Two wheels is better than four

27 April 2015

Especially for a cruising WE.  Technically this should have happened a month ago, but when we picked up the bike, the clutch cable had snapped and we had to cancel.

This time, the clutch is fixed, the sun is shining, and so are the chromes.  Harley Davidson Heritage Softail. 350 kilos of classic Harley.  Maybe not my first choice when it comes to styling or torque, but for comfort, this is probably as close to a sofa as you can get.  And since this is Claire’s first real biking experience, I thought maybe it’s best if she doesn’t hate it after ten minutes.

The road across the Swan Valley is smooth, with long and easy corners, and a spectacular view over the wineries.  Further up the hills, there’s nothing but forest and paddics.  We left Toodyay Road behind and headed for York, for a quick stop.  This really is the biker town.

Cornering with a bike like this is forces you to slow down, for the footrests are so low, they scrape the tarmac if you’re too keen.  Perfect for a cruisy ride.

We got to Hyden via the Goldfields Road by late afternoon, and had just enough time to check out Wave Rock before the sun set completely.  Wave Rock is one of many “landbergs” in the country (the biggest being of course Uluru).  So basically this massive rock is what’s left after millions of years of erosion, with all the surrounding completely washed away by wind, water, ice, fire, and all we’re left with are these gigantic monoliths in the middle of nowhere.  The Aboriginal Noongar people of the area allow us to visit part of these sacred site, but much like any other site, there are taboo places and rules to respect.

The most famous feature of the rock is a massive wave, as if a giant spirit surfed the outback.  Claire’s geological explanation is a lot less poetic but the site has a strong vibe nonetheless.

The next day we quickly visited a cave with one of the best rock paintings in Western Australia, Mulka Cave.  The site is where a deformed and crossed-eyes giant, Mulka. born of an illicit relationship, was hiding and eating young children who went wandering too far from their group.  The walls of the cave is covered with over 250 handprints, impossible to date of course, but estimated as old as 3000 years old.

Unfortunately, the ride back is a looooong, very long, very straight, very boring road.  Western Australia is gigantic, and terribly flat, so roads have been built in straight lines.

Thank you honey for this awesome birthday present !