It’s not exactly off-road or trail riding, but cycling in Adelaide’s Eastern suburbs is a really enjoyable experience. The roads are generally shady and quiet – a great place to ride when it’s hot or windy.
Gentle Gradients
It’s also a terrific place for riders who are just starting on hills. The gradients are gentle. Beulah Road climbs 45 metres over 3.4 kilometres, a gradient of only 1.3%.
Statenborough Street climbs 50 metres over 1.5 kilometres with a consistent gradient of 3%. It’s also very beautiful with many stately homes and gorgeous gardens. You get to enjoy these without having to pay for the houses or do any gardening!
For those who want a bit more of a challenge but don’t yet wish to tackle Norton Summit or Mount Lofty, Stonyfell Road climbs 41 metres over 850 metres – a gradient of 4.8%.
Other favorite streets are Alexandra Avenue for its beautiful trees, Davenport Terrace for its views of Hazelwood Park and the High Street in Kensington for its historic interest.
Last but not least, there are so many great options for coffee along the Parade.
Other enjoyable intermediate level road bike rides are the Adelaide Beach Ride and the Lefevre Peninsula (Port Adelaide area).
Great write up Helen. Very informative. I agree some of the gardens and homes are beautiful.
Helen J
Thank you Helen 🙂
Wow I am impressed with the numbers!! It was a beautiful place to ride, I will do it again.
Thanks for introducing me to this very pretty area.
Thanks Karen. I am thinking of organizing a slightly easier version next time 🙂
A great insight into some gentle cycling around our beautiful city Helen!!
Thanks for reading Kerri 🙂
Thanks for the blog and reminder of a really enjoyable ride.
Great to have you there Di
Love the photos, Helen. Gradients are really important when planning enjoyable rides, as are coffee stops. But are there any great options for beer along the way?
Indeed there are a quite a few but it was a bit early in the morning for that perhaps….
Sounds like very pleasant cycling Helen. I was recently looking into the rail trail that runs from Adelaide into the Adelaide Hills. Have you ridden or written about that ride?
Hi Gail – I haven’t yet written about the Amy Gillett Rail Trail which runs through the Adelaide Hills rather than from Adelaide to the hills. I have, however, ridden it many times and can really recommend it for beautiful scenery and good quality bitumen. It’s also a good base for many beautiful dirt road rides.
That’s good to know Helen. I’ve just revisited the railtrails.org site and the one I was looking at is called Coast to Vines. I hadn’t noticed the listing for the Amy Gillett trail so thanks for pointing it out. Always good to hear some local knowledge – thanks 🙂