Guest author Karen Henley has kindly agreed to tell us about her recent ride on the Jack Bobridge trail between Gawler and Lyndoch with Cycle Salisbury:
The ride wasn’t off to a good start as one of the riders pulled a thorn from their tyre to be met with a ‘HISSSSSS’. In true cyclist style a fellow cyclist jumped in and helped change the tube. Before long we were off on our ride.
There were 14 cyclists in all, and a steady climb to Lyndoch lay ahead of us. Some had ridden this track before and knew what was ahead, others had not but were keen with anticipation, one or two wanting to see how their new electric assisted bikes would handle the mainly upward track.
It had been almost a year since I had ridden this section of the Jack Bobridge trail, but I could remember it was an enjoyable ride, be it a bit on the tough side for me as I didn’t like (or do enough) rises.
I noted as we started on our ride there was quite a lot of patching where bitumen had been used to try to cover cracks in the pathway, some successful and others not quite so. On a previous ride, a fellow rider on a road bike had demonstrated the width of the crack by inserting his front wheel very delicately into one, losing sight of the rubber. I was glad I had a hybrid with thicker tyres.
The Jack Bobridge Trail followed along the old railway corridor with the tracks alongside for some time. The morning was brisk, but it didn’t take long to warm up. We were not going fast (around 12-18kph). It was all about enjoying the ride, the company and countryside, not getting to the destination quickly.
Some were better than others on the uphill sections, but as a group we would stop at the top of a crest and wait for the others to catch up. While we did we chatted with each other. I had ridden with most before at some time.
The track in the railway corridor finished and we went down a short section of public road to rejoin the track as it followed the road to the peak. From here it was a nice downhill run to Lyndoch, past the caravan park. However, we had to be careful to avoid the stobie poles in the centre of the track.
Lyndoch Hill Winery
We passed across the main road that we had been shadowing to be greeted by vineyards. The leaves were starting to change into their autumn colours. There was one short climb to come through the aptly named Lyndoch Hill Winery, up through the rose arches. Regrettably, these had been pruned so were not the usual pretty corridor.
The Jack Bobridge Trail from here was delightful. It was downhill and past some very lovely fields with cattle grazing, into the town of Lyndoch. There had been a scarecrow festival and the last of the displays was lying on the ground, just like I imagined some of the riders felt after their climb.
There was of course the compulsory stop for coffee, cake and chat….any or all….for about 20 minutes before saddling up for the much quicker return.
All together we cycled 20.6 kilometres and climbed 141 metres.
To read another article by Karen, see her story about riding on the Encounter Bikeway as part of the Coast to Coast event. Another excellent South Australian rail trail is the Riesling Trail.
Well written Karen ! Great read ! It was an enjoyable ride.
Thanks. It was nice to ride it again with a great group.
Nicely put together Karen with good photos Thanks
Another ride to put on my growing list of South Australia trails to ride 🙂 Thanks for sharing your ride Karen. It sounds like a very pleasant group ride. How did the electric assisted bikes go?
I found my electric assist bike great on hills , but not easy to ride in a group of social riders . Because of power assist I was catching other riders so quickly on hills l had to brake hard a couple of times to avoid a collision ( I did cause and accident on a hill a few days later ) With the power off it becomes a rather heavy bike to ride , but I find riding at back of field and watching slower riders , I can still have a good social ride with my ‘ Bike Buddies ‘
That’s interesting to hear, Murray. I noticed this happening with some electric bikes I saw in the Great Brisbane Bike Ride over the weekend. It seemed difficult for them to keep a consistent pace. They’d pass me and then I’d catch up and pass them and then they’d speed past me 😀 I think power assisted bikes are great and I’m following their development with an eye to maybe buy one down the track.
Sounds like it was a fun ride with lots to see along the way!
Some thoughts on owning a ‘ Power Assisted Electric Bike ‘ you may like to read . In Australia can only use a 250 watt motor , and a max speed of 25 kph , before motor cuts out . Can peddle faster , but it’s hard work . A good Road Rider can go a lot faster than this easy ! Below 25 kph motor only works if you are peddling . Motor stops instantly , as soon as you stop peddling . But they will free wheel same as a normal bike , and you can peddle down hill at 60 kph if your game ! They are great on Hills . Last week I road up ‘ The Grove Way ‘ in Salisbury , a Suburb of Adelaide . One of steeper streets in our area . On full power I pedalled all the way to top at 25 kph ! Avanti Salisbury said nobody on a Road Bike can do that speed ! . They are dangerous on group rides with slow riders , because they climb so quickly , you can easy run in back of an other Rider if they stop suddenly on a hill . So I would say if you are reasonably fit and your on a friendly ride with a few friends , use you Mountian Bike , and struggle up the hills like they do . Electric Bikes are great for ‘ old people ‘ who can’t keep up or can’t climb hills ! , like me ! haha
😀 Great info Murray. Thanks! I reckon they’d be good for long work commute too. But their heaviness is something that I wonder about too. I think it’s exciting to see how the power assist electric bikes are growing in number and how the designs seem to be evolving. Happy riding! 🙂