If you have information on any of the projects, i.e., its status, please add the details to the thread at Australian Cycling Forums. This way Rolandp can use your contributions to update the map.
To get more information on a particular area, just click on an icon for a dialogue box to open.
Coming around a corner, I felt a shimmy through the front of my bike. I straightened up out of the turn to bring the bike under control. A second or two later I catapulted over the handlebars. The rim of my front wheel had completely detached from the hub. I had not hit anything — not another rider, a curb or even a rock. I landed on my head and broke my shoulder. The front wheel was Mavic’s second generation, post-recall carbon-spoke R-Sys wheel.
The full blog posting can be found here. It will be interesting to see if Mavic issue a second recall on these wheels. Is it a warning to stay away from carbon-spoke wheels?
The Cape to Cape Track or Cape to Cape Walk Track is 135 km long and is located within the The Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, which is found on the South-west coast of Western Australia (the famous Margaret River wine growing region). The walk is not developed to the extent of the Bibbulmun track, in that there are no "maps" or five star accommodation, however, there is a very good guidebook and the track is reasonably well marked.
As at November 2002, Conservation and Land Management with the support of the Friends of the Cape to Cape Track had established four campsites. Even with the four campsites established there is a stretch between the Ellensbrook Campsite and Deepedene where the walker will need to make their own arrangements for camping.
Each of the established campsites consists of cleared tent sites (usually around three except for Ellensbrook which has two large camping areas), a pit toilet, a water tank fed off the roof of the toilet and a picnic table. The water supply at each campsite is very limited. Note that a NO FIRES policy applies along the whole track. A fuel stove will need to be used at all campsites.
The notes here include details of the "Meelup Trail", a track linking Dunsborough to the Cape to Cape Walk Track trailhead at Cape Naturaliste.
Public transport to and from Perth is provided by Transwa. South West Coach Lines also provide services to and from Augusta and Dunsborough. They also service Prevelly Park.
Other major access points include Yallingup, Smiths Beach, Gracetown, Prevelly Park and Hamelin Bay. In addition their are numerous minor access points, of which some may be 4WD only. See my track notes for more details.
The main documentation on the track is Jane Scott and Ray Forma’s "The Cape to Cape Track Guidebook incorporating the Meelup Trail" (Fully Revised 4th Edition) . I highly recommend making use of this guidebook (see my Track Notes to see why!).
The Guidebook is published by Cape to Cape Publishing. The book is available from the Friends of Cape to Cape Walk Track and various map and outdoor retailers (see below).
The Guide Book provides basic information on each section of the track. This basic information includes access options, facilities and description of track sections. The basic information is supported by minimal detail 1: 25 000 "page-sized" maps for each section plus photos. The book also covers the Meelup Trail (13.5 km) which runs from Dunsborough (nearest town to the northern trail head) to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse (northern trail head).
The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) has published two maps of the Track. Map 1 covers the Track from Cape Naturaliste (northern trailhead) to Prevelly and Map 2 covers the track from Prevelly to Cape Leeuwin (southern trailhead).
Other track documentation includes a set of five sketch maps covering the track. These retail for approx, $2.20 each or for a reduced price if all five are purchased as a set. Scans from these sketch maps, giving a general indication of the track are available via email only at aushiker@yahoo.com.au. The scans are provided for general information only. You should purchase your own copies. The sketch maps are:
Cape to Cape Walk Track – Section 1 – Cape Naturaliste to Wyadup – 20 km
Cape to Cape Walk Track – Section 2 – Wyadup to Cowaramup Bay – 27 km
Cape to Cape Walk Track – Section 3 – Cowaramup Bay to Redgate Beach – 31 km
Cape to Cape Walk Track – Section 4 – Redgate Beach to Hamelin Bay – 29 km
Cape to Cape Walk Track – Section 5 – Hamelin Bay to Cape Leeuwin – 29 km
In terms of maps, there are two sets of maps available covering the track area. Neither set of maps has the track marked on it. They are:
A no fires policy applies in the National Park – fuel stoves are required for all the campsites;
There are no shelters are provided at the campsites – a tent or other shelter is need. Hammock users may struggle to find good hanging points at some campsites;
Water availability can be limited, particularly during summer and early autumn.
John Chapman – Cape to Cape Track – John Chapman is a noted Australian bush walker and author of numerous bush walking books. In these pages, John shares advice on walking the track.
Dunsborough Inn – Superior budget type accommodation in Dunsborough. They will provide transport to the northern trailhead. I have stayed here and do recommend the accommodation.
The Commonwealth Parliament’s House of Representative’s Health Committee has via its report on obesity in Australia called for better urban design of our cities and suburbs to encourage people to be active and a greater focus on teaching children the importance of healthy eating and exercise.
The Committee’s full report, titled, Weighing it up: Obesity in Australia can be downloaded by clicking here.
The Committee’s press release announcing the report is reproduced below with my emphasis.
Better urban design of our cities and suburbs to encourage people to be active and a greater focus on teaching children the importance of healthy eating and exercise are key recommendations of the House of Representative’s Health Committee’s report Weighing it up released last night.
The Committee has called for national urban planning guidelines that encourage bicycle and pedestrian friendly communities and more facilities for physical activity. The Committee would also like more support for school and community programs that teach children and adults to grow, prepare and eat fresh fruit and vegetables as an alternative to high fat, high sugar and high salt foods.
These are two of 20 recommendations made by the Committee in order to help counter the growing numbers of overweight and obese people in Australia. Latest figures indicate that over half of the adults in Australia are overweight or obese.
“This has significant health and economic implications for the country,” said Committee Chair Mr Steve Georganas MP (Member for Hindmarsh). “Evidence to the Committee suggests that obesity cost the Australian economy over $8 billion in 2008. This includes the costs to the health system as a result of rising rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and the complications associated with surgery and other interventions.”
Mr Georganas stressed that the Committee wanted to send a positive message about tackling the problem. “There are terrific programs and projects, encouraging people to eat more nutritious food and to do more exercise. Councils are putting in walking trails and facilities, school programs are making it easier for children to walk to school and community groups are setting up exercise sessions for all ages,” Mr Georganas said.
Other recommendations by the Committee include:
the food industry and government jointly develop guidelines to reformulate food (lowering sugar, salt and fats in processed food) and develop consistent nutritional advice on food labels;
governments gather more detailed information on the weight of Australians and their levels of physical activity;
developing better public health campaigns about obesity and the benefits of healthy lifestyles;
continued support for the Federal Government’s Active After School Communities Program;
the Treasurer to consider tax incentives to improve the affordability of fresh healthy food and access to physical activity;
better regulation of weight loss products and programs; and
establishment of a registry of bariatric surgery (various surgical procedures to assist in weight loss).
Of course this is just a committee report and committee reports often get buried, but at least it is a start and we have discussion on the topic of obesity and exercise including cycling and walking infrastructure. That has to be a good thing, no?
Ben Delaney describes the failure incident in his blog posting at 
