Memory Lanes
On this trip, I was able to ride some of the roads of my youth. It was a bit of an ambitious weekend, given that I hadn't had much road time in January and February, so I was very pleased to pull it off. I left Melrose before dawn on Saturday morning and rode the Survey Road down to Port Germain Gorge. I last used this road 54 years ago, walking into Melrose with a bunch of school mates on the last day of a bushwalking long weekend. It's no wonder I remember that as a hard day. That whole walk was uphill!
Looking back to Port Germain Gorge
This time was a glorious ride through the dawn, followed by a fast clip down to the plains once I hit the Gorge bitumen. I then went back to the gravel which is Telowie Road, and travelled down the west side of the Flinders and onto the bitumen from Broad Creek to Warnertown. This is far more enjoyable, and safer, than using Highway One! I did take Highway One for the last six kilometres to the Gladstone Road. If I do this trip again, I'll take a gravel alternative for the last 6k, but on the day, I was aware I had another 230km to go and anxious not to take too long. I'd already spent half an hour stopped at Broad Creek talking to the bloke who is rebuilding the old Methodist Church.
Gladstone is my hometown, which meant some photo-stops before progressing south through Georgetown to Gulnare, and then east to Spalding, Burra and Morgan.
Jonathan Prior's homestead, built 1871. He was my great great grandfather. The Gladstone silos are in the background
This 260 km trip is in gently rolling country which, after Burra, is downhill or flat to Morgan. (It's a slow descent to the River Murray.) The challenge of the route is the distance, strategising for food, and the fact that there is nowhere to hide from the weather. The sometimes very strong north to northeast breeze was a mostly helpful cross breeze (which was a good tail wind for the Gladstone to Gulnare.) But the day would have been hours longer than my 13.3 hours if I had been going from Morgan to Melrose! No hill or tree protection on this route!
When in country South Australia, it's necessary to check opening times for delis and supermarkets very carefully, especially on weekends, or you can end up foodless with nothing open for miles. There are water fountains at Melrose and Napperby, and good water at Gladstone, Georgetown, Spalding, and Burra (south side of the BP service station.) There is nothing between Burra and Morgan.
Stats: 259 kilometers, average road speed: 19.4kmh, total time: 15:47 hours. Real Average Speed: 16.4kmh.
The return trip took a different route through Eudunda and Clare, reversing a day trip from Gladstone to Morgan in my late teens. That day saw me arrive at Morgan where it was 106 degrees F as the sun set! The current ride was much cooler, with thunderstorms threatening for most of the day. All but one of these missed. Just north of Clare I had 20 minutes of very heavy rain, and some hail. The wind was still north easterly in the morning, which didn't matter too much since my course was south west until Eudunda. The wind eased off from there until past Jamestown much later at night, when it sprang up a gale, and meant I had to ride patiently in low gear.
The Morgan - Eudunda Road
This one missed me.
Eudunda: A town of good memories
Eudunda has a small petrol station with some food. The same applies at Saddleworth. Auburn is a Sunday entertainment hub, so plenty of food there, and Clare has a 24hour OTR. Jamestown has a 6am to 10pm servo just north of the town.
Spalding Sunset
Apart from the small stretch of Highway One, these are all good cycling roads. Traffic is fairly light, and is mostly respectful of bikes. Highway One is of a different order, with constant high speed traffic, and I'd avoid it for anything more than a few kilometres.
Click to enlargeStats: 278 kilometres, average road speed: 17.8kmh, total time: 19:05 hours. Real Average Speed: 14.6kmh.
Andrea Prior March 16,17 2024
