A summary of our days riding, catching up with friends, drinking eating etc. Dates from the 19th to the 27th January.
Every morning we would plan to ride our bikes nice and early on a part of the professional course and then have a coffee, change and watch the cycling coming through in the afternoon.
19th..Did a lovely ride in the Stirling area, Adelaide Hills. By the time we had finished riding it was close to start time for the pro ladies fi al stage, so we had a quick wash and changed out of our cycling gear. We watched the start of the race with good friend Jam and then went for a lovely coffee. At the start a lot of the riders were wearing ice jackets as it was stinking hot. The race was coming through Stirling twice more so we decided to have lunch in a pub with a tv to watch the race and as they came past, we would go out and cheer them on. Then back into the aircon. Had great Pizza and very good wine. Shared a table with some locals who were heaps of fun. Awesome day out.
20th..Took a day off the bike and did a few things around town and enjoyed the Tour Village. Had dinner with Jam at his house in Norwood. Lovely evening catching up and drinking his very good Penfolds….
21st…Did a lovely ride around Gumeracha with Jam. I bet he wishes we hadn’t convinced him to get back on the bike… We visited the giant rocking horse and took a few pictures before heading down to the mens stage one finish line. Watched most of the race on the big screen in the park. Also had lunch in the park before taking our places at the finish. It was a great sprint finish.
22nd…Well we were meant to ride to and climb Menglers hill. After an hour of riding we realised that we had descended a lot of long hills in the wrong direction. It was also getting boring as we were out of the beautiful vineland’s and in amongst the dry grain fields. Back up the hills and back to town. Big fail on that one. Will have to do it next time. We were meant to meet Jam at Seppeltsfield Winery to watch the racing but as we had got lost and time had passed we ended up watching the racing from a brewery in Tanunda. Then back to the van for a shower and off to the tour village for talking tour. Talking Tour is the interview of the tour legends over the years such as Ritchie Port, Andre Greipel, Robbie McEwan, Patrick Jonker, Mark Cavendish, Grace Brown, Michael Rogers, Amanda Spratt and Sam Welsford.
23rd…A climbing day today. Started early from Norwood and did the climb up to Norton Summit. We then continued on to Ashton for a coffee and while sitting there enjoying the awesome home made muffins and coffee we saw the signs for Mount Lofty. As we had failed in our previous attempt at getting a good climb up Menglers Hill, I managed to persuade Elaine ride up to Mount Lofty. It was a lot further than we thought. Good ride but we suddenly realised that we only had about an hour to get back down the mountain to Norwood before they started closing the roads. It was a mad dash but we made it with time to spare. Watched the start of the mens Stage 3 and then had brekkie with Jam at one of his local cafes.Then back to town for a nap and off to the cycling village for the interviews.
24th…It’s a Glenelg start today so we did a lovely ride along the coast hoping that our legs will recover from all the hills that we are not used to. On the way back we had a block head wind so it was far harder than we would have liked. We stopped at one of our favourite cafes and had coffee and a croissant. While we were sitting there two of the professional woman cyclists arrived for a coffee so we got chatting and a photo with Elaine. They were Lauretta Hanson and Felicity Wilson-Haffenden from the Trek Lidl team. They are always so friendly and accommodating. The young one was actually an under 23 world champion on the time trial bike in 2023 and is now riding for a pro team. We watched the start and then headed to the pop up beach bar for a doppetjie. Same evening routine after that.
25th…We persuaded Jam to join us for a ride up Willunga hill. Started nice and early as it was going to be hot. After the climb we did the loop around to McLaren Vale where the mens stage 5 was starting. Found a good coffee shop to sit out the wait for the start. Cheered them on and then hopped back on our bikes to follow the race down the road to Willunga village. Changed again and watched the raced come through and up Willunga Hill. Another good day out.
26th…Today is street racing day for the woman and the men around Adelaide. We rode up to watch the racing. It was very hot. Found a good spot to watch the woman’s race and in the afternoon watched some of the mens racing from various vantage points. In the evening we had dinner at Brunelli with Jam. Good end to the day. Feeling tired after a big week. Leaving Adelaide tomorrow.
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