There was a southerly breeze blowing and a maximum of 26 degrees forecast for the day. It was perfect January weather for a Perth Coastal Ride from Fremantle towards the northern Perth suburb of Burns Beach.
My goal was to make it to City Beach, 17 kilometres north, and then decide whether I wanted to go further. Fortunately the Joondalup Train Line extends north, with stations a few kilometres from the beach, so it would be easy to ride to the railway when I had had enough and catch a train home.
Fremantle to City Beach (17 kms)
Derek dropped me at the port of Fremantle quite early. This was the view across the railway line towards the port as I headed north across the Fremantle Traffic Bridge.
After the bridge, I followed the cycling path left and soon was at Port Beach. I didn’t go down to the beach, but rather caught these glimpses as I cycled past access paths through the sand dunes.
As I pedalled on past Leighton Beach and Mosman Beach, the path undulated up and down from the 15 metre cliff tops, but all at easy gradients. By the time I passed Cottesloe Beach, it was a long way down to the beach.
This bike-friendly cafe at North Cottesloe Beach, Barchetta, caught my eye, but with only nine kilometres completed, I thought it too early to take a coffee break.
After Swanbourne Beach, the Perth Coastal Ride takes a curve inland to bypass the Campbell Army Barracks. For a couple of kilometres, there is a good bike path running alongside the West Coast Highway.
Then the cycle path turns left and follows Challenger Parade all the way to City Beach.
City Beach was beautiful, popular and busy. Some Surf Lifesaving Nippers with bright pink caps were enjoying a run on the sand.
I was proud of myself for making it this far and treated myself to a lovely second breakfast at Odyssea Beach Cafe.
Feeling in good shape and keen to continue, I texted Derek to see if he would like to join me at Burns Beach further north. He replied that as his back was causing him issues, the one hour car trip each way would be too much for him. Naturally I was a bit disappointed, but as Derek pointed out, it would be faster to catch the train home anyway.
City Beach to Burns Beach (27 kms)
Feeling refreshed, I cycled on past Floreat Beach,
Brighton Beach, and a lot of construction work at Scarborough Beach. I was relieved to get through to Trigg Beach.
The Marmion Marine Park starts here and extends through to Burns Beach. Sorrento Beach looked very flat, family-friendly and extremely popular.
Just on from Sorrento Beach, Sorrento Quay was also busy with shops and a man-made beach.
I wasn’t enjoying the crowds, so I by-passed Hillarys Boat Harbour and kept going. Pedalling on, I passed Whitford Beach, Mullaloo Beach
and a lovely lookout back south over Mullaloo Beach.
Ocean Reef Boat Harbour seemed oddly empty of boats, but some fishermen were making good use of the deeper water.
As I continued on, the Perth Coastal Ride started undulating a lot. I was getting tired and hoped that Burns Beach was coming up soon.
Fortunately it wasn’t long before I did arrive at Burns Beach.
I felt a great sense of accomplishment but also relieved. I still had to work out how to get to the railway station, but I needed a rest. Luckily the Burns Beach Cafe was open, so I bought an icecream to eat under a shady tree while I cooled down.
Currambine Railway Station
As it turned out, Currambine Station on the Joondalup Line was only four kilometres and a long steady hill away. When I arrived there I had cycled 47 kilometres and climbed 517 metres. I had not really noticed the climbing until the last seven kilometres, as it was mostly undulations going up and down the seaside cliffs.
I got the idea for this Perth Coastal Ride from the Trails WA website. You can get detailed cycling maps from the WA Department of Transport website.
Other excellent (and easier) rides in Perth are the Perth Swan River Cycling Loop and the Fremantle Coastal Trail.
Top photo: Path down from the cliff at Trigg Beach
