Cycling from northern suburbs to Perth

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Mububban
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Cycling from northern suburbs to Perth

Postby Mububban » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:25 pm

Hi everyone

I recently moved to Greenwood and work in Nedlands. I used to ride the car route along Wanneroo Rd, then Loftus/Thomas St, when I lived in Balcatta but am interested in exploring the cycle path along the freeway hoping it will be a bit safer in peak hour traffic.

Does anyone know where the bike paths start from say Hepburn Ave, heading south along the freeway? It's hard to see bike paths while driving on the freeway. Are they on the eastern or western side of the freeway?

I'm happy to ride on the road for sections but would prefer to avoid the blind peak hour drivers who never seem to see my fluorescent jerseys.....

Thanks

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Kalgrm
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Postby Kalgrm » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:46 pm

G'day Mububban,

Welcome to the forum. Yet another Perth rider! We WILL take over the world!!!

Try these maps for a start. Once you get onto the path, you should be right to follow someone who knows what they are doing. I'm told the paths along the Mitchell Fwy are a dog's breakfast though.

Cheers,
Graeme
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Postby moosterbounce » Wed Feb 20, 2008 1:32 pm

From Hepburn Ave, cross to the western side of the freeway and turn left onto the path. Easy!! There are places that it does go onto the road (quiet back streets) but I'm pretty sure these are north of you. There are 2 roads to cross at "controlled intersections" - unfortunately these are Karrinyup Road and Hutton Street which aren't the nicest (read Death-Trap) in a car or on a bike.

There are a few areas where there are turn offs to various suburbs, but these are signposted with arrows so you should be right to get to Perth. You will be on the western side up until Stirling, cross a bridge to the eastern side, travel south, cross at Hutton street back to the western side. Careful - you go past a bakery somewhere around here and WILL start drooling over the smell of freshly baked sausage rolls in the late afternoon :oops:

Anyhoo...you are then meant to cross back to the eastern side at leederville station for the run into the city. You may be better off staying west though and cutting through leederville to subi/nedlands depending where you work.

The path isn't too bad, but hte way it crosses roads and the freeway a few times is annoying and that hutton st crossing can take ages - please be careful there in peak hour.

There are some back streets around karrinyup and stirling that can avoid crossing, but you would need to investigate. I've given you the official route here but you will enjoy trying to find a few short cuts.

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Postby DrJ » Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:50 pm

The section where the path crosses Hutton St is an absolute shocker, and is best avoided by crossing the white arched footbridge just after you come off Telford Cres (after Cedric St). This takes you through to Hector St which has a bit of traffic but nothing compared to Wanneroo Rd (you were brave riding there at peak hour!).
Turn left into Hector off the bridge, then straight ahead to cross over Hutton St (this will take only one change of lights as opposed to up to 4 at the "official" crossing.
Follow Hector St on the other side where it turns into Frobisher St, go across the first roundabout then left into Gordon St, which will take you back to the path at the other end.
This route cuts out a section of the path with bad road crossings and a bad surface, and is actually slightly shorter too :)
I live in hope that one day the govt will spare some of its billions in stamp duty and mining revenues, to bring the Mitchell Freeway path up to the standard of the Kwinana.
Good luck with the commute, Greenwood to Nedlands is a pretty impressive distance.

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Postby Aushiker » Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:52 pm

moosterbounce wrote:Anyhoo...you are then meant to cross back to the eastern side at leederville station for the run into the city. You may be better off staying west though and cutting through leederville to subi/nedlands depending where you work.
I am with all Moo has said but I would turn off at Lake Monger (Powis Street) - pick up Herdsman Parade - Jersey Street through to the bike path along the railway line and then go from there to where you work.

Andrew
Last edited by Aushiker on Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby Aushiker » Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:55 pm

DrJ wrote:The section where the path crosses Hutton St is an absolute shocker, and is best avoided by crossing the white arched footbridge just after you come off Telford Cres (after Cedric St). This takes you through to Hector St which has a bit of traffic but nothing compared to Wanneroo Rd (you were brave riding there at peak hour!).
Turn left into Hector off the bridge, then straight ahead to cross over Hutton St (this will take only one change of lights as opposed to up to 4 at the "official" crossing.
Thanks for this idea. Hadn't considered doing this. My only concern would be all those "drivers" along Hector Street at 5:00 PM.

Andrew

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Postby moosterbounce » Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:25 pm

DrJ wrote:I live in hope that one day the govt will spare some of its billions in stamp duty and mining revenues, to bring the Mitchell Freeway path up to the standard of the Kwinana.
Sigh...yes, me too. If I ride into the city which I do occasionally (from Joondalup) I do it in about 1h15m with no bag - little longer to my front door. I'm aiming at doing the Freeway ride (same distance) in 50m. That additional 25 minutes is due to the bike path/roads/crossings/crappy bits.

Pretty big difference when you look at the percentages.

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Postby Mububban » Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:35 pm

Umm....wow! Thanks for such detailed info everyone. I'll make motes (shockign memory) and test it out on a weekend when I have time. I'm only planning on riding 2-3 days of the week, my girlfriend and I both work in Nedlands so we carpool to save fuel. There's no way she's getting on a bike, otherwise commuting on a tandem woudl be pretty cool hehehe.

I used to ride 20kms from Balcatta to Nedlands and that was okay, even with my scrawny legs. I just have the attitude that nobody's seen me and everyone is about to hit me, and I'm usually right :shock: Greenwood is only another ~5km, I'm wondering what the distance difference will be to get to the freeway bike path, then go that way rather than "as the car flies." I hope it's not another 10km onto the total distance!!! Anyone ever measured the distance difference?


P.s. has anyone else who rides/drives from Perth to north, ever seen Hairy Sweaty Cycling Man? He's an older guy who looks like he's wearing a wooly jumper, he's that hairy!

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Postby moosterbounce » Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:56 pm

Mububban wrote: P.s. has anyone else who rides/drives from Perth to north, ever seen Hairy Sweaty Cycling Man? He's an older guy who looks like he's wearing a wooly jumper, he's that hairy!

:shock: :shock: :shock: It wasn't me :P :P :P

From my house to the city is about 2km longer on the path than the road - I'm in Connolly (Joondalup and turn left) so you shouldn't notice that much difference. If I remember, I'll take a measurement from a specific point when I do the freeway ride and compare "properly".

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Postby gdl_gdl » Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:25 pm

BTW, Does anybody know if a bike path / lane is being added to the Mitchell Freeway extension? Common sense would dictate so but sometimes the planners don't have common sense! :wink: (Note relocation of Currambine station to anybody who lives in the Northern suburbs!)

Cheers,

Gary

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Postby moosterbounce » Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:53 pm

I thought I read somewhere that there was - the same as the stuff on the top end of the current.

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Postby Double-Gee » Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:56 pm

gdl_gdl wrote:BTW, Does anybody know if a bike path / lane is being added to the Mitchell Freeway extension?
I'm indirectly involved in the current freeway extension so can make some enquiries at work tomorrow. I believe that the major concern is currently feeding the large freeway onto the single lane Burns Beach Road. :(
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Postby gdl_gdl » Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:52 pm

I'm indirectly involved in the current freeway extension so can make some enquiries at work tomorrow. I believe that the major concern is currently feeding the large freeway onto the single lane Burns Beach Road.

Thanks for the response, I think Burns Beach Rd is being made into two lanes at the moment. (There appears to be room to make dual carriageway).

Cheers,

Gary

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Postby DrJ » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:54 am

gdl_gdl wrote:BTW, Does anybody know if a bike path / lane is being added to the Mitchell Freeway extension?
It is definitely in the plan, and evidence of its construction so now be seen in many places. As long as they do the right thing and put in underpasses at all the road crossings I'll be very happy - no more fighting the traffic to get from Iluka to the current start of the freeway!

And yes, Burns Beach Rd is most definitely being duplicated - dust everywhere there at the moment!

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Postby Mububban » Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:05 pm

Hahaha what an unfit sack of meat I am. I finally did the ride to work with no prep work at all, and it took me 90 minutes to cycle 26kms from Greenwood to Nedlands. That's pretty pisspoor even for my scrawny chicken legs. :oops:

In my defense, I've never ridden to bikepaths before so often had no clue where I was going :) I aimed to go around Lake Monger and get off at Herdsman Parade, then go down Jersey St, but I ended up on Grantham and going down Selby.

But I made it, and had minimal road riding thus minimal exposure to cars. Now I'm a father I'm much more aware of not getting smooshed!

I work near Aberdare and Smyth in Nedlands if anyone has any further detailed map tips, thanks to all who posted with advice and encouragement.

Already not looking forward to going up on the way home....undulations don't really register in a car do they? :D

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Postby Aushiker » Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:10 pm

Mububban wrote: I aimed to go around Lake Monger and get off at Herdsman Parade, then go down Jersey St, but I ended up on Grantham and going down Selby.
I wouldn't go as far as Lake Monger. I would (I do) pick up the bridge across the freeway into King Edward Street, follow that across Scarborough Beach Road into Selby North, swing east around Herdsman Lake on the shared path to Herdsman Parade. From Herdsman Parade follow Jersey Street right through to the railway line at Shenton Park train station. Go from there to Nedlands.

BTW my 26 km commute from Churchlands to Joondalup takes anywhere between 1 hour and 1 hour 15 minutes depending on the wind. It is not a fast route as you go in and out of roads, crappy paths, crossings etc.

Andrew

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Postby Mububban » Wed Nov 19, 2008 6:37 pm

What a disgrace hahaha. I didn't eat enough before going home and am very unfit, coz I totally ran out of gas with 10km to go on the ride home :-) So I pedalled at the pace of turtles stampeding through peanut butter, but I got home safe and sound! There are some short but very sharp climbs, including one flyover bridge - damn!!!! But I feel fine today, apart from my sit bones.

But damn, what a maze! Lucky I could follow some lady from Perth to Joondalup coz you practically need a map, compass and a native guide to find where the "path" stops, splits off, loops back on itself, and generally goes not the way you thought it would! Some of the sign-posting is sadly lacking. I get the feeling south of the river would have a much better system of signs and paths....

Until I get fitter I'll stick to commuting the 52km round trip on Tuesdays, with some other fitness rides when I can get some time away from being a dad!

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Postby DaveW » Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:00 pm

Yeah the Northern path is a bit of a maze and parts of it are really rough too.

The southern path is far better in most respects, but it is flatter, and into the wind, which means you get less chance to rest.

You will be surprised at how quickly you gain fitness if you keep at it.

Remember that as long as your transit times work you can take your bike on the train - that makes the ride less daunting.

I take the train to work and ride home - a daily total of about 46km, but never would have tried it straight off.

Enjoy, have fun, and get fit.
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Postby Joeblake » Wed Nov 19, 2008 11:45 pm

Mububban wrote: But damn, what a maze! Lucky I could follow some lady from Perth to Joondalup coz you practically need a map, compass and a native guide to find where the "path" stops, splits off, loops back on itself, and generally goes not the way you thought it would! Some of the sign-posting is sadly lacking. I get the feeling south of the river would have a much better system of signs and paths
Have you considered going to a stationery shop and buying two rolls of little sticky dots (red and green)? When you're not quite sure which way to go put a green dot on a convenient post or tree or something. If it's the wrong way, when you come back you can either put a red dot on top of the green dot or take the red dot off. They won't last long, but they don't need to. Just the first couple of times until you memorise the right path.

(Thanks to Hansel and Gretel for that tip.)

:lol:


And if you're cycling along and you hit a crappy patch of track, once you've got past it stick a couple of red dots somewhere so when you come back again you'll know where the bad bits ahead are and can avoid them or slow down.

Joe
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Postby Mububban » Fri Dec 05, 2008 6:43 pm

Did the ride again today and cut 15 minutes off my time simply by not getting lost and stopping and looking around hehehe.

I'm currently eating some crackers and fruit so hopefully I don't run out of gas like last time I rode home :oops:

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Postby Becker_11 » Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:20 am

Ok in my other life I drive a cab at night and you will have to forgive me as I haven't been back on the bike that long (5yr break) so I'm not familiar with the bike paths etc yet.

If I was driving to your work I would exit the freeway turning right at Hutton st cross the bridge then left into Hector st West which becomes Frobisher st cross Scarborough Beach rd and turn right onto Powis st then left at Herdsman pde. Follow that to the end which is Selby st and turn left. Cross Grantham st, Cambridge st and Underwood ave turning left at Nash st and going under the underpass turning right at Railway rd then left into Aberdare rd and right onto Smyth rd.

A few points. Firstly that involves alot of traffic which I realise you are trying to avoid but I still wrote it so at least it may give you a few ideas you haven't already thought of and if you've got the bike network maps you might be able to find a route close by that reduces the traffic your facing while still saving you time over other routes you have tried.

Secondly Instead of using the underpass at Nash st there is the possibility of the new underpass on Stubbs tce when it opens either on the road or using a DUP if there is one (I don't know)

Hope that helps a bit anyway.

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Postby Aushiker » Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:48 am

Becker_11 wrote:Secondly Instead of using the underpass at Nash st there is the possibility of the new underpass on Stubbs tce when it opens either on the road or using a DUP if there is one (I don't know)
No DUP through the underpass. The DUP only runs east-west over the top, i.e., heading to the coast along Stubbs Terrace. BTW no DUP coming west-east either, just a marked on the road lane.

Andrew

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Postby ajh_ausnzcf » Fri Dec 12, 2008 11:25 am

Aushiker wrote:... just a marked on the road lane.

Andrew
I wish they'd put those on all main roads! I prefer those to DUP anyday.
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Postby Joeblake » Fri Dec 12, 2008 11:27 am

ajh_ausnzcf wrote: I wish they'd put those on all main roads! I prefer those to DUP anyday.
+1

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