Riding into a Long Weekend

October 28, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
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The regular Friday morning ride to Sassy’s had quite a boost in numbers today. Each Friday morning a group of cyclists ride from Canning Vale to the city for a coffee to get the day underway.

The Friday public holiday in Western Australia meant that a lot more riders were free to ride into the city to sit beside the Swan River and enjoy some great company and conversation. With perfect weather and a good crowd of riders it was a great way to start the day.

The only downside was the 15% slug on top of their normal prices. Their prices aren’t generally cheap but that’s understandable for such a prime piece of real estate, but to add a 15% surcharge for the public holiday is just nasty.



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My Daily Temptation

March 8, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
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It’s just as well I enjoy working in radio because every day I’m tempted to just stay on my bike and keep riding all day.

Yesterday was a public holiday so I took the opportunity to take the ride to work a little easier with a few stops along the way to take some photos. I wanted to share parts of my daily commute with you so you might understand why I’m tempted to keep riding each morning. My ride takes me from one of Perth’s southern suburbs into the city and then out again to Como. It’s not the most direct route but it is quite wonderful.

You can click on each of the photos if you’d like to see a little more detail.

The first part of my ride takes me down a main road but it’s not without its beauty. The first photo is one of the man made lakes that mark the entrances to some of the housing estates just off the main road.

After several kilometres I come to this intersection where I leave the road and get onto a shared path that takes me alongside Roe Highway then along the Freeway shared path.

After quite a few kilometres I get to the Shelley Bridge where I get my first glimpse of the river with Perth city in the background.

Rather than staying on the shared path I head along The Esplanade in Mount Pleasant. The views along the river are wonderful.

I head past dozens of multi-million dollar homes.

Once I cross Canning Bridge I get back onto the Freeway shared path and enjoy more river views.

Being a public holiday the Freeway was very quiet. Usually I ride along the path past bumper to bumper traffic making slow progress into the city.

The grand old building here is the old Swan Brewery which sits below King’s Park and which now houses luxury apartments and restaurants.

Almost in the city now.

I cross over the Narrows Bridge and then head along the city foreshore. It’s great to see more and more of our black swans enjoying the river.

A quick look across to part of the city.

And finally I’m at work, ready to get behind the broadcast desk for another morning on the radio.



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An Early Start

September 3, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
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coffee.jpgI finally got around to taking part in a Friday morning ride into the city for coffee today. I’ve been meaning to join a small group of cyclists that make it a regular thing but it’s never happened until today.

Making it to the meeting point meant that I had to jump out of bed as soon as the alarm went off, which dopesn’t always come easy for me. I’d already made sure that everything was ready last night so that I wouldn’t be wandering the house half asleep looking for gloves or shoes.

There were eight of us cycling from Cyclebuzz in Canning Vale into Perth for coffee and raisin toast at Sassy’s beside the Swan River. I just went for a coffee but I’m assured that the raisin toast there is the best you’ll find.

It was an early and rather chilly start but it was worth it. A little extra cycling in the morning has me feeling more energised throughout the day and I was reminded once again just how much better coffee tastes when you’re drinking it surrounded by good people.



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One more reason

April 16, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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I had to stop for a few minutes during my ride to work this morning.

As I was cycling over the Swan River across Windan Bridge I noticed a guy leaning over the railing watching something in the river below. I looked out to see a few dolphins splashing about in the water.

I continued across the bridge and once I got down to ground level beside the river I stopped to watch for a few minutes. Another cyclist stopped beside me and told me that he’s seen the dolphins at various places in the river three times in the past three weeks.

It was a marvellous opportunity to see these wonderful creatures enjoying the perfect conditions.

There are certainly a lot of reasons that I enjoy cycling to work – and this morning I added one more.



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Finding a New Way

November 13, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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cadent_1_small.jpgI guess I have to come to terms with the fact that I may never see ‘dog guy’ again.

With our change in studio location this week I now have a very different ride to and from work each day. 98.5 Sonshine FM has relocated to a brand new building in Como, a suburb of Perth. My daily cycling distance has gone from just under 13 kilometres to around 42 kilometres.

I’m loving the extra time on the bike, especially with the perfect weather we’ve been having, but I guess I’ll have to get used to seeing a whole new group of people as I ride. When you go the same way at the same time each day you get to see many of the same faces like the guy who exercises his dog in the park every morning before he drives off in his truck for the day. I’ve never met him, which is why I refer to him simply as ‘dog guy’, but we give – or should I say gave – each other a hearty way and hello each day.

The new ride takes me along a number of really good bike paths so I can forget about traffic and just ride. Brilliant.

Part of my commute takes me along the Swan River. It’s wonderful to see so many people enjoying our magnificent waters. There are cyclists, walkers, joggers and sightseers using the pathways beside the river, overlooking the bird life and boat life on the water.

When I get beyond all the busyness of the move I’ll take some photos along the daily ride so you can see just how good it really is.



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