70 kilometers on the race bike

I dusted off my race-bike yesterday and figured it might be fun to go out for a bit of speed for a change. So this morning I took it out and pushed of to Colmenar Viejo. There and back is some 70 kilometers and there are frequent ascents and descents, not very steep but enough to break a sweat.

For those of you interested in cycling this route, which can get you as far as Soto el Real, there are various comprehensive Spanish descriptions on the web: Here is an example. The bicycle lane takes you right along the M 607, so is not the prettiest of routes, but if you are set on cycling a long stretch without having to cross busy roads and deal with the dangerous Spanish motorists, than its perfect.


I left home at around 6:30 AM, right around the time that it started to get light out. There was a fair amount of wind, luckily frontal on my way out which gave me confidence of an anticipated tail wind for the way back. The other way around would have been much worse. My usual route to the Colmenar bicycle lane is by taking a bit of Madrid´s so called green ring, or anillo verde. Essentially this is a bicycle lane that acompanies the M40 ring road all around Madrid. It is not bad for easy cycling, but as there are many crossings and thus places where you need to stop, it is not that well suited for a bit of racing. At this ungodly hour in Madrid however traffic is very light, so was able to make my way to the Colmenar lane quickly.

The weather was stunning and once on the Colmenar track you are immediately awarded with a very nice view of the mountains, the ones I was cycling in only yesterday morning. I pedalled quickly and soon found myself at Colmenar, figuring that it was probably a good idea to turn around.

I really enjoyed being on a racer again for a change after having had my ass firmly planted on an MTB for the majority of my trails lately. The first few kilometers took a lot of getting used to, but after a bit I was flying down the streets and the bicycle path. I do believe to have a preference for mountain biking however, which if done well gets you to the most beautiful and remote places. What struck me as odd was that a large percentage of the cyclists that I encountered on the bicycle lane were actually on mountain bikes, what´s the use I thought... off road with an MTB is so much more fun.

Hasta la próxima
Douwe