trails

My daily commute in Bendigo is 700 metres. On foot it’s seven minutes and 90 seconds on the Rocket. My Croydon to Carringbush commute is 30 kms as the crows fly, and 35 and a half on off-road trails. Today’s the big day, my first ride to work.

The forecast is good—22 degrees and no chance of rain. I can’t ride tomorrow because I catch a train to Ballarat after work to train mentors, won’t be home till after eleven. Ditto Thursday: Castlemaine.

I’ve pored over the Melway; I’ve trialled the road ride home on a quiet Sunday; I’ve considered combinations of trail, road and train, even driving part of the way before unleashing the beast. But this is not really commuting: it’s training—three hours on the bike that’s about keeping some semblance of fitness, bike fitness.

I’ve debated whether to ride the Rocket or the Cervélo. The Rocket is equipped for commuting: mudguards, lights, cable lock. Its drawback is comfort over 35 kms. It lacks. The Cervélo is geared for the road, not easy to fit with lights, too valuable to leave even with a lock, and you don’t use a Ferrari for hack work.

I set off at 7:20 on the Rocket, across the road and up through the empty secondary college, over the highway to the Mullum Mullum Creek Trail, concrete, then cracked bitumen, then gravel to Ringwood. The ride isn’t quick but the creekscape is beautiful.

The new Eastlink track ducks and dives from Ringwood to Donvale, under the flyovers, down into dense bush. It’s seriously circuitous with two significant grunts, one a thigh-bending 15 plus per cent. It’s great for weekend gawpers but not for weekday workers.

The Koonung Trail beyond Springvale Road weaves westward but can be negotiated at speed. The bush opens into lush parklands, unleashed dogs and iPodders are the hazards. The Koonung gives way to the Main Yarra Trail at Burke Road and again the going slows, the trail cuts back on itself, the pipeline bridge across the Yarra at Fairfield a brake on serious progress.

I’m surprised how little traffic there is, wheeled and by foot. A couple of cyclists pass in the opposite direction; quite a few pass me going to town, mainly on road bikes. I pass no one. Commuters wear small backpacks, training athletes carry nothing.

Riding home in the late afternoon sun I take to the streets of Kew and hit the trail at Belford Road. Runners predominate, cyclists are few and none passes me. At half five it’s lights on, flashing at first and full beam by ten to six. I leave the track in Donvale and ride the peak traffic on major roads in the dark. I won’t do it again.

All up my ride is 69 kms. Again I study the Melway, find a street route from Collingwood through Kew that looks better. I need a strong commuting road bike, not the Cervélo.

It’s time to talk to Mick.

Rock on.