A week has passed since my last long bike ride. Currently I’m completing the weekly long ride on a Sunday. This is because three of the PsP (Principal shared Paths [cycle ways]) have detours whilst major rail and highway realignments take place. The detours take you onto busy roads and Sunday is the quietest day.
My route took me south down the Tonkin Highway PsP passing the location of the (yet to be built) Noranda suburban railway station.
Cycling further south I missed the sign regarding the new Morley station. Less than a kilometre later I reached the first detour at Broun Avenue.
A right turn takes you onto the suburban streets around Broun Ave Bridge which is being replaced as part of the new Ellenbrook railway line. The motorway needed to be widened to include the rail line making the original bridge too short.
On the opposite side of the bridge I re-joined the PsP for a further two kilometres reaching the second detour.
The large stockpiles of earth on the motorway are for the connection of the new Ellenbrook line to the existing Midland line. Both the Tonkin and Midland PsP’s are closed in this location and the detour takes you through a busy industrial area. Hence the Sunday ride.
Halfway through the detour I saw the closed end of the Midland PsP.
The reason why it’s closed is because the rail line is being raised.
The old Bayswater Bridge has been hit so many times I’m surprised it’s still standing. The new bridge looks to have an additional two metres of clearance.
A kilometre further on I re-joined the PsP cycling to East Perth Railway Station before turning south to cross the Swan River via the Windan Bridge.
I read somewhere the bridge cycleway was added after the bridge had been constructed. The south side of this part of the river is public parkland. At the eastern end is Optus Stadium. The stadium is owned by the State Government and managed by VenuesLive. In a recent effort to increase revenue a viewing ring was added to the top of the stadium
Adjacent to the stadium is the Matagarup pedestrian bridge.
It’s possible to pay to walk over the top of the bridge arches, much like the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Those who are prepared to pay for more of a thrill can take the flying fox line from the top of the bridge to the south bank.
Cable lines in the top left of the above photo
Landing ramp
Cycling further west you reach the Burswood Crown Casino and hotel.
This is where the criminals come to launder their dirty money. Well they were doing it until Crown got caught and a Royal Commission started investigating the matter. There is some doubt whether Crown will retain their gambling license.
The next third of the riverbank is recreational parkland with very expensive houses.
Nice views across the river to East Perth
The last third of the south bank foreshore is parkland with multiple high rise apartment blocks behind.
From here there are great views over the river to the CBD
At the end of the parklands I crossed over the Narrows Bridge to the north side of the river and then cycled the north bank. It’s the first time in more than 30 years that I’ve been to this part of the city and it’s quite attractive.
This brought me back to East Perth Station where I retraced my route home. According to the route recorder I cycled 55.7km.
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