Across the Adelaide Hills...

You are here:
> Travelogues > Mountain Biking Australia - Travel Diary > Day 1 and 2

Cycle Australia - 10am on the road - my start on Wednesday morning was a little bit late. The weather is great again, after 32 degrees and thunderstorms yesterday, 20 degrees is the forecast for today, a perfect day for mountain biking. The Veloway from Darlington has a steep climb for about 3 kilometres. It was not too bad, you take it slow. The Veloway joins with the Coast to Vines Rail Trail which takes you through the wonderful McLaren Vale. This region is well knows for its good wine.

The cycle trail finishes in Wilunga at a beautiful park and I had to get up Old Wilunga Hill Road. That was a bit of a challenge, 3 kilometres long with up to 12% incline; I had two stops but managed well. The short section (9 km) along the A13 towards Mt. Compass was no fun at all, too much speeding traffic. But there was a long downhill section.

In Mt. Compass is the turn off to Nankita, that was a bit more relaxing. There were a few hills, but not worth to mention. You actually leave the Adelaide Hills so it takes you mostly downhill. It was very quiet in regards of traffic after the turn off to Finniss.

Then a road sign with the figure of 27 kilometres to Point Sturt and some increasing headwind – the time 5.15pm. I was very determined to get there before darkness, 7.30pm sounds possible. But to be very honest I was quite exhausted and starving. I thought about the nice pasta in my panniers. What about one of my bananas? Some sultanas would be nice as well. You think about of keep going and get there, not wasting any time, and on the other hand is your body who wants energy. After all I stopped and had one banana and some sultanas, and that was great.

The last 10 kilometres were on a gravel road but good to cycle. Finally I arrived at Point Sturt at 7.30pm and still daylight. My tent was up in no time. The panniers created a wind barrier to get my pasta cooked. What a day, 110 kilometres, some through the Adelaide Hills was a good performance for me.

I enjoyed Point Sturt, the location is on the edge of Lake Alexandrina. I decided to stay for the next day, just relaxing, reading a book, have a walk around and take some nice footage.

The Facebook and Twitter buttons above are just jpeg images with a simple link to Twitter.com and my Facebook fan page. The buttons are not “Plug ins” which affect our privacy. Read more about “Twitter and Facebook plug ins” and privacy protection on my disclaimer page. To get to my Twitter profile just type “ WalterAustralia ” in the search bar on top of the Twitter page after you signed in to your Twitter account.

© 2009 - 2012 Walter Leven