DAY 42 - ADELAIDE SA

ADELAIDE SA

DAY 42

KAPUNDA - ADELAIDE

176.02 km

Total Time: 08.30 – 19.00 (10h 30m)

Time on Bike: 8h 45m 41s

Max. Speed: 59.4 km/h

Av. Speed: 20.1 km/h


Sydney to Adelaide.

Mission Accomplished.

And the very day could not have been more eventful.

Everything that could have been packed into 180 kilometres was and nothing was left to spare.

Superlative weather, abundant downhill runs, spectacular landscapes, missed turnoffs, huge mountain passes, fertile agricultural valleys, Australia’s premier wine production area, taking on rush hour traffic in a major city, night riding through Adelaide, missing my accommodation connection, finding an alternative in the dark, impromptu dinner engagements……

At this point, I should be expected to elaborate but initially I should just be grateful that I have arrived and that a major section of this particular trip has been achieved.

6 weeks to the day has seen me through and though I may have anticipated arriving a week or more earlier, I am not in the least bit sorry to have taken the extra time to experience what I have.

The plan from here is still not entirely clear but is also not important right now.

My attitude from the start dictated how today evolved.

There was a general plan but absolutely no pressure as to how it may unfold.

With maps close at hand, the agenda involved an early southward journey from Kapunda, linking back with the Sturt Highway to Nuriootpa and following a route through the Barossa Valley to Gawler, before the final afternoon run into Adelaide.

All quite straightforward on paper but this is rarely how things happen.

First miss for the day was a turnoff – the net result, an extra 15 – 20 kilometres and close to 2 hours to the day’s proceedings.

And worse still were the 2 reasonably huge mountain passes between Gawler and Nuriootpa that were my punishment.

In perspective, the opening 40 kilometres were dreamlike – crystal clear skies with a 20°C high and an absolute lifetime of downhill flying.

Only problem was I had overshot the mark in all the excitement and found myself in Gawler at 10 am – about 5 hours ahead of time.

The next 2 hours were spent climbing back up the hills I had just ripped on but still, Nuriootpa became a lunch break instead of just play-lunch.

The next 2 hours again, were simply superb.

Cutting through the Barossa Valley, indeed quite hilly in parts – was the most pleasant of experiences rolling through Australia’s most famous area of wine production.

The strip between Nuriootpa and Tanunda is both well trafficked and highly commercial, but beyond this are rolling hills, lush vineyards and stylish villages – not even accounting for a near oversupply of cellar door sales and various other attractions.

Lyndoch was the last important town on my particular route and with the assistance of extended some downhill trajectory, I was in Gawler and ready for the Adelaide assault by 2.30 pm.

This is where things started getting a little sticky.

Entry into any major city should never be considered during a rush hour.

Whether Friday rush hour is worse than another day of the week is arguable, but let’s just say it is.

The Sturt Highway becomes the Main North Road as Adelaide’s extended suburbia begins and this is also where the fun begins.

30 kilometres is the distance that needs to be covered into Adelaide from where freeway conditions end – the fragile line between life and death becomes significantly thinner at this point.

Conditions are as follows:

· 2-lane highway with no shoulder and maximum traffic volume “limited” to 80 km/h

· A “bike lane” fading in and out in 2 kilometre stretches, just whenever

· Pot-holes, cracks, crevices, lumps, bumps, broken glass, rocks, any other roadside shit that can be thought of just to make life interesting

· 3-lane highway with no bike lane and maximum traffic volume and only fate between myself and certain, immediate death

· “Bike lane”, (closer to the city) that doubles as a bus lane/parking lane for cars – the only opportunity to pass parked cars is to wait for traffic lights to run the cycle

· By the time I was in Adelaide, the sun had gone down. Now just apply all the above to the dark of night

I deserve to be dead; or at least not in an upright position.

Of all the potentially dangerous situations that I may have faced on the roads on a daily basis, the final 5 hours of today’s ride on my lowrider were easily the most threatening.

Plain stupid actually – this was really dangerous stuff and I’m not just putting it in for effect.

Still, matters did not become easier when I missed my accommodation connection in all the chaos.

Geoff and Hellina, who I’d met in Mildura were expecting me and arrive as I did in the dark with seemingly nobody home was not the happy ending I had in mind.

My Lonely Planet guides have been used sparingly thus far, but they earned their keep this evening as I sought alternatives in an essentially foreign environment.

All things led me to the West Beach area – one of Adelaide’s most reputable beaches and another 10 km hike in the dark lay ahead.

The supplied “bike lane” became just a little friendlier as I moved towards Glenelg and if I’d known any better, I’d have said that rush hour was slowly melting into the weekend.

Another 20 minutes or so beyond Adelaide’s international airport and the turnoff towards West Beach led me to where I needed to be.

Expensive as it is, I’ll be heading off in the morning, but not before an early dip in the Gulf of St Vincent as shark supper and hopefully this time onto my dossing appointment with Geoff and Hellina in the Black Forest area.

What a day.

And it is finally time for a nap……