August 2009 - Xtreme Triathlon Club

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Xtreme Tri club August 09 Newsletter
MARGARET RIVER, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, GREAT ESCAPADE RIDE
28 MARCH – 5 APRIL 2009
Participants – Christine Bolton, Stacey Buyck, Catherine Shewan, Al
and Cath Rokahr, Peter and Teresa with guest appearances by Jon’s
brother.
The WA ‘Great Escapade’ was a riding holiday organised by Bicycle
Victoria so yes this is not a race report, although we did start with a
swim and finish with a run. (Take heed XTC’ers. Keep racing, or be
prepared to share your holiday snaps…..)
The brochure had promised some stunning scenery, including pristine
beaches, dramatic coastlines, towering old-growth forests, ancient
caves and rock formations, all complemented by world renowned fine wine and gourmet food. It all
sounded good enough for us! We took off from Tullamarine with our bikes and crammed backpacks ready to
discover it all.
The planned itinerary had us leaving Margaret River early on the first
day so we all arrived a day early to take in the local sights and delights.
Stace and new found friend Alanna from Brisbane joined a
local bush tucker tour, while the rest of us savoured the more mainstream
local cuisine and tootled down to the beach. That night we all
joined in the wine festival and enjoyed more delicious food. We were
off to a great start!
Day 1 Margaret River to Busselton 66 km.
Reality hit on Day 1. In the morning it was all commotion, confusion
and queues as everyone had to have their tents down, bags packed,
bags loaded on trucks and cycling out of Margaret River by some unholiday-like
time. From nowhere, a light drizzle set in, and the temperature suddenly dropped 10 degrees.
Everyone unpacked their bags to find their rain jackets…(and they reckon Melbourne’s weather is changeable!)
Once we were out of Margaret River and riding along Caves Road we
set into a more comfortable rhythm. When it rained we would stop at
the closest winery. We notched up three wineries, an art gallery and a
brewery. By afternoon, the weather had cleared and we merrily arrived
into picturesque Busselton. Our campsite was just across from the
beach and a stroll away from the historic 2 km long Busselton Jetty (the
longest timber jetty in the Southern Hemisphere…).
Day 2 Busselton to Donnybrook 67 km
We caught quite a bit of headwind and we were also on a main road so
it was single file and hard to relax. I think that we were all a bit sad to
be leaving the spectacular coastline behind us.
Donnybrook is the apple capital of Western Australia and the organisers cheered us up with some apple pie
on arrival.