Reflections (i.e. would I do it again)

This trail has given me a whole new appreciation for the South Australian countryside. I'm normally in a car bypassing most of the region the trail passed through heading from point A to point B. I now have an understanding of what's in the middle and as I discovered, it's worth taking the time to have a look.

Total distance I travelled according to my not-so-finely-calibrated bike computer was around 760km. Apparently the trail is close to 900km in total. The sections that I shortcut were Blinman to Hawker (mud), Spalding to Burra (break down caused by mud), Tanunda to Adelaide (lack of camping opportunities - i.e Mt Crawford forest closed). I will return and finish these off next year. It would be good to do in the other direction, getting more remote as you go rather than getting more built up. The build up is less incentive to keep moving south in my opinion.

I'd suggest that anyone with any inclination to see more of the state should have a go at this trail. You don't need to do it in one hit - there are opportunities for making loop routes so you don't have to backtrack. You don't need to carry loads of gear. In fact you could get away with a change of clothes, your credit card and a camera because there are loads of accommodation options along the way. So you could do it really fast and light, probably on a bike you already own, and the money you'd spend on camping gear - if you don't already have it - used to rent cabins along the way instead, and to eat good, cheap meals in the pubs in each town. On the other hand if you want to camp, there are loads of camping opportunities for most of the trail.

Would I do it again...I hope so!

Oh, and I was really lucky to get a lift to Blinman...thanks Mike so much. And to Kerry for the catering.

And I was really lucky to get my bike and I transported to Burra after my breakdown...unfortunately I don't know the name of the couple in the ute near Booborowie. I hope one day they stumble across this and see my thanks.

Equipment

The Bike

Cannondale F4, with the nasty, unreliable headshok suspension removed in favour of a rigid Salsa suspension corrected fork and cane creek double-xc headset to convert to the smaller steerer tube.

Trap for young players...don't buy a bike carrying a cannondale headshok unless you want to have it break under light use in less than 12 months of ownership only to be told it's fair wear and tear and not covered under warranty. Oh, and then be told that it needs to be serviced every couple of months...and by the way they don't service it here because they're too fiddly and the fork has to be sent to Sydney, and that'll be a couple of weeks turn around, and $120 bucks a pop etc etc. I think you get the idea...

Having said that, with the headshok fork gone plus some other changes mainly for fit, the bike went really well. The derailleur problem could have happened to any bike. The rigid fork and new headset was fitted by Bio-Mechanics and they properly fitted the bike to me after the fork change. I was comfortable on the bike for the whole trip apart from on the flat spinning in single-speed (as is well expected).

Other changes to the bike: Brooks B17 saddle (no sore bum, yay!), Schwalbe Marathon XR tyres (heavy wheels = bad, no flats for the whole trip = who cares about the extra grams), some components to fit me such as a new seat post to get the seat further back, ergonomic grips etc.

Panniers: Ortleib waterproof (yes they were) front panniers used on the rear, plus some gear spilled over into small dry bags lashed on top. I also had a handlebar bag with tools and stuff needed during the day such as camera, wallet, phone, maps etc. Gear weight on departure with a full load of food (5 days worth), including the bags themselves was around 14kg. 6ltrs of water for longer hops between water (eg. camping between Hawker and Quorn) made the all up weight of gear 20kg. The only other tourer I saw on the trail had panniers plus a full trailer...poor bastard.

Camping
Took my old one person tent, thinking that all I would need was something to keep the mozzies and the dew off. Mistake - it bucketed down!

Normally in the wet I would use a fly and my bivvy bag. This would have been a better option giving me room under the fly in rain for cooking etc. And the bivvy as a modern version of a swag when the weather is good. But leading up to the trip we had the worst heat wave on record for November and the bivvy isn't good in hot weather. So I took the tent (see mistake above).

Slept on one of those really light self inflating mats. Indulged in a self inflating pillow. And took my down sleeping bag in favour of a much lighter (but colder) summer weight bag - had some cold nights so this was a good choice even with the extra weight. Also had a down vest that packs into a tiny stuff sack...this was appreciated after sunset most evenings.

Used a feather weight Kovea stove. Uses a Butane cannister - took too big a cannister, but the nature of this fuel is that it is hard to buy outside of specialist camping shops. Trade off in its favour is that it's a really light fuel source. And really hot too.

Tools
Had plenty of tools, and I thought this was too heavy and considered leaving some behind. As it turned out I used them all apart from the puncture repair kit (see tire choice above). My advice is if in doubt take it. Apart from in Melrose you will not find a decent bike shop along the whole trail. Next time I'd take a spare derailleur hanger - I reckon I could have bent the derailleur back to a form that would have mostly worked, even if only to act as a chain guide and tensioner for single speeding. But making a new hanger needs some fancy metal work.

Food
I started with 5 days of food in my bags, this was intended to be used camping in between towns. As it turned out through short cutting sections of the trail for various reason I only camped outside of towns for one night. Doing it again I would carry the same amount. Doing the trail "properly" would use up a good bit of this food in the first few days. Dinners carried were freeze dried meal-in-a-bag type stuff. Not only didn't I want to carry heavy food, I didn't want to waste the water needed to clean the pot. Lunches: nuts and scroggin...good calories and protein. Breakfasts: packets of instant porridge...good fuel to start the day. And of course, coffee and a tube of sweetened condensed milk.

Tanunda - Glenunga (home) 75km

Packed up quickly this morning under threatening clouds. Turns out no rain came of it.

Off to Lyndoch - loads of traffic - workers, school drop-off etc. Fortunately there was a wide road shoulder for the whole way.

After Lyndoch things quietened down on the roads as I turned for Williamstown. It was good getting out of the relatively industrial Barossa and into some quiet Hills country.

After a calories stop in Williamstown, through to Kersbrook, I passed by full reservoirs, big gums, the odd pine forest...overall a great ride. Lots of water in the reservoirs for my vegi patch when I get home.

Lots of signs suggesting drivers should lookout for bikes for the next few hundred meters. What about the rest of the trip?

After Kersbrook I was onto Gorge road and in familiar day ride territory, and after a bit of a grind up past the Kangaroo Creek dam it was a long downhill into the start of the suburbs and a long slow grind through the traffic with my single low gear.

Through familiar streets, past the kids school, and home. Long shower and sit on a comfy chair...bliss.

But the city stank, too much concrete, too much traffic, too many people. At least those who I really wanted to see would be home soon.

Riverton - Tanunda 79km

A tough day today. Lots of hills and some rocky tracks that tested my single-speeding legs. Some of the trail routing decisions seemed to be a bit sadistic. The trail would turn up yet another hill avoiding the more obvious flatter roads. But on reaching the top and being presented with the view of surrounding ranges and valleys I'd thank the trail designers for getting me up there, into country I would have otherwise missed.

Was great country in between Riverton and Kapunda, but as I got closer to lunch my stomach was hoping there would be a good bakery in the Kapunda main drag. Turns out there was.

Suitably refuelled I pushed out past the Kapunda mine into more treeless country initially. 32 degrees Celsius was the forecast and I felt it with not much shade on offer.

The trail crossed both the Heysen trail and Kidman trail in places. The Kidman trail would be a good option from Willunga for a future, shorter tour.

Trees and vineyards increased as I approached Nurioopta on summer only tracks - the "summer only" bit seems to have been ignored if the deep wheel ruts and tracks made by the local motor cross enthusiasts were anything to go by. Passed through Nurioopta for a pretty dull ride along the main road to Tanunda where I booked into the caravan park. Plenty of grass and trees, and more juggernaut motorhomes and 5th wheelers.

Wandered back into Tanunda after pitching my tent and stopped in a pub for well earned beers, and was easily tempted away from tonight's freeze dried meal-in-a-bag when I could smell the pub's kitchen firing up.

Last night I rang Mt Crawford forest because I had a niggling memory that camping is banned in the fire danger season (starting on the 1st December). This was confirmed so I'm not going to do that last section this trip as there is nowhere interesting to stop and camp without risking a fine. It's a bit too big a hop to do in one day. I've done the last bit from Lobethal a couple of times and I know what a killer that section is in either direction. So I'll head home via Lyndoch-Williamstown-Kersbrook etc. This shortcuts the day's ride a bit when compared to the official trail, and is a much nicer option than via Gawler and all the Main North Road traffic nastiness.

Burra - Riverton 90km

A few ups and downs immediately South of Burra before a long gentle downhill with the Camel Hump Range ahead. The climb over the range would be the first test of my new single-speeder status. I'm normally a drop-into-granny-gear-and-spin sort of climber so I wasn't really used to standing on the pedals and pushing a bigger gear, especially with a touring load. But it turned out OK. It wasn't a massive climb but gave the old blood-pumper a workout never the less. I was happy that I didn't have to hop off and push. Gave my confidence a good boost after days previous.

A quick downhill, followed by a few short climbs had me passing White Hut through some magic country dotted with clumps of big eucalypts and the occasional vineyard, getting more prevalent as I approached Clare.

I was now on the Riesling trail, which given my lack of high gears started to get a bit tedious. I would hit my highest cadence at around 15-20km per hour. The scenery was great but on a flat, straight rail-trail without big gears to hammer along the riding was dull. Was getting sore with not enough weight on my legs having little resistance to push against.

Lunch at Clare and continued on. Would like to come back here one day with a cruiser bike, a big fat seat, and a basket to gather booze along the way.

Auburn by 2PM. Stopped at the oval to fire up the stove and brew a coffee. Looks like a good camping spot for next time, but was a bit early to stop and sit by my tent all afternoon.

On to Riverton along stock routes or farm tracks, in saddle high grass at times. Was a bit concerned about snakes but only saw lizards. Dropped onto Riverton's rail trail - thankfully not as manicured as the Riesling trail and coasted into the Riverton Caravan Park.

Pitched the tent in an unpowered site. Think next time I'd get a powered site to get back off the main road a bit, but otherwise nice enough with plenty of grass and shade.

My tiny tent was pitched near a massive 5th wheeler motorhome. You couldn't get more contrasting modes of travel if you tried. It looks bigger than some of the houses I've been passing lately. I hate to think how much fuel they slurp through towing the thing.