Southern Outing.

Back down South for a revisit of old stomping grounds. Destination OHH and surrounding trails, been a while.

Following the train line to the Sturt river until we hit the bottom of Marion road. Mostly off road on bitumen paths until we got to the Pipeline climb, gravel. A bit of a grind up the gravel but steady does it to the bottom of O’Halloran Hill mtb trails.

Once on OHH it’s all dirt, lovely dirt, trails.

Another steep climb up and over the Out The Back trail ending up at the tunnel. Wiggles, Connector, Haarsmas, Dam Revamp to Upstart. Every mtb park should have an Upstart trail, a great set of switchbacks that allow for a less strenuous climb out of the valley floor to the top of the park.

It’s the first time we have been on the upgraded Majors Road. Bike path and multiple traffic light to negotiate to get to Glenthorne National Park. Down to the bottom then up the other side before exiting across the main road.

We usually go right but today I decided to run the loop in reverse and went left. Along the edge of Happy Valley res for about a km then heading down the Enchanted Forest and Minkara Park.

It’s time to seek out a coffee stop with Aberfoyle Park the intended destination.

After weaving through trails and streets we came across the Tennis Club which had a nice cool breeze wafting through the open doors. We decided to give it a go and sit inside out of the sun. The coffee was nice but not a good selection of snacks let it down, although, the toasties were good. Probably not a group stop, but, hey we tried.

Back inside the Happy Valley Reservoir we took a longish way along the edge of the water before riding along the dam wall to exit this section. The trail continues outside the fence to take us back to Glenthorne.

Same amount of up and downs but it felt a lot easier riding the opposite direction. Was it really, who knows.

Through Glenthorne and across OHH it was starting to feel rather warm. Still nice single tracks to get back to the Down the Pipe Line trail. It is always satisfying to ride down, especially after the slog up.

Back along the Sturt River, interestingly it felt way cooler with a slight breeze which made it a nicer ride back to the start.

Always enjoy this ride route, it has a bit of everything but not too hard.

A solid 50 km and 600 m elevation gain.

Ride Change to Cobblers,

Change of ride today to trail a new figure 8 ride on mixed surfaces and terrain. Well, that was the intension anyway but the best laid plans of mice n men…….

Started off well with a ride up the Ruins single track climb, over the top and down to Wynn Vale Dam. Along Dry Creek to Mcintyre Road and up the path on the left-hand side of the road, never ridden on this side so I decided to check it out.

Once at the top we crossed over to the Golden Way and after a short ride hooked a left onto the fire trails of the gullies.

About 500m from Wynn Vale Drive one of the guys had a tyre explosion, he was a short distance behind us so we stopped and waited. Unfortunately, the temperature started to rise and by the time we met up again we could feel the heat. Tyre still punctured and with two plugs inserted earlier only one plug remained. I inserted another plug but on inflation they both started to blow out. The split in the tyre was a little too wide to keep the plugs in place and only managed a partial seal.

We rode across Wynn Vale Drive and the punctured rider decided to call it a day heading down the road, back to his car.

Pepper Mint Gully, I think, has some steep/loose climbs and descents and one of the descents claimed a rider at the very bottom. No injury but a strange problem with the front brake, hard lever and brakes binding. So I cracked the bleed screw on the lever, with the help of a Sram Multi Tool (thanks mate) and let some oil out which fixed the problem.

Off we went again and hit a few steep climbs. With the temperatures rising and a few riders feeling the heat we decided to can the rest of the planned route and head for a coffee/refreshment stop.

Lucky for us the Milk + Honey café was close by so we stopped there. Refreshments were great and the shaded outdoor area was a perfect place to refresh. I decided we would head down the road back to Cobblers the same way the earlier rider left us, but we were a lot higher up and it would be good to coast down to the bottom, or so I thought.

Wynn Vale Drive is a steep road with a few roundabouts and some straight through roundabouts to slow drivers. We set off down the road through the roundabouts with turn offs at a pretty high speed, around 50kmph. As I approached one of the “straight through” roundabouts there was a large black 4X4 parked in the middle of the road. The driver was on his mobile, I slowed to pass and gesture to the driver WTF. He set off, pulled in front of me and started gesturing at me. So, I gave him the wanker gesture, rightly or wrongly, upon which he swerved in front of me and slammed his brakes on, bear in mind steep road, he purposely swerved in front of me and brake checked me several times. I locked my wheels on one occasion and skidded. Fuck this I thought and hit the pavement instead.

Entitled wanker, one of the guys got his rego but no point going to the cops, entitled wanker!!

Anyway, road rage over, we returned to Cobbler.

A good ride, 26 Km with 500m elevation gain, shortened by unfortunate events. We will do the full figure 8 in cooler weather.

Heat Beater, Beaten.

With a weather forecast of extreme temperatures, 40c plus, I consulted the BOM app and figured we could just about fit in a reasonable ride before it got too hot. One problem it would mean starting at 6.30, sunrise.

I updated the web page, emailed/txt messaged all the regular suspects the early start time and ended up with a trio of willing participants or nutcases depending how you look at it hehe.

Destination today was Café VaBene so off we went just as the Eye of Sauron was peeking over the horizon.

From the start I had decided to keep in the shadows as much as possible so most of the trails were low on the creeks and river sides. So we swerved some of the usual single tracks we usually follow.

We got down to Walkerville, passing a long train of roadies, or were they gravelists, same thing, before turning back up the Torrens to Bene. Still keeping out of the direct sunlight. The short section of single track along the river was dusty but near the end was thick mud. Hmm must be a leaking drain or spring, it’s only appeared over the last year so who knows.

We got to the café at 8.15, problem was it doesn’t open until 8.30 (piss weak planning on my behalf) so we waited for it to open. Being first in meant the service was quick and the food and coffee was as good as ever. I think we should have a list of topics not to discuss but that would go against my beliefs of freedom of speech so fuck it hehe.

As we left the café and got some direct sunlight the temp was definitely rising. So, we head up the Torrens single track to the start of the Highbury Aqueduct trail. The steepish climb from the river up to the road was hot, not a breath of wind but once over the top to the reservoir there was a reasonable breeze.

With the trail closed at the top of the reservoir, due to Giant Scale and tree felling, there was no point heading up so across the bottom it was.

Back up the Obahn and down Dry Creek taking the direct track and trails back to Mawson lakes.

So with a ride of 50 km and the temp not too high I think it was mission accomplished. As always the decision to start early or cancel is always a hard one for me. I kick myself if I cancel due to forecast temps and the predictions are wrong.

At the end of the day, it’s night. It was a good ride after all.

Creeking Cobblers.

First ride of 2026 and after a week of stinkin hot weather Saturday was heaps cooler.

Not much out of the ordinary to report, no crashes, no abuse (except between ourselves).

Suffering with a 3rd degree burn on the foot and legs one twitch away from being pretzels, too much hard graft at home the previous days, off we go.

Clockwise loop was the order of the day so up the Cobblers, via usual tracks/trails and down the other side to Wynn Vale.

Usual Dry Creek to Pooora-ka-k-ka-ka ride to the Fabulous Bakery Boys for refreshments.

After some noice coffee, food and banter/piss taking, we set off again. Instead of the usual route back we headed up to the Paddocks, across Main North Road to Mawson Lakes.

Up the train line and back to the start. It was pointed out we hadn’t stopped for the entire ride, apart from traffic lights and coffee.

As I said at the start a rather un eventful ride. Nevertheless a great ride, with a great bunch, luckily no cramps on the 50km loop and no one took offence at my “dry as a dead dingos donger” sarcastic sense of humour, afaik.

Awesome Foursome Torrens Trekking.

First decision where to stop for coffee? As it’s the festive season I let the group decide.

Off down the river single track, fast n dry. It tried to kick me off but managed to hang on.

Over the bridge and onto the other side for some reverse trail action so down the ups and up the downs.

Nice trails down to the shore but had to “deal with” a newly fenced off section. No works anywhere just fenced off, no problem up and around the fence ends hehe.

Down the coast to the Scala Bakery for the earliest coffee stop ever. We had to hang around until we could swoop on a table like a seagull on a chip, busy place, well worth the wait.

Back up the river on all the bits of single track we could, the trails managed to stab me in the arm and hit me in the head several times. Hard work scoping the ground and missing the low branches hehe, gets me every time.

Past the Brickworks, down the trainline and straight up the river turning around at the bike track at Gilberton.

I thought we could have a look at St Peters Billabong. Last time I had a look down there it was all dirt tracks and fallen trees every where (about 5 years ago)

After a dead end at the top we dropped into the bottom. Looking good and a short dirt track out, worth the look.

Half of us took off to the moans of the others, got to complete the ride by returning to the start. We all caught up waiting to cross South Road.

Over the road the path is closed off, who needs a foot path when diggers need a parking space?

48 km including to and from Adelaide train station.

Last ride of 2025, nice one.

All the best for 2026 to anyone who reads this waffle. Keep the rubber side down yawl.

Cobblers n Gullies.

Usual start to a ride lately, where TF are we going to go???

I had a new route plotted on Ride with GPS, part of which came from a previous ride with the Phantom Flasher, but hadn’t uploaded it to the Karoo so through various means I got it through the phone.

Right, let’s go.

Nothing unusual up to Cobblers Creek Recreation Park and a quick visit to the crapper hehe.

A short climb and out of the right-hand side of the park we headed to Peppermint Gully. The single track into the bottom was the easy bit leading to some steep, loose climbs up and down the gullies.

Up and over the road to Wynn Vale Gully. Nice and quiet ride through the fire roads out to the Golden Way.

After a short section of road we took a right turn to check out the Texas Single Track, a short trail off the main road. Been down a few times but today most of the trail was covered over by debris from the trees after recent storms. One thigs for sure it disappeared totally about half way down, with a bit of luck someone will clear it.

On to the Dry Creek trail, past the dam, over the Grove Way and up to the top of the hill before dropping down to Cobbler Creek and out to the Stables for refreshments.

After some good food, coffee and a whinge we set out again. Down Slate and Cobbler Creek before uphill climb to the top of the Cobbler Creek Recreation Park.

We jumped over the road to the trails on the other side. Deciding to head down the Babbler trail didn’t quite go to plan missing a turn before back tracking to where we should be. Long grass obscured the single track in places, my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Straight down Babbler and on to Short n Sweet. Ferk, these trails are getting looser n rocky but still enjoyable. Managed to keep it together and on track to the bottom.

We waited at the bottom for some riders to catch up. When they appeared, there was no complaints or moans about the trail, strange. I later found out that they had gone down the fire road, which comes out at the same place, on Strava. My fault, told them at the top to keep to the right, meaning right hand trail. Maybe that was a good option anyway, for them.

Usual way out of the park, down the berms, trail on top of the creek and back to the golf club.

42 km ride with 660 m elevation.

Felt the steep climbs in the legs on Sunday, strong hip pain (one side), coincidence, who knows.

Ansteys Loop.

Leaving the new meeting spot we headed up the Dry Creek trail. I broke out the Stump Jumper, been a while, for the ride. Unfortunately, I didn’t check the sealant levels in the tyres and got a flat rear. I carry sealant in the pack and after a short stop we were off again, no plug required.

Slight bit of water in a dip on a single track and the aquaphobes struck and took the alternate route just in case they dissolved in water.

Nice steady ride through the street and trails up to Ansteys Hill.

Short stop for a breather and water before the relentless ride to the top. Good ride up the hill on single tracks and fire roads…...nice! A rather large roo, catching some rays, laid at the edge of the track so easy does it, no eye contact and we made it through without confrontation.

Over the hill and down to the road crossing. As the crossing is on a bend care was taken to look out for cars.

Once over the road we entered the old quarry and quick stop to take in the lake before the long downhill rough and rocky access road. I spotted a track in the long grass that links in to the Aqueduct Trail.

Aqueduct to the Torrens trails and up a steepish dirt incline, wheel spin and pedal strike affected most but at least one made it up, battery assisted.

Usual combination of path and trail down to Va Bene. Very nice refreshments.

Usual trails down to Walkerville before back tracking to get the single-track goodness twice. I almost lost the front wheel off the edge because it was so overgrown. However, the Phantom Flasher didn’t fare so well and ended up in the undergrowth. Had to laugh, rude not to.

 Up the side of the Obahn to Grand Junction Road, a bit of a hold up while a dick parked his ute on the main road on the corner of the car park. WTF dude.

Uneventful back to the start.

Certainly felt the climbing on this ride. All in all a good 50 km ride.

Gave myself a good talking to regarding not checking the sealant. Next time I’m barred hehe.

Destination Belair.

First off, back streets to Shepherds Hill Rec Park via St Marys. Admiring the mental bits of bike lane up Dorene Street, probably looked good on the plans but totally bonkers in reality.

After crossing the busy main road, we went into the recreation park expecting a bit of mud and soft soil after the rains we had ooop north, but it was nice and dry. We began the start of the long climb to Belair. Steady away and up the single tracks to the road. After peaking at the top we decided to have a well-earned coffee stop at Banana Boogie Bakery. Very nice coffee and baked goods.

Onwards and upwards to the national park. Nice and peaceful riding on the fire roads, love it. Dropping down into the valley and then heading up Queens Jubilee Drive to the top. Quite a bit of a grind up with very little relief from pedaling but what goes up must come down.

Great ride down on main and off fire roads. Just missed a very nice Blue Tongue on the way down, no one else saw it so hopefully it didn’t get run over.

Around the Birdie Loop to Escape Goat for coffee stop number two. Very busy today, again a good stop for a coffee n food.

Our usual exit out of the park was closed off so we had to do a bit of wandering to find another track. Didn’t take long and we were soon climbing out of the park.

Down the road reaching up to 53kph before getting back on the single tracks back down to Sheps.

As the trails were closed off there was a meeting at the Archery Club so we rode up for a sqizzy. Plenty of cars but very little archery, so back down and out the park.

St Marys back streets again and back to the start.

Although the ride was only 42 km it sure felt longer with over 800 m of elevation. Well done every one, great ride.

Random Roaming Salisbury.

Today’s mission was to see if we could get to the top of a local quarry, something we have done before but not recently. It was rumoured a new high fence was erected to keep people out. Also, to check out the now, closed off Cobblers Creek bed trail so off we went.

After a few up, down and around abouts in Carisbrooke Park we headed out past the Old Spot markets towards the quarry. Up the hill, along the single track we got there. Yup high fence blocked the way

Alrighty then, let’s try find another way to the top so we can drop back down the hillside.

We followed the trail out to a housing estate and checked all the dead ends. No luck there so off up the main road in an area I have never been. The road went up and up and up with a group of roadies fly past down the hill. Surely there must be a track across but all the properties were private. We came to a branch in the road and had a swift look at the Karoo, road goes around with a couple of dead-end tracks not far from the Little Parra Reservoir.

We decided not to risk it and headed back down the road hopping on and off the dirt verges on the way.

Back at the Little Parra we rode up, down, looped around and back up again heading towards Cobblers Creek Reserve.

Once at the bike park we rode the revamped beginners jump line, not impressed with the changes. The ramps of the jumps are now practically vertical and rolling over them is jarring. Back to the top of the jumps we took the berms to the bottom and out.

Next was the old Creek bed trail. Again, blocked off the old gate removed and wood barriers across. Undeterred we went around the fence and into the over grown trails. Pity the trails aren’t maintained anymore, all the bridges are still there but it was a case of bush bashing. Stop, start and walk we made it through with only one topple over hehe.

Onwards to the Village Store for some well-earned refreshments. Recommended refreshment stop and well worth supporting.

Up, down and around back to the golf club. Well, we learned where we can’t or shouldn’t go again.

A fairly warm day and a pleasant ride of 37 km with 642 m of elevation.