling and swimming at the Cove.

Aldridge Cove’s western end is at 50 H 0467658 612 1668.

Aldridge Cove

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Tags: Walk Trails
Categories: Geocaching, Hiking, Walk Trails
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