On Friday there was a massive dust storm in Burra. The sky was brown and you could barely see ten metres in front of you.
Derek and I had arrived in Burra early for our planned Sunday ride on the Mawson Trail between Clare and Burra.
Sunday came and looked promising, but I still felt some concern about higher winds forecast for later in the morning.
The other cyclists arrived in Burra at 8.30 am, and with help from support drivers Derek and Trevor, ten riders were ready to set out from the park at Lennon Street, Clare, shortly after 9.00 am.
Before departing, I gave a quick demonstration on how to use the satellite phone in case of accident, as we were likely to be out of mobile phone coverage for some of the ride.
Clare to Camel’s Hump (17 kilometres)
For our first seven kilometres, we headed north along the Riesling Trail. Shortly before Barinia Siding, we turned east and began our climb up Angus Court Road.
The countryside was still very dry. Normally by this time in April, there would have been quite a bit of rain.
After a three kilometre roll, it was time to climb again. Our goal was to top the Camel’s Hump Ranges before we took our first food break.
The climb was tough, but I felt stronger than when I had done this section four years ago.
I had to push my bike as the track got steeper. A gate further slowed our momentum as we approached the summit.
As we arrived at the top, a cool, westerly wind greeted us. We sat just over the crest, eating our snacks looking out towards Burra.
Camel’s Hump to Burra (25 kilometres)
After the Camel’s Hump, we enjoyed a delightful roll of five kilometres before some more climbing began.
The westerly wind was our friend as we headed east, pushing us along, even up some of the hills.
A huge truck laden with hay went past, giving us our first dust bath.
We had a number of hills to climb. Each rider climbed at their own pace, and then everybody waited at the top to regroup. Almost invariably I was the last to arrive, but I had trained well and was feeling fine.
We passed a number of abandoned stone cottages, but conscious of the forecast of strong winds coming, I didn’t hold the group up for the usual obligatory group photo.
Luckily stronger riders Kerri and Roger were able to get some great photos of our ride (mostly while they were waiting for me to get up the hill 😎)
As we approached Burra, the forecast winds came through, and we had to lean into the blow as we climbed Pistol Club Road.
Fortunately the huge agave on McBride Stock Road provided shelter for our last rocky climb into Burra.
Feeling proud, relieved and glad to get out of the wind, we adjourned to St Just Cafe for coffee and lunch or snacks.
Summary of Mawson Trail between Clare and Burra
Altogether, we had covered 42 kilometres on our Mawson Trail ride between Clare and Burra and climbed 653 metres. Here is an elevation chart of our ride:
Here is the gpx file of our ride.
To read about other short sections of the Mawson Trail, read about our ride between Brachina Gorge Road and Wilpena or between Mount Little and Hawker.
