Two years ago Rhonda and I joined the Mannum Peddle Wheelers for their weekly Saturday morning Murray River Ride from Mannum. We found the group so friendly and the ride so beautiful that when Cam decided to organize a visit, I had no hesitation in recommending it to members of the Uncool Cycling Club.
One of the lovely things about this Murray River ride is that it starts with a ferry trip.
It was a foggy October morning. On the Mannum side of the river, eighteen Uncool Cyclists and a couple extra from the Getonyabike cycling group were ready for our 7.30 am start. I’m not sure that we ever got an accurate headcount, but we easily outnumbered the ten or so Mannum Peddle Wheelers.
The fog had cleared since earlier in the morning, but we still couldn’t see the other side of the river.
Someone from the Mannum Peddle Wheelers gave the signal and we pedalled onto the ferry. There were so many of us that only one car could fit. Rae took this photo as we disappeared into the mist.
Before long, we were rolling off the ferry on the other side of the river.
Bike path to Cowirra
For the first kilometre or so, a lovely bike path ran alongside the road.
When the bike path finished, we came to a fork in the road. Louise (from the Mannum Peddle Wheelers) waited at the fork, indicating the “flat way” and the “hilly way”.
Some of the stronger cyclists chose the Hunter Road climb, but most of us continued the flat way on East Front Road. Barb, who took the hilly route, later told me that she had hoped to get some great views, but unfortunately the fog was still too thick.
A couple of kilometres further along on the flat route, we stopped to go around a gate which closed a section of the road to traffic.
The river bank had fallen away making the road unsafe for motor vehicles, but it was no problem for us on our bicycles.
After another kilometre or so, we made our way around another gate and joined the waterfront road again. The traffic was light. From time to time we moved to the left to allow a vehicle to go through.
As we continued on, we knew that the Murray River was on our left, but we couldn’t see much.
Gradually, the sky began to clear.
Younghusband
After about 17 kilometres, we arrived at our turnaround and rest point at Younghusband. Sadly, the General Store which had provided coffee two years earlier, was now closed.
We enjoyed resting at the riverside.
Back to Mannum
By now, some of us were starting to think about coffee. We began our ride back to Mannum. It seemed a bit quicker than the way out.
Before long we were boarding the ferry. On the other side, the Mannum Peddle Wheelers escorted us to our coffee break at Picklemee Grandma.
Thanks to a tip-off from Louise, Picklemee Grandma was ready for our arrival. The food and the coffee were delicious.
We had cycled 35 kilometres and climbed only 86 metres.
Here is my 60 second video of the ride:
Our visit to Mannum turned out to be much more than a bike ride. Most of us stayed Friday night at the Mannum Riverside Caravan Park and had dinner at the Pretoria Hotel.
Thank you Cam for organizing the visit and Louise for assisting with arrangements. Many thanks also to the Mannum Peddle Wheelers for allowing us to join their ride and to Damien, Des and Rae for their wonderful photographic record of the occasion.
Another excellent Murray River ride is from Cohuna to Koondrook, while there are also great cycling trails near the Murray at Kings Billabong, Mildura.
Top photo taken by Damien Henderson.
