𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 600𝚔𝚖 𝙰𝚄𝙳𝙰𝚇 𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚎:

“..In the cool of the Kapunda Sunrise I bid farewell to Roger our gravel loop rider & John of Tanunda, who was doing the shorter road ride.

I seemed to glide effortlessly past the vineyards, in the cool slight winds & although full of doubt, my bike and my body felt good. A distance of 600km couldn’t be comprehended, so I only set my sights upon each check point.

Beyond Angaston the road weaved past historic stone walls, to the Towitta descent, with the increasing cross winds catching me off guard, particularly at side gullys which funnel the breeze. You can be in serene conditions and suddenly be buffeted by these sudden cross winds. This descent (300m over 6km) is simply exhilarating & gives expansive views of a seemingly endless mallee plain. Beyond that was the small settlement of Sedan and endless low scrub to Swan Reach. The Stott highway plumb-lined to the east, leaving the verdant Barossa Hills behind. The promise of reaching the Murray ameliorated the monotony of the endless red dirt and low woody scrub. Slowly the distant purple delineation of the Murray River, came into view & this excited me and lifted my pace. The river came into actual view only from 500 metres away. 

At Swan Reach the grumpy ferryman was bellowing orders like a drill sergeant, but was ‘won over’ during the short 150m crossing.

Turning north, I followed the Left bank of the river, directly into a force 4 headwind, (28kmh) which persisted until Burra for about 130 kilometres.

This river is taunting and the weaving road hid the river from view at times & at other times gave scenic views of it’s muddy waters and clay coloured cliffs. 

Once at Morgan, John Mill’s food stop information was invaluable & I arrived at the cafe about one minute late. So, it was off to the roadhouse for sandwiches & local information. I met an old lady (as you do at my age!) who used to run the motel & was au fait with the needs of long distance riders. She advised loading up with water for the next 85 kilometres as: “there’s nothing out there except for a long straight road”. She had once cycled to Mt.Mary. Her information was precise and halfway I rested at Lindley; a town of two dwellings, no water but oddly provisioned with a cemetery. I rarely suffer mental anguish on these long rides but the Goyder highway with it’s headwinds & the heat it became arduous. At the least the verge was smooth and the drivers very accomodating. The truck drivers generally gave me a “thankyou” toot as I trundled along. As a much needed diversion I cloud watched & in this sparse evironment, found the bubbling upwards of cotton clouds rather interesting. There was nothing else to see!

The one mistake I made on this trip was overdressing, as I dislike the morning cold (it was 11 degrees at the start). The wind’s partial cooling effect gave the illusion of coolness but the sun temperature was about 33 degrees midway. I found it difficult to eat and whilst not sweating, I was becoming dehyrated with headaches and very mild confusion. No amount of water would curb this.

About 40km from Burra a car overtook me with great consideration and I thought: “He must be a cyclist”. About 500 metres up the road he had parked and was standing there with water. He then gave me a mirthful ramble about AUDAX rules and of assisting riders. It was then I realised that it was John Mills, who was the creator of this course. He was out driving and keeping watch on the riders. His gesture spurred me onto Burra.

The Scrubby range near World’s End came into view and again having a distant focus eased the effort. The road impercetibly rose to about 365 metres. 

Another strange sight was to greet me. At the Korringa turnoff into Burra was a lone rider attired in denim and flat shoes. Upon noticing the unshaven face, I realized that it was Scott McCann, the ride’s organiser! His gesture, like John’s, was uplifting. Over pizza, I misheard him saying that he was cycling to Kapunda. This was incorrect but Scott’s resilience as a rider made it seem possible.

In the setting sun the air had cooled and I was about to enter the smooth roads of the Clare Valley. After Clare the smaller tourist towns of Auburn were empty in the darkness, with no food stops along the way. Again, another mistake I had made was overprovisioning with food. For the next 75 kilometres I still had 2700 calories of food with me. The highlight of this section were the night skies along the Farrell Flat road. Turning my lights off made the sky look amazing, with Scorpio low and bright in the western sky and the glow of Adelaide in the far distance. 

In the cooling air & with the overall downhill into Kapunda, I re-energised and my spirits lifted. 

Again, Scott met me & was at Marrabeal with home made cookies. 

I arrived at the Kapunda hotel at 1am, which was heaving with music & drunken people. The young barman announced: “the cyclist’s here”, which felt odd. Attired in Lycra amongst trendy dressed people made me the maverick of the group.

At 5am I decided to curtail the next 230 km, which was a good call. 

The next day I struggled to traverse the 32km back to Gawler.

I’m happy to have not completed & really thank Scott McCann for his support none-the-less.

There’s always next time..” Maybe the Goyder 600 permanent ride?