Cycling in the Langhorne Creek Wine Region was a wonderful surprise. With quiet, shady roads and lots of interesting places to visit, it’s a great place to explore by bicycle.
Elaine organised a cycling camp at Milang for the Australia Day Weekend,
On our first ride, Elaine led a ride to Clayton Bay, the Finniss General Store and Finniss River Vineyard.
On our second day, we rode dirt backroads between Milang and Strathalbyn.
For our third and final day, we headed for the Langhorne Creek Wine Region.
Lake Road and dirt roads to Langhorne Creek
We started out along Lake Road, which runs alongside Lake Alexandrina.
After four kilometres, we turned left onto a dirt road and headed north towards Langhorne Creek.
There are many long, flat, straight roads in the Milang area. The road surfaces are well compacted and apart from watching out for a few potholes, it’s easy riding.
After sixteen kilometres, we arrived at our first destination shortly after 10 o’clock.
Bremerton Wines
Bremerton Wines made us very welcome. We sat in a shady spot outside, drinking coffee or tea and eating some delicious biscuits.
The group today was a little larger than I had expected, so I thought I had better phone ahead to see whether my planned lunch spot would be able to manage eleven cyclists for a few platters and wine tasting.
Lucky I did! Being the Australia Day Weekend Monday, they were quite busy and were expecting a group of 45 motor bike riders at 12:30 pm! They advised us to arrive before noon so that we could be sure of a table outside as I had requested.
No problem – we had been planning to visit Bleasdale Winery, but it seemed wiser to head straight to Lake Breeze.
The five kilometre ride through the Langhorne Creek Wine Region to Lake Breeze was delightful with plenty of large, shady trees and vineyards on either side.
Lake Breeze
Lake Breeze had reserved us a lovely seat outside in the shade.
We enjoyed relaxing with our wine, and the platters and dips were delicious.
However, the day was was getting hotter. It was time to proceed to our next destination.
Pedalling through the Langhorne Creek Wine Region to Newmans Horseradish took us along some very picturesque backroads. We encountered only one car in four kilometres.
Turning on to Lake Plains Road, there were a few more cars, but we soon arrived at our third and final stop.
Newmans Horseradish
I was surprised to learn that Newmans Horseradish was also a cellar door. Also, it was interesting to learn about how horseradish is grown and harvested.
There is a lovely verandah overlooking the horseradish and vineyards.
Once everyone had either sampled some wine or bought some horseradish, it was time to continue.
I had originally planned to return to Milang along some more dirt roads.
However, I had hurt my back earlier in the day, and my friends kindly agreed to return via the bitumen on Lake Plains Road so that I could have a smoother ride. We did encounter a little traffic, but most of the drivers were very courteous and gave us a wide berth.
Cycling in the Langhorne Creek Wine Region
It had been a wonderful day. Langhorne Creek offers quiet and flat roads and lots to see. I’m hoping to cycle in the region again soon.
Altogether we cycled 41 kilometres and climbed 221 metres. Of course you could design a much shorter ride if you started and finished in Langhorne Creek.
Before I finish, I must say a special thank you to Elaine Davies for organizing the weekend, George Bennett for some great ride suggestions and Desmond Brown, Damien Henderson and Elaine Davies for permission to use their wonderful photos.
If you live near Adelaide and would like to join relaxed social rides like this (or shorter), join our Facebook Group.
Another great South Australian wine region to cycle around is Penola in the Coonawarra.
