Great Rides > Great Escapade > Stories from the Ride > Nikki and Sarah enjoy their stay in WA!
Nikki and Sarah enjoy their stay in WA!
By Sarah and Nikki - Ride Directors
Last week, Sarah and I took out laptops, GPS equipment, maps and let’s be honest, BIG suitcases across the country for a week in Western Australia.
Planning for the 2009 Great Escapade has certainly begun in earnest and the Western Australian folk are so excited. During our week we met with many great people that are helping to make the 2009 Great Escapade very memorable. We had some funny moments and met many of the locals. The best bit however, was that everywhere we went, the people knew about the Ride and were so positive and excited about it coming back to their region. Here are a couple of stories about the groups we met!
The local councils
The local councils are very excited to be welcoming the ride back. There are two new councils that weren’t involved in the 2006 ride, but they certainly heard about it and are fired up to give it their all. The other councils can’t wait to have the ride back on their doorstep and are brimming with new ideas and ways to entertain and excite the riders.
We are visiting three new towns that were not on the route in 2006. Donnybrook, Bridgetown and Pemberton are so excited they are ‘on the list’ in 2009.
The route - it is so green and lush!
We drove the entire route and managed to keep the GPS on track and working through the trip – we will have the route profiles for you shortly. So many times our breath was taken away by the beauty of the landscapes and scenery. The cycling is absolutely brilliant. There are beaches, cool, scented forest, babbling brooks, wildlife, wineries, hills, gorgeous towns, towering trees – everyday has a new offering. We took so many photos and share a few with you on the right hand side of the page.
The local communities
We met some friendly locals – from Kev who helped us with what we thought was a mechanical issue (we learnt some new things about cars!), to the local surfers at Margaret River that showed us the famous Prevally beach, local café owners at Busselton gave us great coffee during our meetings, and the wonderful people at the Visitor Centres and local communities that can’t wait to see the Ride in their town. They are brimming with excitment.
All in all we had a very busy, but very rewarding trip and we can't wait to bring people from all over Australia to this very beautiful part of our country. We will continue to do trips throughout the year and will keep you updated with the planning and progress of the event.
