Freeway Bike Hike

Ahh, what a day.

I had the best time this morning cycling down the freeway. It was the annual Freeway Bike Hike, raising money for asthma research. It was the final event for Bikeweek 2006.

The first picture shows a small section of the crowd waiting for the ride to get underway. (Click on any of the photos for a better view.)

For several hours, one half of the freeway was closed to cars and it became a huge cycleway. The event started at Belmont Racecourse, just outside Perth, and made its way through the Graham Farmer tunnel and up the Mitchell Freeway all the way to Joondalup; a distance of 30 km.

There was also a shorter 10 km ride for families and those who weren’t quite up to the challenge of cycling 30 km.

Around 10 000 participants made the most of a fantastic day. The weather warmed up through the morning but it was quite reasonable while most people were pushing their pedals.

I really enjoyed being able to push along at my own speed for 30 km without having to stop at intersections or traffic lights.

Once riders finished there was entertainment including a band (which unfortunately wasn’t all that good) and some trick cyclists putting on an amazing display. Their bikes are specially designed and have no seat or seatpost but the guys using them seem to be able to do almost anything on them.

I’ve included a couple of pictures showing them jumping from object to object.

A couple of the guys from the Channel 7 soapie Home & Away were there to thrill the crowds. It’s been a long time since I’ve watched the show so I wouldn’t have known them if I fell over them but there was a lot of people who seemed very pleased to see them.

There was food and drink available including free flavoured water and Coles supermarkets provided free fruit. Once I’d had my freebies I did the cyclist thing and bought a coffee and a muffin.

While at the Joondalup end of proceedings I met up with a few people I knew, some I hadn’t seen for quite a while.

I also met Nichola who had cycled with a friend and her dad. It was good to finally meet after conversing on line. I knew she’d be taking part in the event but with all the people there I didn’t really expect we’d meet up. I was just wandering through the middle of the mini-village they had set up and recognised her from photos on her blog.

One of the people I caught up with had just had a head scarf signed by the guys from Home & Away. Knowing that I work in radio, she got me to sign it too. Maybe I should have set up my own tent to sign stuff.

Pauline, Emily and James met me at Joondalup some time later and so I packed my bike in the car and we headed off to lunch at the golden arches with one of my brothers and his family. A lot of riders took advantage of the free trains to get back to the starting point.

By the time I added in my ride to the starting point I cycled around 44 km. It all seemed a little surreal. When I get out on a Saturday morning I ride around 50 km and get home just after 9:00 a.m. The most I’ve ridden i a day is around 203 km. Today I did less kilometres but had people applauding as we all crossed the finish line. I sometimes forget that for many people, the 30 km distance that they covered is the furthest they’ve ever pedalled. By the look of some of the bikes there were many people that hadn’t pulled their treadly out of the shed for a very long time. I think they did a marvellous thing by getting out today and pushing themselves to achieve their goal.

It was a great event, wonderfully planned and I’m looking forward to next year.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

Technorati Tags: Cycling – Bikeweek – Freeway Bike Hike

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