Oddly, after several days in January of over 40 degrees, there was a cool change forecast for the next week. After a discouraging setback with one of the projects I am involved in (the Eudunda Hampden Rail Trail), I needed a chance to clear my head and get away for a few days. It seemed the perfect opportunity to ride the Murray to Clare Lavender Cycling Trail (M2C) from north to south.
I planned to do the ride over 5 days. Actually, I would have liked to take longer, but that would increase the risk of the weather becoming hot. Also, I wanted to keep my accommodation costs to a minimum.
As I knew there would be a lot of climbing, my eBike (Scott Strike eRide 920 2019) was a must. With a handle bar roll for my clothes, and a pannier each side of my bike bag to carry my bike repair kit, toiletries and food supplies (all my breakfasts, a few lunches, snacks and my first dinner), I was ready to roll.
Day 1 – Clare to Manoora
Derek kindly dropped me at Clare on Wednesday morning, and I was off on my eBike adventure on the M2C by 8.30 am. Knowing that the climb up to Spring Gully Conservation Park would be the hardest part of my first day, I didn’t spare the battery assist. As I pedalled upwards, I saw lots of parrots and a hare.
When I got to the lookout at Spring Gully, I could see a layer of smoke along the horizon from the bushfires at Kangaroo Island.
I had thought about morning tea at Skillogalee, but I was way too early, and continued on to Watervale. My beef and salad sandwich at the Watervale General Store was excellent.
As I continued my eBike adventure on the Murray to Clare Cycling Trail, the day grew warmer.
You can see from this photo on Watervale Road how the bushfire smoke covered the Mintaro valley.
Mintaro
When I arrived at Mintaro, it was 26 degrees. However, it felt a lot more like 30. I sat under the air conditioner at MIntaro Maze Cafe and drank an iced coffee to cool down.
For more details about the many attractions of Mintaro, read about our spring ride from Watervale to Manoora.
It was now 12:20 pm. My eBike battery was down to 60%, but I wasn’t worried as I only had 20 km to go.
As I had plenty of time, I visited Martindale Hall on the way out of town. Some of you may recognise it as the school in the 1975 movie “Picnic at Hanging Rock”.
On Blatchford Road a cooling cross wind sprang up. I noticed that the muddy conditions we had experienced on our ride from Watervale to Manoora in August had dried out. The scenery was beautiful, with soft pinks and golden colours.
When I turned onto Halls Road, the cross wind became a tail wind and two kangaroos began to hop along beside me. I kept a close eye on them until they jumped over a fence into a paddock.
As I came closer to Manoora, I crossed an abandoned railway line
and stopped briefly to photograph the 1870 Catholic Church at the Irish village of Chinkford.
Manoora Sanctuary
Before long I was at my accommodation for the night. My bed was in a former church, and Sandy, my host, allowed me to park and re-charge my eBike in the church porch.
The accommodation was basic (you had to go outside to get to the toilet or shower), but my double bed was clean and comfortable. I was able to do a small load of washing and heat up my dinner in the microwave. I was happy with it for $50. You can find the contact details for Manoora Sanctuary on the Lavender Trail Accommodation Page, Map 5.
One of the chief attractions of Manoora is the old railway station. You can see some pictures of it in the story about our ride from Watervale to Manoora.
Summary of Day 1 of my eBike Adventure on the Murray to Clare Cycling Trail
My Strava record shows that with a few detours, I had cycled 63 kilometres and climbed 1,022 metres. The same ride recorded with Ride with GPS shows an elevation gain of 823 metres.
I was looking forward to my ride tomorrow from Manoora to Eudunda. However, I was feeling nervous about the steep inclines near Waterloo Wind Farm and at Webbs Gap.
In the next four blogs you will find out
Day 2: How did I cope when my eBike battery went flat?
Day 3: What was that clanking noise coming from the back of my eBike?
Day 4: Why did a motorbike rider shout me lunch at the Eden Valley pub?
Day 5: Would I make it to Murray Bridge with 75 kilometres to ride and a battery range of 51 kilometres?
For more details about the Murray to Clare Cycling Trail (M2C) see the Lavender Cycling Trail website.
Top picture: Windmill near Manoora
Another nice blog. Without signposting it looks like a tricky route for a tourist to follow.
Looking forward to part 2.
Thank you Rudi. At the moment you need to be confident using a .gpx file to follow the M2C Trail, but we will be talking soon to the creators of the Lavender Trail about possibly publishing paper maps.
hi there ,
i strongly support the eudunda to hampden bike trail in fact i think it should go all the way to kapunda.i,m a councillor for the goyder council and last meeting 21/01/20 i asked the ceo for an update it,s dificult as the dpti want it to be bitumised which is silly at the next meeting i will ask the council to find out what the wakefield council did .for the balaclava to clare bike trail .from cr schiller
Hi Peter. I was very heartened to read your comment. I agree that a rail trail to Kapunda is a good option as it will link into the Mawson Trail, a popular cycling trail which passes through Kapunda. I think that DPTI would be satisfied with a gravel covering of the ballast, so that may be a viable option going forward.
Very interesting! Will await further instalments with keen anticipation, I have a Cube Reaction hybrid (e-bike) pro set up for touring. It’s first big trip was to Kangaroo Island in Dec 2018. My bike has the same motor as yours and a 500wh battery. Two of us rode for 8 days over the length of the island. I also did a 3 day loop with friends from Gawler through Mt Crawford down to Mt Barker then Kuitpo and on to Seaford using Mawson and Heysen trails. I am interested in your battery management and power issues. I do know that Bosch have a 625wh power tube battery available now so that is quite a boost in capacity (and cost!) Great blog!
Wow David! Your eBike travels sound very exciting. Thanks for your comment 😎
Sounds like a wonderful ride. Great photos.
Thanks Libby. Yes, a great ride and an excellent adventure 🙂
This looks like a great ride, though I think the temperatures would be difficult for me (even 26 is hot!). As someone who has never travelled to Australia, it was interesting for me to read about the kangaroos hopping beside you. Is this a common occurrence? Are they just curious?
Hi Caroline. The kangaroos are usually quite shy and get surprised as you come along on your bike. They are often grazing or resting between the road and the fence at the side of the road, and keep jumping alongside you until they find a way through the fence to get away from you. As they can be quite unpredictable, you have to watch them closely as sometimes they can jump directly into your path. On this trip through some of South Australia’s less travelled farming land, I encountered several kangaroos each day and on one day saw over a hundred.
Good on you Helen. Sounds like a lot of fun and good exercise, wonderful scenery.
Thanks Roz. The scenery is really lovely all along the Murray to Clare Cycling Trail 🙂
hello Helen another great write up and photos. What a comment from Peter re the Eudunda to Hampden rail trail. Waiting with anticipation re outcome.
Thanks Kathie. Yes, it is encouraging that others are interested in helping take the Eudunda Hampden Rail Trail forward 🙂