The way points of this bicycle route:
Start at the traffic lights where West Coast Hwy meets Brighton Rd and head away from the coast.
Turn right into Calais St and then left into Ewen St. Then it's a long gradual push all the way up the hill past the water tower.
You crest the hill here with the water tower on your left and there are lovely views across the city all the way to the Perth Hills.
Right into Huntriss and down the hill.
You have to travel along Pearson St for about 500m or so. It's not too busy early in the morning but can be a bit hairy at other times.
We're heading towards the coast now, climbing up Hale Rd which isn't so steep going in this direction.
This is the highest point on Hale Rd. See how fast you can go over the next 500m as you hare down the 11% gradient. Remember of course not to exceed the speed limit, which I think is about 80 kph ;-)
Rather than going all the way down to West Coast Hwy (busy), take the left here to get onto Chipping Rd. This will bring you all the way around to the Boulevard.
Onto the Boulevard here and up the hill. This is a relatively busy road, but it's wide and has a marked cycle lane for the slow, uphill part.
You crest the hill here and then it's downhill with "the busiest golf course in the southern hemisphere" on your left.
When you get to Oceanic Dr, cross over to the cycle path on the opposite side of the road - makes it easier to get onto Reabold Hill.
Make a sharp, almost 180 degree right turn here, off the cycle path and onto the closed old road that leads to the summit of Reabold Hill.
So this is the highest point of the ride...but what was your time up the hill? The fastest time for Reabold recorded on www.cycle2max.com is 1m32s!
Come down from Reabold via the new vehicular entrance and turn right onto Oceanic at the bottom.
In the early days of the Swan River Colony, there were several reported sightings of a terrible beast in and around what are now known as Perry Lakes. The creature became known as Old Boldie.
You're turning onto Underwood Av here, which looks like a big, scary dual carriageway. But it's actually fairly quiet, especially when it's early.
Left onto Alfred Rd, straight out of the saddle and sprint up the hill.
You have to ride along the busy Stirling Hwy for a little bit here but there no other way to get to the river because the private schools go right to the water's edge.
This little climb is known as Fire Station Hill.
Hang a left off Fire Station Hill before you've quite reached the top and you're back onto quiet, leafy suburban streets.
As you round the bend here and begin the descent to the riverside, the views across the Swan can be breathtaking.
There's often a fine layer of sand across the road here for some reason, so beware if you're powering through the bend!
The nasty little climb up from the water's edge is known as Meads Hill. It's steep but twisty so hug the centreline to minimise the gradient.
Back at elevation now again, the views to the east across the river are magnificent. If you were going to stop just once on the route, this little viewing spot would be the place.
Onto busy Stirling Hwy here again at the lights. There's no shoulder but it's quite built up and the traffic seems to be relatively cyclist-aware...though there are always a few muppets.
Fork right here off Stirling Hwy, heading towards the old bridge.
Head down to the coast along Tydeman Rd. There are always lots of trucks along here but if you can get right into their draft, it's a great tow!
If it's beach weather, take care over the next 2km as you head up the gentle ascent - there will be lots of drivers looking for a parking spot along Leighton Beach Rd and not paying too much attention to cyclists on their inside.
Again, if it's beach weather, and you feel like having a perv, take a diversion left here and head along the coast road through Cottesloe, rejoining our route at the junction of North St and West Coast Hwy.
West Coast Hwy changes temporarily here from four lanes to just two. There's a shoulder but the traffic does move fast. If it freaks you out, take the horrible, rutted dual-use concrete path to the left.
Finally, you're off West Coast Hwy and onto the much quieter Challeger Parade.
I do a little shimmy here through the car park of Floreat Beach to get onto the unused but beautifully surfaced road that runs parallel to West Coast Hwy most of the way up to Hale Rd. I'm not sure what purpose the road serves but I'm not complaining.
The mysterious, smooth, unnamed road ends here so it's onto the dual-use path parallel to West Coast Hwy until you get to the lights at Hale Rd.
Cross over West Coast Hwy at the lights and head up Hale Rd. You're just re-tracing your earlier steps from here back to where you started. Bail-out option: If you're not feeling up to more hills, just stay on the dual-use path and you'll be back to the start in minutes.
The next 500m are fairly steep...a sign warns truck drivers that the gradient is 11%.
The last little bit up to the water tower here is quite steep and can be tough if you're tired. But at least it's the last hill of the route.
You can get up quite a speed here on the run down from the water tower. But do remember that unlike Hale Rd, this is a quiet residential street with cars reversing unexpectedly out of driveways, etc.
And you're finished. Hopefully, you enjoyed the fact that you can get several hundred metres of elevation gain without going all the way up to Kalamunda!
Welcome to Bikely, take a step by step tour of this path:
Press Start Tour - then use the navigation buttons below to move along the path.
Tagged with: Training, Onroad, Smooth, Steep, Scenic
