Life is busy at the moment and it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve got out for a long training run on the BeOne, so today I was even more determined to make time for some road miles.
I’m still nursing a slight strain on one leg so the plan was to do around 40-45 miles at an easy pace. I headed out early (though not as early as planned) into the fine spring morning, battled the wind along the Sustrans lough shore path and pointed myself roughly at east Belfast. I took some time for a quick nostalgia trip past Grosvenor Grammar School (my alma mater) before proceeding towards the Newtownards Road (A20) with the intention of following it to Comber.
However, I crossed the path of the Sustrans Comber Greenway, and my plans changed. Completed in 2008, the Comber Greenway is a 7 mile traffic free section of the National Cycle Network developed by Sustrans along the old Belfast to Comber railway line. I’d heard of the Greenway before but was never sure of it’s location. When I saw that it followed the path of the old railway line – where I’d played as a child – I simply had to follow it.
The Sustrans Comber Greenway
The Greenway is amazing! It was early enough so there wasn’t much foot traffic and I was able to crank along it free and easy at a steady pace. You may think that it’s just a strip of tarmac and a couple of recycled bridges, but the difference cycling along the Greenway instead of the busy (and dangerous) Newtownards (A20) and Comber (A22) roads is incredible. I can’t believe government ministers would like to run buses down the Comber Greenway now.
The Greenway ends in the town of Comber, but I didn’t go into Comber itself, instead taking the A21 bypass to Newtownards itself, through the town and out the other side towards Bangor. In Newtownards I encountered the North Down Cycling Club out on a training ride, but they were heading in the opposite direction at high speed so I didn’t get to chat.
Scrabo Tower seen from the A21
The A21 is in good condition and the weather was being pleasant for once. The BeOne is very much at home on good tarmac and proved itself a comfortable mile muncher, which bodes well for the forthcoming sportive season. It’s still got a turn of speed though and I managed to crank it to over 30mph on the flat a couple of times on this stretch!
Once in Bangor I woke my friend Mark out of bed (at 11am) and called in for a choccy biccy and ritual shaming (at him not being out cycling) pit stop. Stocking up on chocolcate proved to be fortunate as a stiff headwind came in along the Bangor to Crawfordsburn (B20) to Belfast (A2) carriageway and made this section very tough going, even on the drops and with the power of chocolate compelling and propelling me.
Thankfully, once back in Belfast and on the homeward leg up the Antrim Road (A6), the wind swung around and gave me a push up the hill. By this stage, my legs were accepting all the help that they could get and I wasn’t complaining about the tailwind, or the many traffic light rest stops either.
54 miles, 32mph - both personal records
The trip was 54 miles plus change, more than I’d intended and I was certainly “feeling the burn” by the end. On the bright side, 54 miles is the furthest I’ve ever travelled on a bike, ever, and I believe 32mph is the fastest I’ve ever travelled on a bike on the flat, ever.
A day of records then!
well done i have really enjoyed reading about your bike exploits! i used to have a diamond back with one of the fancy paint jobs it brought back some great memories fo me john! they did a carbon fibre frame around that time i think it may have had an aluminium rear triangle if i remember right!