Saturday, September 22, 2012

Annual Tour Day Four - Clare, the moment I met you, I swear...

I got up at 6.00 and was surprised to see a healthy covering of ice on the outside of the tent. It was an extremely cold morning. I was tempted to crawl back into my safe haven but the clear blue sky was promising.
Breakfast was back at the Town Hall, which added an extra dimension to the morning's preparations. A bit more to-ing and fro-ing. I left my shoes outside to dry out/warm up in the morning sun.
The ride to Brinkworth was slightly uphill and slightly into the wind, so it serves as a decent warm up for the day. One of locals came down for a chat, resplendent astride her three-wheeled bicycle. The next section was a solid climb, and my poor mountain bike and I laboured along the long, upwardly mobile route. About 20 kilometers outside of Clare things started to undulate again, which provided a few moments of relief now and again. It was a beautiful spring day, and the scenery was lovely - blue, green and yellow. The penultimate section was another big climb up Barinia Road, a bit of a gut buster, before we turned right and headed into town along the extension of the Riesling Trail.
Lunch at the fitness club was all very pleasant, as was our afternoon spent wandering around the town.
After dinner, Ray and I sought assent from Bike SA high command to deviate from the planned bitumen course and ride the Mawson Trail between Clare and Burra. Permission granted. Off we go!

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