Pine Hut Road
I frequently loop out through Sedan, and have noticed Pine Hut Road leading back into the hills from the road between Sedan and Cambrai. So last Thursday was the day for some exploration. I took my normal route up the Linear Park and the Gorge out to Mt. Pleasant, and then headed north to Eden Valley. At the Eden Valley caravan park, there is a right turn onto Rhine Park Road, which delivers us to Jutland Road. It's about 10 kilometres of good metal surface in easy riding undulating country.
Things change a bit at the Pine Hut Road intersection as we cross the North Rhine River. The surface is now slushy gravel, often with a few larger rocks, and with those difficult to judge sections where it's not clear whether the surface is firm or just has a crust over deep sand. With wide knobbly tyres I imagine it would be possible to force the pace, but 32mm touring tyres require a more considered approach. There's nothing too hard, but concentration is the order of the day.
The scenery is spectacular. They call this Stone Wall Country, and there's a lot of them in these hills.
The descent to the plains is a bit steeper than the climb out from Eden Valley, with a couple of spots showing 10 percent slopes. This part of the road has a better surface, but anyone riding with slick tyres might have a few spots where traction was an issue.
The entire trip from Eden Valley to Sedan is only 26 kilometres, so with an eBike, it would be a nice return trip from the caravan park for anyone who camped there, or left a vehicle there.
Riding up from Adelaide is a bit further! I completed a loop from Sedan via Keynton back to Eden Valley, which is only 2 or 3kms further. I was tempted to take Pine Hut Road back to Eden Valley, but given that my trip total was going to be in the order of 190kms I decided I didn't really have the time for what would be a slow climb back up into the hills. The nice thing about getting to the top of Sedan Hill (on the bitumen road) is that there is then a very fast ride back to Adelaide. There would be no powering down to Eden Valley from the top of Pine Hut Road. Not on my tyres, anyway.
It's a beautiful ride.
Andrew Prior (March 2023)
