Off to the M7 cycleway this morning to give Darth a proper run.
Jumped off the M2 at the Abbott Road exit, and took the first left into a cul-de-sac that seemed to have a park with a bike path that ran off it that looked like it might plug into the M7 cycleway.
It didn't.
After following the path around for 10 minutes or so, and then ducking under the expressway, I appeared back on Old Windsor Road. I made my way down the road towards the M7 and noticed the footpath next to the T-Way was marked as a footpath/cycleway. This looked promising! And, sure enough, a left turn after going under the twin elevated roads and we were on our way!
I was pretty keen to get a feel for the bike and this probably saw me go out pretty hard, something that would become an issue later. There were a few cyclists out and about, and it was quite social, with pretty much everyone nodding or waving a greeting.
I caught up to and passed another fellow who was rolling along fairly well, and on passing a slower cyclist I noticed he was sitting just behind me. I invited him to join me and we had a bit of a chat, during which I completely missed we'd crossed the M4 overpass. He turned around not long after this, and I was planning to turn around around 10 minutes later (at about the hour mark).
Then, I noticed the M5 interchange was only 13km away. A seed was planted in my mind.
At the designated turnaround time, I saw a sign indicating the M5 interchange was 9km away. Eh, stuff it, come this far, may as well make a morning of it.
Got to Camden Valley Way at Prestons, and felt okay. I stopped and had some water and some nuts & dried fruit I had with me, and turned around.
From there, the successive solid climbs leading up to the M4 overpass tore my quads to shreds, and the hills became long, grimb efforts as my thighs screamed in protest. It was one of those classic times you're stuck and the quickest way to get it over is to finish the damned run/ride.
I finally managed to get back to Old Windsor Road in a bit over 3 hours but was utterly smashed. Worse, I knew I had to find my way back to the car, and that involved yet another climb to the Seven Hills Road intersection!
It was with no small measure of relief that I finally got back to the car, and I had a little lie in the tailgate to get my composure. And people wonder why we have a wagon...
Still, a good ride and I'm looking forward to riding regularly. You forget how good it feels to be tired after training - it's a good, wholesome tiredness, unlike work stress!
The bike itself is awesome - its ability to maintain momentum, and to pick up speed when commanded is brilliant, completely different to my Giant mountain bike, but I guess it's like comparing, say, a 350Z with a Pathfinder (no reason for the Nissan reference, just two cars that seemed a handy relative comparison). The mountain bike's great for the commute to and from work, through Lane Cove, with its low gearing (both because of the hills, and I'm loaded up) and front shocks, but in the long open spaces of the M7 Cycleway Darth's in his element. Love the cleats, too - they seem to introduce a discipline in producing power, I think because they removed the variability of foot position from pedalling. And it's so easy to drag up hills!
I look forward to being able to do it justice at some point!
