Three Day Weekend

I planned a three day ride up into the Flinders, but this came unstuck with a broken spoke on the first day, 123 km north of Adelaide. A wheel should keep running with one spoke missing, but I've been down this path before and found that eventually another spoke will go. So heavier gauge spokes or not, I was not going into more remote country on a suspect back wheel.  Day One was a 246km training ride up past Clare and back home!

Templers at dawn. The thermometer rose momentarily to one degree.

The old River Light Bridge

Why would you sit in the traffic on the bitumen when you have this? The Rattler Trail just north of Rhynie.

The Bike

Sunset near Roseworthy, Day One

Gavin at my LBS rebuilt the wheel first thing on Day Two, and I started again, around 6 hours later than I had left on Day One.  As a result, I camped 204km north of Adelaide, at Jamestown. Both days involved substantial cold weather riding; five am to 8am on Day One was at 0 degrees centigrade, and after dark on the second day was soon down to 6 degrees and then down to 2 or 3 degrees through to midnight.

Photo from the same point as Day One on the Rattler, but now late afternoon, Day Two.

Near the last of the Rattler, approaching Auburn

I think I have the cold weather issue under control. I wore the same heavy tights and mountain bike shorts as I wore to Victoria, and the same windstopper fabric coat.  Those nights bottomed out around  8 degrees, so a  heavy winter jersey underneath was enough. On this trip I wore my winter weight padded gilet as well. Wet underneath, but warm.

Day Three began with the decision not to continue north to Orroroo. This soon proved to be a wise move, as outside of town it was clear that the north east breeze of the last two days was a lot stronger.

The Hornsdale Windfarm from the Jamestown - Gladstone Road

I rode across to Gladstone, then west out to the bottom of our old farm,  and south down the old Huddlestone Road towards Koolunga. This used to be a three rut track with hints of white metal. It is now a well formed metal road and renamed as the Heaslip Highway. I think my father would have been rather amused by this. I rode past the bottom fence he and I built together 50 years ago; it's still in pretty good shape. He taught me well.

Hillview, the house of my great great grandfather and grandfather.

This telephoto shot is of the farmhouse where I grew up.

From Koolunga I rode back across to Clare via Brinkworth, and after a cuppa with a good friend there, headed home in the dark. That meant I had covered the Rattler and Riesling Rail Trails twice over in three days.

Snowtown Windfarm from the Huddlestone - Koolunga Road

Main North Road to Rhynie, or from Riverton, is relatively quiet on a Saturday night. During the day, whether 6am out of Gawler or midday, it is unpleasantly busy and noisy. It is a relief to join the rail trails and get out of the noise.

I used the same top bag on my rack as I used to Victoria after Easter, and added a sleeping bag on the side, hanging it in an octopus strap.  I also added a frame bag, which carried the small stuff that one might hold in jersey pockets but isn't easy to get under a gilet and coat. The combination worked well. 

As well as the rear light you can see in the bike photo above, I have two lights on my helmet. I used these and a light on my ankle at night, and the carrier light as a daytime flasher.

All up I covered just on 700km for the three days. I calculate I missed out on some 9 hours riding time due to the wheel rebuild, so my original 1000km ploan would have been hard work to cover in the three days.

Strava Maps
Day One
Day Two
Day Three