It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish…
The March road ride has exquisite views, long stretches of road that are like cycling on a black silk ribbon and many kilometres of safe road shoulders where cyclists can get out of the traffic lane and enjoy a stress-free ride as the miles fly by under their wheels.
The ride begins easily enough from Galston Village down Mid-Dural Road. It only takes an hour to cycle the 25km along Old Northern Road to the turn off onto Wiseman’s Road at Maroota Public School. Beware of overdoing it on the wicked pinch climb just before the school though, as you still have 40km to go from here and it’s easy to feel ‘gung-ho’ at this point.
Wiseman’s Ferry Road is breathtakingly beautiful and mostly downhill with smooth road shoulders, gentle bends and big sky views of the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury River Valley. It is not uncommon to average a speed of 30-40km/h if bunch-riding along this immaculate 18km stretch of road. Back off from your friends’ wheels when descending to the S-bends past Riverside Oaks Golf Resort, where your bike can reach speeds exceeding 70km/h.
Head for home along Halcrows Road via a gentle, scenic 7km climb up to Cattai Ridge Road.
Although much of this ride follows the three ridgelines and appears to be a cruise…it’s not! The return back UP to Old Northern along Cattai Ridge Road, and then UP again to Galston Village via either Wylds or Mid-Dural Roads make it challenging! Cycling these roads in an easterly direction is a relentless series of climbs at the end of a long ride -which can really hurt when you already have 60km+ in your legs. So it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish…
Make doing this particular ride a must in 2018, because our area is changing fast! Monday to Saturday, bicycling paradise is compromised by heavy truck traffic all along Old Northern and Wisemans Road where, every five minutes, a large and noisy construction vehicle thunders through Glenorie and Maroota. This is because there are numerous quarries in the general direction of Wisemans, the Western Sydney construction boom and numerous large new homes sprouting up like magic mushrooms all along Old Northern, Wisemans and Halcrows Roads… and all require construction materials and equipment.
It is therefore recommended that cycling this particular route solo or with friends, early on a Sunday morning, is the best time to appreciate the natural environments and lovely scenery we still have out here.
