The AUDAX club’s “Lazy Langhorne” was certainly a fairly sturdy ride with its 2523 metres of climbing over 211 kilometres, on a shivery Spring day with eventual moderate headwinds and occasional drizzle. In the cool, the muscles felt sluggish and my pulse was 15% higher than normal for the whole ride. As the only entrant for this event, it was very heartening to have Angus Netting, as course moderator send me on my way.
The start at Stepney in central Adelaide was chilly at 7.80 degrees and led me southward to the Old Belair road climb, with ominous grey clouds hovering above. Pedalling upwards warmed me even though my extremities were slightly chilled. It had the feel of tranquillity in the windless conditions & then I weaved along the pretty Murray’s Hill road to the descending zig zags of a smooth Clarendon road. This was a prudent route, as it bypassed Main road at Blackwood, which can have much traffic on a narrow vehicle lane.
At this point the North Westerly winds were gentle and helped me sail to the high point above Paris Creek at 395 metres. At this point the clouds lifted upwards, dropping their light rain, as I descended to the town of Strathalbyn. Typically this Föehn effect warms the air and once on the plains it eventually warmed to 19 degrees. Magically the rain stopped & only returned on the highpoints near Wistow and Gumeracha, further down the course. The total rain for this parcour was very light for a total of about twenty minutes.
As the scientist Newton once said: “for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction” and I soon found myself at 35 kmh heading towards the historic wine area of Langhorne Creek. The tailwind was wonderful in this open country and the clouds looked more friendly. The wind had peaked at 41kmh and although it was cool, the sun was kind and warmed my face. At no point did my core temperature drop and I was mostly cozy on this ride. The eastern slopes of the beautiful Mout Lofty ranges are generally warmer at all times of the year.
At Meechi road, the 30 degree turn placed me into a head wind all the way to Wistow. Knowing that this was the return section on this looped route, was very encouraging. The combination of climbing (410 metres over 20 km) and brief rain chilled me & slowed me greatly. Again the rain was light and my shoes remained dry. On relatively busy roads, I made my way to the Onkaparinga Valley road, where this flat road rejuvenated my legs before the final climbs over the Adelaide Hills back to Adelaide. It was here that roadwork for the Amy Gillett bike-path could be seen, with the proposal to connect it to the town of Birdwood.
By the time I climbed up from the Cudlee Creek area on Gorge road, I was an exhausted mess with legs like Spaghetti. Incrementally I ventured to the scenic highroad at Kangaroo Creek reservoir, with a promise of a screaming descent onto the Adelaide Plains. My mindset suddenly improved, the legs became viable & even the effect of the Gorge road headwinds didn’t deter. At the points where the road narrowed, the breeze had a braking effect. At side gully sections the wind blew me across the road; this making my arms ache from the steering effort.
The final trundle along the Adelaide foothills was rejuvenating & I returned home with aching arms but legs ready for the next ride.