You can make your regular rides more interesting by adding variations. For example, the Cooks River Cycleway is a mostly flat and scenic 30km round-trip from Botany to Strathfield (or vice versa). To spice it up, you can add extensions to Flemington Market or Homebush Olympic Park. Another interesting add-on is Rookwood Cemetery which is the destination of this ride.

I parked on Brighton-Le-Sands then took the bike path past the Airport, market gardens, and charming creek marina.

The cycle path crosses a bridge to Tempe Station where you can either follow the north or south side of Cooks River (remember to swap on return).

The River is scenic for most of its length, until it narrows to a canal when it reaches Canterbury and Burwood.

The Hudson Park Golf Course is the regular turn-around point, but this ride crossed at the Centenary Drive lights to enter Rookwood. It is the size of a suburb and sub-zoned according to religion and culture, with architecturally ornate monuments everywhere.

While not everyone wants to visit a cemetery before its necessary, they are culturally diverse, peaceful, and reflective places to explore. At just over 50kms in three hours, the Botany to Rookwood ride is safe, varied, and full of fascinating things to see.