Bike SA Annual Tour 2013 - Kangaroo Island - The Round Up

Bike touring is something I'm very new to, this being our second go at it. I think the greatest pleasure in attending these Bike SA events is knowing that all you have to do is get on your bike and ride, you don't have to worry about food or organising accommodation (though you do have to put up your tent), you just get up and enjoy the ride. 

       





Bike touring offers the opportunity to slow down and see the world from a different perspective, for the most part you can stop when you like, take the odd detour and generally enjoy yourself. 

Doing this as part of such a large group means that there is a lot of people looking out for one another, which offers a sense of security to bike riders on lonely highways. The other advantage of being part of an organised group like Bike SA is the volunteers, who are some of the most amazing people I have ever met. 




 





When the weathers a bit miserable or the roads a bit rough and you rock up at a rest station to a hot cuppa and a smiling face, your whole day just gets better. I apologise if this sounds a bit like a marketing exercise, but I can't speak highly enough of the organisation of Bike SA in putting on this event and the volunteers who do such a wonderful job taking care of us all.

Kangaroo Island was a really wonderful setting for an annual tour, both from the diverse range of things to see and the communities who looked after us. At least once we were tripling the population of the community where we were staying and they made us feel so incredibly welcome. The Island itself is so diverse, from windswept coastlines with unique geological features to what looks like temperate rainforest and swamp (although the swamp could have just been due to all the rain we had). It's an incredibly beautiful place and travelling around by bike offered the opportunity to see picturesque views that are too easily missed when speeding along in a car. Kangaroo Island also has a very interesting history and the locals were very willing to share their knowledge and stories with a group of curious cyclists.

I think the best way to sum this up is to do a top 5 list of my favourite things about KI:

1. The scenery - just beautiful!

2. The people - so amazingly friendly

3. The history, from the geological to the indigenous, the European and the modern

4. The Marron Farm - this place was such a surprise!

5. The small local business, including some awesome wineries!

And because I like making lists, my top 5 favourite things about touring with Bike SA:

1. The Volunteers

2. Being able to see new places or get a different perspective on familiar places

3. The people!

4. The sheer pleasure of riding a bike and being around people who also love to ride

5. The relaxation of knowing that Bike SA will take good care of me!

 

I hope this didn't sound too much like an advert, but I think it's worth acknowledging people who do a good job and both Bike SA and KI did such a wonderful job that I just have to say thank you.

Bike SA Annual Tour 2013 KI - There's a hole in my ...

The moon was still up

...knicks! But I didn't discover that until later.

First things first, packing up the tent for the last time. There's always a bit of happiness and sadness in packing up the tent for the last time, happiness that it's the last time you have to go through the procedure and sadness because it means it's almost the end of the holiday. Though it was nice to be thinking that soon we'd be back in our own bed, with a couple of days to recover!

Sunrise

The last day was a straight run back into Penneshaw, to catch the 2:30 ferry. There was a fair bit of pressure to get going early so there was no stress out on the road, but Mr Carl and I still seemed to be at the tail end of the morning group. Not quite as much as Brett and Karen, who did leave camp before us, but detoured to the Kingscote bakery before heading off. Brett also was paid a visit by the puncture fairy, which delayed them even further.

The other name for Prospect Hill

 

The ride was all bitumen, slightly undulating and very cruisy. It felt like we had the wind at our backs as we flew along the road. We picked up our orange caboose as he hitched his final ride on the Adelaide cyclist express. It was while all this flying along was happening that I noticed that the inside of my leg was sore. 

Caught him!

Now this wasn't necessarily an unusual experience for me as my leg warmers often irritated my inside thigh, so when I first noticed it I really didn't think much about it. It was when we reached the rest stop and I sat down to enjoy my cuppa that I realised the stitching on my knicks had given way. I like to think it was the sheer power of my legs that burst the stitching at the seams!

Unfortunately the precise location of the split meant that every pedal stroke rubbed skin against my saddle. Still, there was nothing much I could do about it, so I enjoyed the scenery and my cuppa. 

 

Amazing views

Morning tea was located at the top of Prospect Hill. Well, not the actual top, but close enough! The view was amazing and for those hardy souls who still had the energy to climb to the top of the stairs, I'm sure the view was even better. But we were on a mission to make it to the ferry on time and there were hills to climb.

The path to the top

I think that thought was lurking in a lot of peoples minds, the profile for the day showed a nasty kick just before Penneshaw and we were all familiar by now with Kangaroo Islands hills. I knew there was every possibility I would be walking up the last hill, but given how far we had ridden and the various illnesses and injuries (a small hole can cause a lot of pain), I was ok with that.

 

We rode through beautiful country with the sun shining down on us and the sea gleaming in the distance. It seemed like a bit of a tease after all the weather we'd been through over the past week, but I was never going to complain about riding on a glorious day like that!

Mr Carl - photographer extrodinaire!

Soon enough we approached the base of the climb and agreed to ride it at our own pace. This is mostly for my benefit as there's something a bit torturous about watching someone easily chatter away next to you while your struggling to take a breathe. That being said, it's always nice to have support and Mr Carl has guided me carefully up hills before, but I wanted to do this myself, just me and the hill. Possibly the sun was getting to me, it was a bit of a shock to the system!

The top

Anyway, in my head I had resigned myself to walking up most of the hill, but once I started riding up it, I found my stubborn streak. This was the last hill of the tour, I was not going to walk! I tried hard to remember to look around and enjoy the scenery as I ground my pedals, trying between gasps to notice how lovely the country was and not how close I was to overtaking the lady in front of me!

I made it to the top of the hill and then I stopped. I lent over the handle bars and sucked in lung fulls of air, trying to recover from the slog up the hill. But I had made it! And Mr Carl was nowhere to be seen. I figured that he was just over the next rise, so I got back on the bike and gently took off. 

Found him!

The road followed the ridgeline, so there were many next rises for Mr Carl to be hiding on. I actually started worrying, as there were a few maniac drivers in the area, and I had yet to find Mr Carl.

Eventually I found him, waiting for me on the side of the road. He had also made up the hill no worries, so the two of us road towards Penneshaw and the waiting ferry. I'd like to say it was no worries from that point, but while it was all down hill from there, my desire to stop and take photos on said downhill left Mr Carl a little worried at the bottom as he waited for me to join him. Still, I think the photos were worth it! And in truth, with my CX brakes and some very affectionate traffic, flying down the hill didn't really appeal to me.

 

Penneshaw

We had made it, with time to spare! I hadn't quite come out of it unscathed though, the hole in my knicks had resulted in a small but painful amount of skin removal. However a band-aid soon fixed it enough for the rest of the afternoon. We even managed to have enough time to track down a coffee shop before the ferry trip. And thankfully the ferry trip back was as uneventful as the ferry trip over. We even managed to get the same seats! 

 

The four of us made it back to Cape Jervis in one piece, chased down various pieces of luggage and said goodbye to many new friends. We had all made it, none of us had made use of the sag wagon and all of us had pushed the boundaries of our cycling and in some cases our taste buds as well. All in all it was an amazing trip and while it was nice to be home in my own bed, I'd go back in a heart beat.

Happy campers!

 Strava data