As Cyril gets into gear for his first ever assault on the 2011 Australasian Safari he tells us about his rally preparations. Heading Down Under seems to suit Cyril as he talks about the new friends he has been meeting ahead of the race…
This is the first time I have arrived in a place a week before the rally is due to start. It’s been good to be able to get things done at a leisurely pace before the race starts. All those things like getting the bike through scrutineering have all been ticked off and there’s still been time to relax and enjoy the surroundings.
Yesterday my mechanic Roland and myself were invited along on a little trip by Tourism Western Australia. These are the kind of things I don’t always have time to do, so it was great to be able to go along and find out a bit more about the area we are racing in.
To be honest we had no idea what they had planned and when they took us up in this little plane we had no clue where they were taking us.
We ended up flying over Rottness Island, a really small place about 20km off the coast of Perth. We circled around a few times and I could see it was a very beautiful place surrounded by white sand. Then the plane started to make a descent and we ended up landing on the island so we got a real close look at the place.
'Next thing I know we are in the sea, snorkelling and playing with these adorable sealions'
There is no transport except for bicycles allowed on Rottness, but the folks we were with got hold of the only car on the island and took us for a ride to a small habour.
Again I enjoyed the view and again I was surprised when they invited Roland and myself into one of the three little boats sitting in the sea. I get seasick very easily, but because everyone was being so nice to us we ended up go out for a boatride.
Next thing I know we are in the sea, snorkelling and playing with these adorable sealions. The sealions just loved playing and they were definitely not scared of us one bit. I suppose they think bikers are nothing to fear after putting up with sharks all their lives!
Back on dry land we shared our lunch with a group of quokkas, a funny little animal that looks a bit like a kangeroo but is only about knee high. The quokkas were as tame as the sealions and ready to have fun with us.
With such friendly animals and people on Rottness Island I would love to go back there some day. Maybe I’ll get the chance to see the Red Bull Lighthouse to Leighton Kite Race they have there every year.
I’m glad to have got some experience of handling Australian wildlife under my belt before the race starts. Everybody keeps telling me about the huge number of kangaroos, big ones, that will be out on the course. When I took a ride out on my bike the other day I saw three of them jumping along. I can imagine riding towards one of them at 140kmph could be an issue.
Cyril
Find out how Cyril gets on with the kangaroos at the 2011 Australasian Safari by checking back in soon for his next blog.
- Check out more Cyril Despres blogs
- Official website cyrildespres.com
- More about Red Bull Lighthouse to Leighton
- Official Australasian Safari website
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