Biking Around Perth and Forgetting About Slick Rick

Greetings from Western Australia! Do you ever wake up and wonder, “how did I get here?” I don’t. Do you ever like to start a blog post with a profound question and then go nowhere with it? I do. What I am trying to say is that I know exactly where I am, Perth! But not for long…

Now that you understand my mood, I want to talk about a past relationship. The last two years were a struggle. I made a bad decision. I started a toxic friendship. Well, I bought my way into and then sold my way out of a bad relationship, with Slick Rick. Yes, I sold my car too! “Slick Rick” was a used 2007 Infiniti G35s. Muy fancy right?! Slick Rick was not for me. I am not sure why I even bought him. He wasn’t a bad purchase financially, I just didn’t put much thought into buying him. Why do I keep referring to my old car as “him?” This is getting weird. I was living near downtown Austin and drove about 5,000 miles per year, not much. There was a bus stop directly in front of my apartment and I barely noticed it. I totally could have used public transportation, biked, rented a car when I needed, etc. Yes, even in Texas. I know I will own a car again someday but I am having a blast exploring different cities without “him.”  My biking explorations around Perth have helped me to finally forget about Slick Rick!

Which view is better?

or

Exactly!

Perth

I had no idea that I would ever visit Perth but I am happy I ended my tour of Australia here. Now that I think back, I had no idea where I was going to end up after I started in Melbourne! To me, Perth was very relaxing and much less hectic than the big cities in eastern Australia. It is still a big city though, the fourth largest in Australia. One of my favorite spots around Perth was Cottesloe Beach. The Indian Ocean water was crystal clear and had a nice refreshing cool temperature. Mmmmmmmmm…

Ohhhh, and the sunsets over the Indian Ocean, on fire!

If you are planning on opening a coffee shop in Australia, do not choose Perth. Maybe I’m crazy but it seems like every other business in Perth is a café or coffee shop. You should open a bike shop! I didn’t do any research about the bike friendliness of Perth before I visited, I just felt the urge to rent a bike for a week and cruise around. Well, some things just work out, Perth happens to have an amazingly extensive bicycle network! It was even featured as one of the world’s best biking cities by Travel + Leisure magazine: “Western Australia’s capital is laced with hundreds of miles of paths, bike lanes, and bicycle-friendly streets. Indeed, the Perth Bicycle Network is touted as “one of the most extensive and advanced cycling networks in the world,” according to the state’s Department for Planning and Infrastructure, which facilitates routes from the suburbs into the city. Other Perth features include enclosed bicycle parking at train stations; bike lockers downtown; and signage to keep riders from losing their way on the long trails Down Under.” (source)

Well, that was written in 2009 but I am always happy to validate my opinion with something I can reference on the Internet.

I am off to a different continent soon! Stay tuned for updates. If you need to see more, check out all of my snaps from Perth and watch my one minute bike tour around the city below. I’m fast! Where do you want to go?