I was keen on a longer ride and I imagined that a loop between Greenvale and Williamstown would fit the bill.  This route is dominated by bike paths along waterways providing a  picturesque, generally traffic-free  experience.  I had mapped this ride out in my head as five segments with some back streets in between to stitch them together, covering:

• Moonee Ponds Creek Trail
• Capital City/Hobson’s Bay Trail
• Maribyrnong River Trail
• Steele Creek Trail
• Western Ring Road Path

Combined, it would hopefully mean a cruise down to Williamstown, where the morning’s westerly cross wind would be cancelled out by downhill nature of the terrain.  A nice rest at a cafe that I had read about, the Pint of Milk in Newport and if I was lucky, a push uphill by the forecast south westerly change for the return ride.  I was hoping that the “see your breath condense” cold , would mean there would be less foot traffic to disrupt the journey.

Moonee Ponds Creek Trail

If you’ve read my blog, you may have spotted comments stating that sometimes you don’t realize how good you have it in your own backyard.  In this instance, I’m not just talking about Moonee Ponds Creek Trail.   I have several options to get to the trail from my home.  The most exhilarating is straight down Mickleham Rd from Barrymore Rd to Westmeadows.   I’ve seen some Strava segments named “Chasing Cars”; and if there is one that qualifies for such a title, this is it.   Offering gloriously wide concrete bike paths and wide on-road bike lines, there is a mountain of distance to get some serious speed.   Flying past the slowing cars, as they themselves are hitting traffic on this section of road, brings an early feeling of euphoria to the ride.  Particularly to someone with  a competitive streak. You could imagine the scenes here back in the 1956 Olympic Road Race Course with this type of gradient, but not so good road.  (Yes! True! and something to experience in full another time and another story!).

If you manage not to overshoot it, the slightly hidden on-path to the Trail is just over the bridge on the left.  Wandering through the streets of Westmeadows village , the path proper continues after crossing Fawkner St.  For those of you who want want to make a day of it, the bakery here is fantastic, but at just over 5 kms into the ride, it’s a bit too early to refuel.

The alternating concrete/bitumen path snakes through Westmeadows, Gladstone Park, rising up through the Jacana Wetlands before cresting at Gowanbrae.  Acting like the launching platform in a professional TT event, this provides a magnificent kick on for the ongoing journey through Strathmore Heights, Strathmore, Pascoe Vale South and Essendon.  Over the next 10 kms or so, the path was almost my own through parklands,  sporting grounds and notorious underworld crime and movie scenes (if you recall Cross Keys Reserve in Underbelly).

The Citylink Tullamarine widening project disrupts the path in Moonee Ponds.  The early detour signs make the the trail confusing, leading into a your-on-your-own-keep-the-creek-on-your-right-there’s-the-cheesestick-up-ahead-where-the-hell-is-the-bike-path-thank-f..k-there’s-the-Capital-City-Trail exercise.

Capital City Trail/Hobson’s Bay Trail

Ok.  Really,  the Capital City Trail that I rode today is the Inner Circle Rail Trail joining the  Moonee Ponds Creek Bike Path via the Manningham St Bridge; and  I’ve falsely advertised the Hobson’s Bay Trail, as I rode the Footscray Rd Trail and then on-road all the way to Williamstown and return.   The Hobson’s Bay Trail is not the greatest bike path as it has many tight right angle turns across the old dock rail lines and it has way too much foot traffic on a meandering track all the way to Willy.  The road along Whitehall St, Hyde St and Douglas Pde has wide convenient bike paths and  sweeping curves along The Strand.   Either way,  it is one continuous concrete jungle which I obviously enjoyed, as I rode personal bests all along this stretch and back to the Maribyrnong River according to Strava.  The westerly was a pain along Footscray Rd, but provided  enormous benefits in limiting the stench from the Spotswood Pumping Station.    I was feeling the ride in my quads as I hit the aforementioned (and obviously very popular)  Pint of Milk for a break; 45 kms down and 30 odd to go.  Dark clouds looming in the south behind me, I was optimistic that the south westerly was going to come early as I headed back to the Maribrynong River Trail.

Maribyrnong River Trail

Every man, woman, child (and their dog) love this path and you can see why.  A good looking river on one side, park land on the other, this is a gourmet delight from Happy River Cafe in Footscray to Poytons of Essendon; but I felt like I was on a Sunday stroll, which wasn’t quite what I was looking for.  I don’t know if it was the stop/start nature of the ride or the lack of sugar on the break,  but my quads were getting worse and I had only traveled 10 km’s since the cafe stop.  Climbing up the Lily St switchback on the way to the Steele Creek Trail was way harder than it should have been. One thing though,  the downhill on the other side of Buckley St provided as great a sensation as Mickleham Rd.

Steele Creek Trail

Steele Creek Trail is an oasis for 3 km between St Bernards College and Keilor Rd in Niddrie.   The scenes of the creek amongst the tree’s is quite serene.   I couldn’t help but think it would be great to live around here  and I was keen to stop somewhere to give my legs a rest.   My memory was of a cafe in the middle of Valley Lake in Niddrie, which would  make a perfect unscheduled stop.  However,  it is  just an empty building, now that the Sales Office that drove it has shut down.   The  real estate in the lake is not quite as enticing as along the creek.  As I was sitting outside the empty Sales Office, eating my carb bar, looking across the lake at a bunch of unfinished apartments with a back drop of the quarry wall, the thoughts of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley came to mind.  Just same, same and very sterile.   What are those lyrics of a famous Eagles tune.

” Some rich men came and raped the land,”

“Nobody caught ’em”

“Put up a bunch of ugly boxes,”

“and Jesus people bought ’em”

 After ten minutes I was ready to attack the final 16 odd km’s back home.   Around the front of the lake, the creek climbs towards Keilor Rd, after which is gets quite steep but flattens out as you hit the Western Ring Road Trail.  It is amazing how the thought of being within reach of home  boosts the energy stocks and reduce the aches and pains.

Western Ring Road Trail and home

Functional is the only way to describe it. The Western Ring Road Trail, with wide bitumen and concrete paths, is functional, but ugly.  Factories and warehouses on one side and the Western Ring Road on the other, you ain’t doing this section for the postcard scenery.  At times, the trucks shudder through you as they thunder past, but with the wind now behind my left shoulder, the legs felt lighter and I was maintaining a decent pace on the steady climb to Melrose Drive in Airport West.  Would I consider riding up Mickleham Rd or take the easier route home via the creek paths?   I decided on the later, which meant hurtling down the steep streets of Gowanbrae, before again hitting the Moonee Ponds Creek Path.

The winds gods arrived once through Gowenbrae and the wind turned south westerly, giving me a last push home.  An hour and a half too late in my mind, but in fairness, at the time that the Bureau of Meteorology had predicted it.

At almost 76 km, it was my longest solo ride to date, and I was happy and content to finish.  When I do this loop again,  I’ll look for an alternative to the Maribrynong River Trail to avoid the social and jogging crowd (unless I want to be a participant that is).    Now, back to Strava to analyse those record segments!