Day 15- Hallett Cove to Adelaide

We had a sleep in this morning…. Up at 7.00 am rather that 6!

The weather again was very kind with virtually no wind and sunny coolish conditions which warmed up as the day went on.

After a great breakfast which included croissants we were off shortly before 9.00am for the 32 km ride to Adelaide central. I must say the croissants purchased by Chris and Ian were a great change from toast!

The ride today took us along the coast from Hallett Cove to Henley Beach then along the Torrens River into Adelaide. 

The coast ride was definitely a highlight with lovely beaches and plenty of people out enjoying the walks and runs along the Esplanade.

We had a morning coffee stop at a lovely cafe Seacliff. As it was quite warm I had an iced coffee.

The ride then took us through some lovely seaside villages including Brighton, Glenelg, West Beach and Henley.

The ride along the Torrens River into Adelaide was also along a very nice and interesting bike trail.

We arrived at the Youth Hostel at about midday which was great timing as the room was ready for us. 

After having a shower said goodbye to Anthony as he made his way to the airport to fly home.

There were celebrations all around in making the trip of around 1200 kms from Melbourne to Adelaide in the 14 days!!!!

After showering Ellio, Ian and I found a pub for a light lunch and we were later joined by Chris.

After lunch Ellio and I walked a short distance to the Adelaide Oval. Surprisingly we were allowed to walk into the ground and have a look and visit the Don Bradman museum. 

All a good experience!

The disappointment for the day was the thrashing of the Dees by Gold Coast…Grrr!

After walking back to the hostel I was invited by a friend from my Andersen days to have dinner with both he and his partner…. He had just picked up a new car and should be great to see him and his partner.

I will do a more fulsome summary of this wonderful ride in a later post but suffice to say this has been a great success and the fellowship of my riding mates and our driver Ian has been wonderful.

Congratulations to all who were on the ride and well done all!

At the start of the day!

Brighton Beach pier

Glenelg Pier

Arrived at the hostel 


Inside Adelaide Oval

Today’s ride 

Day 14- Addendum with more pics

Me at Sellicks Beach 
Pano view of the beach 
Lunch at the beach cafe with Ellio and Abdy 
Part of the trail just before Abdy had a puncture!
Home for the night… very comfortable!

Todays ride… those black dotes with mountains are all the climbs we had today 

Day 14- Strathalbyn to St Hallett

Today was for me the toughest day of the ride to Adelaide!!!!

The weather was a lot warmer with the daytime temperatures near 30 degrees and there was virtually no wind. We also had 16 designated climbs including going up one of the all time classic climbs…. Willunga Hill.In all I climbed nearly 1300 metres.

The day started early again at about 5.45 am so we could get away at arm 7.15 am… well that was the plan!

Fate intervened in the form of a few beers and a glass or 2 of red wine which made things a bit slow for some of us this morning…

No matter as we were on the road after a heart starting coffee at 7.45 am. 

Almost immediately we were on to a climb out of Strathalbyn….this was followed by many more climbs as we made our way to the top of Willunga Hill!

It was pleasing to see the top of this classic Tour Down Under climb…. Richie Porte holds the record for the climb at 6 minutes 39 seconds….

As we climbed the backside of the hill we did not have a chance to match Richie Portes record…. We did better it on the way down!!!

We had a recharge at Willunga town after the decent which for me was a cool drink and cake!!

After this we made our way to the coast at Sellicks Beach and rode along the Esplanade to Moama Beach for lunch. 

The beaches along this stretch of the coast were spectacular with 4WD parked on the wide beaches and people swimming and fishing. The houses along the coast were also quite stunning.

The lunch at the Moama cafe was timely as I was running low on energy. This was in part due to climbing along the coast with short sharp valleys at various points.

Lunch for me was a fruit smoothie and a slice of blueberry crumble….

Then on to the bikes for the last 35 kms to our destination.

It started out with a nice ride along the coast then it disintegrated into a mountain bike track of poor quality. This continued for about a couple of kilometres…. Some parts were only able to be travelled by walking the bikes…. Yuck!!

At this stage Abdy had a puncture in his front tyre so we rand Ian to come to pick him up as he had only about 10 kms to go.

I rand Ellio who was behind us to warn him to avoid this piece of our course.

After sorting out Abdy I made my way through the last 10 kms on a sealed bike path that was very good to our final destination at St Hallett.

We are staying in a house tonight which has 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms which is more than adequate for us all. 

St Hallett is in the northern McLaren Vale area and I think it has a very good winery…

As I am quite tired after the day today …. And I think we all are… we are having dinner in house with a roast chicken and chips… an easy meal.

No doubt this will be washed down with some beer and soft drink.

Tomorrow is the last day of riding for us all as we make our way into Adelaide.

I am looking forward to the dinner tonight and a good night of sleep.

Early morning after the first climb looking back to Strathalbyn 

Bugger… a gravel road. First one for the trip!

My bike at the top of Willunga Hill 

The group enjoyed a recast the Willunga cafe

Will do some more pictures in an addendum 

Day 13 - Meningie to Strathalbyn

It was a very early morning today as we had to say goodbye to Steve Seymour who was catching the bus back to Melbourne from Tailem Bend. So awake at 6.00am and all packed for the ride into town for breakfast at the bakery. 

After saying goodbye to Steve we tucked into breakfast which was for me OJ, a coffee scroll and coffee….

We were off for the ride at about 7.10 am. This was our earliest departure time!

The morning was crisp with the temperature around 10 degrees. As the day wore on the temperature rose to about 25 degrees and there was virtually no wind! If anything there was a slight tailwind.

The first part of the ride to Wellington was along the Princes Highway was a good road surface and shoulder. The traffic was fairly light and we made good time to the turn off. Frank unfortunately had a puncture just before the turn off which was easily repaired…. He’d accidentally acquired a nail in his tyre…. Not a good outcome!

We all met at the ferry at Wellington to cross the Murray River…. The car and passenger ferry is an old chain ferry across the river which goes for about 100 metres. The water flow was not strong but I could imagine it would be interesting when the rains are heavy upstream in the Murray Darling Basin…. With the rains there now it might be worth seeing in a month or so. 

Crossing the river we met with Ian after he had delivered Steve to the bus. We met at the only open cafe in town…. It was the petrol station!

The coffee was ok!

After this it was on to the next stop at Langhorn Creek which was about 40 kms away. 

As we were off the Princes highway the road was not as good with narrow shoulders but the traffic was lighter thankfully.

The country turned from rather barren grazing land to large vineyards as we approached Langhorn Creek. The big Bleasdale vineyard was prominent as we approached the town.

Lunch was at the cafe in town with fresh sandwiches and a cool drink.

Unfortunately Ellio had a puncture on his rear tyre as he approached the town which needed a repair.

After replenishing the stomach it was off for the 15 km trip to Strathalbyn. The country was again showing a lot of vineyards and a large turf farm.

We arrived at our accommodation in Strathalbyn at around 1.30 pm and were welcomed by a very nice manager who showed us to our rooms. The Victoria Hotel is very comfortable and has excellent facilities. The town of Strathalbyn is quite pretty with lovely parks and trees. It is the centre for the local wine industry and has a lot of antique shops.

Over the last few days we have seen very dry countryside which is in desperate need of rain. Seems the cattle are being fed on hay as the paddocks are bare.

The vineyards seem to rely on irrigation from the freshwater lakes.

From a riding perspective, the weather and wind have been very favourable which makes doing 100 kms in a day quite doable.

Let’s hope this continues into Adelaide!

Early morning sunrise on the road

The fery terminal at Wellington 

The road ahead!

Lunch at Langhorn Creek 
An interesting photo!!!
Home for the night… very comfortable hotel 

Today’s ride

Day 12- Kingston to Meningie

Last night we agreed that those who were in the second shift back from the 45 km pick up point would be first off today…. That is Chris, Ellio and myself.

Despite this we were all up at 6.00 am this morning and were down at the Kingston bakery at 7.00 am for breakfast. The motel we stayed at had no plates or cutlery for us to do our own breakfast.

Today is the bakers birthday so we celebrated with a delicious breakfast and a free donut.

After this Chris, Elliand myself were off in the Ute to the start points for the ride about 45 kms from Kingston. Chris we on about 10 kms further as he had undertaken a slightly longer ride yesterday.

After the drop off we made our way along the Princes Highway. 

The road was quiet until about 10.30 am when the caravan traffic started…. And it was constant from then on! Most of the caravans seem to give plenty of space to cyclists when passing…. However there are always some idiots who insist on not moving to allow for the safe 1.5 metre distance when passing! This is despite me ( and all of us) moving as far I can to the left on the road shoulders.

The weather today was excellent again with a cool start at about 10 degrees and warming up to around 25 degrees. The wind was also favourable with a tailwind for the day…. Wow we have been lucky!

The scenery for most of the day through the Coorong was spectacular and I enjoyed seeing this part of our country. The lake configuration is quite different and scenic and the bird life was excellent.

We made very good time into Meningie arriving at about 12.45 with an average speed of over 25 kph. This would be largely attributed to the tailwind.. we saw a could of touring cyclists travelling in the opposite direction and they were struggling. One guy we spoke to mentioned he was traveling from Perth to Sydney…. Wow what a ride!

Finally we finished in Meningie and enjoyed a well deserved drink and lunch… then Chris and I made our way to our accommodation only to find we had 4 rooms with double beds only and with no room for a single bed. Despite being great friends…. Sharing a double bed is a big no NO!

After discussing this with the motel manager he informed us that there were no other rooms…. Bugger!

Using a bit of lateral thinking we both noticed another motel in the town. So I made my way to this motel and with great relief I was able to get a room for 4!

Whew you can be lucky sometimes.

As I sit here doing my blog I am quite tired after riding a second lot of 100 kms back to back I am hovering in and out of drowsiness….

I am looking forward to an early evening and bed !

The lake along the Coorong

Send on the lake

More views of the lake 

…. And more views of the lake
Home for the night

Today’s ride

Addendum to Day 11

Beats watching the budget!

Sunset at Kingston over the Lacepede Bay

Day 11- Robe to 100 kms ( back to Kingston SE for the night)

Today was always going to be a little complicated as there is no town with accommodation between Robe and Meningie. The distance is about 200 kms!

We opted for accommodation at Kingston which is about 45 kms from Robe. Here we could have a coffee break then ride to additional 65 kms and then Ian could  ferry us back in the Ute to Kingston.

The additional complication was the fact that the Ute only had passenger capacity for 5… so we sorted out an arrangement where one group of 4 would start early and the second group would start about an hour and a quarter later. I was I the second group with Ellio and Chris. The first group was Steve, Frank, Anthony and Abdy.

The first group had the normal 7.30 am start which included the stop for coffee in Robe….

Our sleep in worked well and we in the second group left later. 

Coffee at the bakery in Robe was good and we were off on the ride.

We made good time to reach Kingston S E at about 11.00 am and it was great to have a coffee and pastie as an early lunch. 

Kingston S E seems a nice place but not as nice as Robe… it is called Kingston SE ( ie South East) to distinguish it from the other Kingston in South Australia…. No idea where it is!

The ride on to the 100 km point was good with a tailwind but the road was busy with grey nomads in caravans and vehicle traffic. The road surface was very rough bitumen which made for bumpy riding…

No real worry though as the average speed force day was over 25 kph. 

The various pickups worked well along the road and we were back at the motel by about 3.00 pm.

The day of riding was aided by a lovely tailwind and beautiful weather. The morning was cool at about 10 degrees and the day warmed up to around 25 degrees.

Another great day of riding.

The sunrise at Robe…. Quite something!

Interesting lighthouse Kingston 

Home for the night at the motel in Kingston…. First motel for the trip.

Today’s ride 

Day 10 - Millicent to Robe

Better day today after watching the Dees lose badly against North Melbourne yesterday…. The only saving grace was the victory by Oscar Piastri in the Chinese F1 GP.

As per usual we had the early wake up for the schedule of leaving the hotel by 7.30 am….once again we stopped at the local bakery in Millicent for a coffee and coffee scroll….

The weather today was cool to start off but warmed to around 25 degrees as the ride went on. The great thing about the ride today was the tailwind…. It meant for fast riding for most of the day. My average speed for the ride was nearly 25 kph which included a slow start for the first 10 or so kms. The roads were not as good as we have had in the ride so far with minimal shoulder and some potholes. The car traffic was light which was a blessing.

During the later part of the ride in was doing every 5 kms in a little over 10 minutes….. wow what an experience!

The first stop was at Beachport for another coffee… I also had a lamington! The town of Beachport is lovely and we struck it on a magical day with sun and very little wind. It is a place I would like to visit again.

After walking to the end of the 700 metre pier we were on the road again which took us along the coast to Robe.

Making good time we were in at the Lakeside Tourist Park at about 1.00 pm …. Ahead of check in time!

After an icy pole the apartments were ready so we could shower, clean up and do the washing ahead of taking a trip around Robe.

Robe is a lovely town on the coast which is a favourite holiday spot for people from Adelaide plus some from Melbourne. It has a good surf beach and boat harbour and the main shopping precinct has a good selection of eateries and pubs…. Worth coming back again!

The apartment we are staying at has a lovely view over a salt water lake.

Tonight we are having an Ellio special dinner again which should be great!

Another day of wonderful rising with the group which is a real treat.

Watching the GP winning ceremony!

Pity about the Dees!

Coffee at Beachport…. We are celebrating the day!

The beach at Robe

At the end of the pier at Beachport…. Sorry picture is out of order!

The boat harbour at Robe

Our home for the night 
Today’s ride

Day 9-Mt Gambier to Millicent

We finally got out of the Gaol!!!

Last night we were kept awake by a group of Japanese divers who were celebrating the end of their week long diving trip with a dinner of seafood. The noise kept many of us awake until about 1.45am until Chris went into the dining room to tell them to be considerate of others in the Gaol. That shit them up promptly thank goodness.

This morning we had the usual 6.00am wake up and breakfast to be away by 7.30 am…. Being in South Australia there was a half hour time difference that worked in our favour….

The first order of the day was to find a coffee shop which was about 500 metres from the Gaol…. Good coffee!

We then made a trip up the hill to the Blue Lake and then on to the Centenary Lookout. The climb up to the lookout was very steep with gradients over 23% which meant we walked part of this climb. The views at the top were very good of the surrounding countryside.

After this we made our way back to the route to Millicent. Whilst the majority of the group started the journey to Millicent, Ellio, Steve and I spied the coffee shop again which was too tempting to miss. So I had a coffee and muffin….

Then it was off to Millicent…. The first part was on a rail trail which went for about 3 kms and then we were back on the roads. The rail trail was very good and it follows the former rail track from Millicent to Mt Gambier. I guess at some point this rail trail will be completely rebuilt which would be a good trip to do.

On the main Princess Highway for most of the day it was noticeable that the traffic was light and there were no trucks. It is good that there is some form of ban on trucks using the highway on Sundays… or so it seems.

We made very good time on the road and after a regrouping break at about the half way point we continued on. Ellio, Anthony, Abdy and I stopped at a small country pub at Tantanoola for a feed of seafood… a good lunch was had. Ellio enjoyed it so much he stayed to watch the football on the pub’s tv.

Anthony, Abdy and I pushed on to Millicent making very good time on quiet roads. We were averaging speeds of 30 plus kph!

We arrived at the Millicent at about 2.30 pm. The accommodation tonight is in a lovely Victorian style pub with big rooms and communal facilities.

Looks like we will have a pub meal tonight.

Leaving the Gaol this morning 

Coffee the first time!

The blue lake

The climb up to the top… over 20% gradient for most of it!!!

The view from the top 

Home for the night at the Grand Hotel at Millicent 

Today’s route 

Day 8- Portland to Mt Gambler

Lots happened today!

We had the usual early morning start to be on the road by 7.30 am!!!!

A sleep in might have been better…..

Shortly after we left it was coffee time…. Yes an early morning fix was just what was needed!

The good thing about an early start is seeing the sunrise each morning!

The first part of the ride today was a steady climb up to about 150 metres with a gradient of about 3%.. The weather was cool at about 10 degrees and during the day it warmed up to about 22 degrees.

At about the 60 km mark my crank was making an awful noise and after riding about 5 kms I met Ian and the Ute and decided to take a lift to Mt Gambier to a bike shop to get the issue resolved.

It was good to ride in the Ute to Mt Gambier and watch the kms fly by! Ooops I forgot to turn off my Garmin!!!!

At the bike shop the attendant who would be no older than about 20, a look and determined that the issue was the chain rubbing on the front derailleur. So after an adjustment I was right to go!

So back into the Ute it was and off back to Nelson to meet the boys for the 30 plus ride back into Mt Gambier.

By this time the rest of the guys had their lunch at the Nelson pub which seemed very good.

So it was off again for the final 35 plus kms into Mt Gambier 

The ride from Nelson took us past the border into South Australia and after adjusting our watches by half an hour we were off. The ride then took us along the Glenelg River to Donovan then through pine plantations through to Mt Gambier….

We arrived at our accommodation at the Mt Gambier Goal which is interesting!

We are in 4 cells which is interesting and there is a big group of Japanese divers in for a few nights as well. They have been diving in the limestone caves and fishing on the coast.

For me the ride route shows I did 186 kms at an average speed of 34 kph…. The included the time I was in the ute so I was cheating as noted above. Discounting the travel in the ute I rode about 85 kms only!!!!

The day also marked the halfway point of the ride for us all. We can celebrate in the gaol!

FYI…. My grandsons on the Elg side took out most of the trophies at the cricket awards night last night and Sam ( their father) took out the best clubman award. Congratulations all!

At the border…

The road in South Australia going through the pine forests 

Our accommodation for the night in the Gaol 

The ride today…..   I cheated!!