DAY 104 - GAWLER SA

GAWLER SA

DAY 104

CLARE - GAWLER

95.84 km

Total Time: 10.00 – 17.00 (7h)

Time on Bike: 6h 10m 55s

Max. Speed: 50.7 km/h

Av. Speed: 15.5 km/h


I’ve been quite looking forward to getting back to Gawler.

It is quite a nice little town after all and in the region, it is something of a hub for everything in all directions.

Adelaide in the south, Clare Valley and Flinders Ranges in the north, Barossa Valley in the East and the A1 to Port Augusta and everywhere else in the west.

The main point of interest for me however, (aside from direct access to Adelaide) is the $14 buffet at The Arms Hotel.

It is a 3-course affair and on an all-you-can-eat basis.

For the 5200 kilometre cyclist, it just doesn’t get any better at the end of another hard day on the hustings.

The dessert bar in particular is a killer.

Personally, the most satisfying bit is completely drowning the contents of my bowl with chocolate syrup and if I can be bothered with cream, nuts and choccy bits on top, then even better.

I don’t really care what anyone else thinks and I know they were thinking something, just by the subtle disapproving glances from here and there.

It is rather tempting to lick the bowl at the end as well, ‘cos I know I would probably even frown on this myself.

I do thereby maintain that childish behaviour should still be tolerated at certain times…..
Today’s ride was rather an exercise in debunking the myth that B82 between Clare and Gawler is mostly downhill.

I have arrived back in Gawler incredulous as to how I ever came to believe this to be in the first instance.

Riding north from Gawler up into the Clare Valley is generally uphill but somehow this does not translate to the reverse direction being generally downhill.

Quite an interesting phenomena this one.

I took the ride in 3 sections today.

Clare to Auburn was easily the run of the day – 21 km and quite a nice runaway following an initial 6 km climb out of Clare.

Auburn to Tarlee is 30 kilometres and just that much slower with a nice, generous sized pinch out of the town of Rhynie included for free.

I caught the spraying edge of a rain shower that had just delivered a load on Tarlee only moments before halting for a lunch break and my humour was all the better for not having to dine out in wet apparel.

The next 3 or 4 rain showers however did not miss me post-Tarlee and neither did the wind.

This was counterpart to some high-endeavour mountain passes and some high-quality profanity as the road moves closer to Gawler.

And traffic today was heavy, in a big-style kind of way.

South Aussie school holidays are accountable as I see it because conditions were simply not like this when I traversed this area some weeks ago.

The Main North Road into Gawler was nothing shy of treacherous come 4 pm, with wind, rain, rush hour traffic and failing light all contributing to the challenge.

Another day on the road was signed for by 5 pm and fortunately for me, without serious incident.

I was only to be found in the Gawler Arms Hotel at any time after this.