It’s a lovely and crisp Canberra morning, and I’m out on my bike, exactly where I want to be.
The early morning sunlight shimmers off the lake, with low mist clinging to its banks. The spring conditions are borderline perfect — cold enough for arm warmers, base layer and a vest, but warm enough to leave the leg warmers at home — and I’m making nice progress along the waterfront bike path, with little to no wind to speak of. Premium.
I’ve set out to do the Cotter/Uriarra loop, a popular training ride for local cyclists in Canberra. From the city, it’s a smooth 12 or 13 kilometres of bike path along Lake Ginninderra and the Molonglo River, passing by Canberra Zoo and over Scrivener Dam, before the loop properly begins. These kilometres fly by — as a native Sydneysider, convenient and well maintained shared bike paths are a rare treat — and I soon reach the new suburbs that sprawl around the base of Mount Stromlo, where I rejoin the road.
Cotter Road starts climbing gently as I roll past fresh lawns and new, shiny concrete driveways, before suburbia makes way for Stromlo Forest Park, home to some pretty world class mountain biking and one of the country’s best purpose-built criterium circuits.
At the turn-off to Mount Stromlo Observatory, I decide to take a slight detour and add in this extra climb to my original plan. It’s not a particularly tough hill (3.6km at 4%), but it’s steady enough, and I know that the view from the top on a bluebird day like today will be worth the effort. After about 10 minutes, I’m at the top, and take a quick breather while soaking it all in. From here I can see the main Canberra landmarks, the Telstra Tower and Parliament House; the viewpoint also gives a sense of why the city is nicknamed the ‘bush capital’, with pockets of suburbia surrounded by gumtrees and other native flora.
On the descent back down, I’m provided with another reminder of Canberra’s bushland setting when a large kangaroo jumps out in front of me at 55km/h; luckily I have enough time and distance to react to the surprise arrival of this marsupial, which, disaster averted, bounces back off into the bush. My fingers hover over the brake levers for the rest of the descent.
Back at Cotter Road, I take a right, and after a brief uphill drag, enjoy a lovely false-flat downhill section, which soon morphs into a pretty fast descent. Whipping around a few impeccably smooth and cambered corners, I pass by the heritage-listed Cotter Pumping Station, one of Canberra’s oldest buildings, and roll across the bridge over the Murrumbidgee River. Judging by the number of tents, Cotter Campground to my left looks like a pretty popular spot, and as I roll by the last of the happy campers, the road starts to rise, and I turn right onto Brindabella Road.
The climb up Mt McDonald (4.7km at 3.1%) is another pretty gentle one, and today I tackle most of it in the big ring, which gets the heart rate up and has me unzipping my vest for the first time this morning. I push on over the top as the road levels out, and enjoy a splendid view over the hills as I roll down towards Uriarra Village, eventually taking a right at the intersection with Uriarra Road.
The next section of straight, false-flat downhill road is one of the best parts of the ride, with the favourable gradient easily letting me turn over the 11-tooth cog and enjoy the high speeds. Out here in the countryside, it’s hard to believe I’m only a stone’s throw away from the CBD, and indeed, the home of the Australian government; their decision, made over 100 years ago, to build the nation’s capital in such a rural setting, is certainly paying dividends for me today.
The road soon drops down to the Murrumbidgee again, and I’m hard on the brakes to avoid overshooting a right hand turn which crosses over a picturesque weir. I don’t have very long to enjoy the pretty setting though, as almost instantly after crossing the river, the road pitches up steeply, and I start the climb of the Three Sisters (2.4km at 5.2%) — so named for its three distinctive ramps, each with a flat or downhill section in between. The first ‘sister’ is the steepest; the second is also steep, but short; while the final sister seems to drag on and on.
In the end, the Three Sisters are over in less than ten minutes, and while I don’t go particularly deep, it’s also definitely the most challenging part of the day. Apart from a close encounter with a particularly territorial magpie a few kilometres after the top of the climb — which I swear has swooped me nearly every time I’ve ridden this loop — the idyllic, rolling section from here to Stromlo passes without incident, and after passing back through the suburbs near the base of the hill, I’m on the bike path I rode earlier in the morning heading back towards town.
Leaving the lake behind, I join the road at the foot of Black Mountain (2.7km at 8.6%), but as I roll towards the turnoff for the climb, I decide against tackling it; as one of the steeper climbs in Canberra, and easily the hardest climb of the route, I don’t want to finish off what has been a pretty serene and steady ride with a lungbusting effort. I’ll save that for another day.
Plus, after more than 70 kilometres fueled by little more than a banana, there’s coffee and breakfast at one of the many great cafes on Lonsdale Street calling my name.