A Wild Ride

pathclosed.jpgI had some fairly wild rides to and from work last week. We had a few days of wet and windy weather with fences, trees and branches coming down across Perth.

On Friday the wind was determined to make it a very slow commute. I didn’t see the regular crowd of cyclists and walkers out and about. That should have been a clue. On the way home on Thursday I had to cycle through water over half way up my wheels when I went through the Causeway underpass. I thought I’d avoid it on Friday but I didn’t even get close.

There’s a section of cycleway near Windan Bridge beside the Burswood Golf Course that can get a little soggy. On Friday morning I came around the corner to see the river extending right across the pathway and into the golf course. Another cyclist had chosen to carry his bike and wade through. He was up to his knees towards the other end of the stretch so I imagine it was a lot deeper in other parts.

Another cyclist turned up behind me and we both decided it was time to change the route for the morning. I backtracked across the bridge, headed through East Perth and finally made it to work. I’m so glad I’ve got a hot shower and dry clothes at work.

On the way home I thought I’d visit the Causeway underpass. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get through but I thought I’d see how much further the water had risen. As you can see in the photo, riding through wasn’t an option this time.

More detours and and a bit more pushing into the wind and rain and I was home for the weekend.



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He previously worked in radio for about 25 years but these days he spends his time at Compassion Australia, working towards releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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4 Comments

  • Oh awesome, betya it was exciting too. I’m still tossing up if I should try riding to Midland or not, not sure if the weather will turn bad on me 🙂

  • I didn’t realize that Perth has had that much rain recently. We’ve had quite a bit lately here in Florida (after a three-year drought), so while the rain has been very welcome, it’s been a bit much of a good thing. Roads through communities, as well as an Interstate Highway, have had to close due to the deluge.

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