Cycle Tour

The Cycle Tour was a three day expedition all around the Yorke Peninsula. It was a very enjoyable yet tiring trip. We travelled through many sites including Innes National Park, a large Wind Farm and many main towns. Overall the expedition added up to 130 kilometre with Day 1 having to ride two 20 kilometre rides, Day 2, 46 kilometres and Day 3, 44 kilometres.

Day 1- 1st of February

Everyone was eager to jump on the bikes and head off, but first we had to check the bikes in case anything was faulty from the Christmas holidays. We put our helmets on and started riding down the path, ready for a big day ahead. Day one wasn't to tiring, since everyone had a early night in our dirty tents and we were only warming up for the rest of the expedition. We headed up through the streets and onto a very bumpy and uncomfortable dirt road. Minutes later we reach the old Warooka town school, where Hugh Murdoch's grandfather once went to. The school was very small and rundown, with rusty corrugated iron roofs and trashed rooms with old cars parts surrounding us. We grabbed a couple of old toys and attached them to the front of the bus for a bit of decoration. Moff who was driving the bus behind us, showed all of us his old Holden that was in the small shed at the front. Amazingly it was in quite good condition, although it was extremely dirty on the outside. We had a few snacks and then headed off on our trip down the dirt road. Duthy and I hung back for the rest of the trip to help the riders who were having a bit of trouble. On the way back to the camp site, we came across a herd of sheep that were being move to a new paddock by a couple of sheep dogs. That was very exciting although we then had to ride through all the poo they left behind. We finally arrived back at Wambana to have lunch. The trip through West Cowie was very hot but fortunately the strong breeze kept the flies of our face. But the day wasn't over yet, we then had to hop on our bikes and set off up the road to Warooka. The second ride seemed a lot longer, since most of it was uphill. We travelled all the way up large hills until we finally arrived at the Warooka town to drop of our detailed letters. The great thing about going up hill to the Warooka town was that the whole way back was down hill. Everyone sat back and relaxed as we strolled through the rest of the ride coming down large hills with fierce tail wind. After our first day of the riding expedition everyone was bothered and ready for bed, well... the tents.

Day 2- 2nd of February

The long bus trip to Innes National Park gave us some time for an extra sleep as we had to get up bright and early for the long ride ahead. After my long but uncomfortable sleep in the bus we pulled the bikes out of the trailers and continued on our expedition through the Innes National Park. The parks landscape was fantastic, with 360 degree views of the National park and the wonderful coasts surrounding it. We headed along the burning bitumen road admiring the salt lakes and sand dunes that we past. After our early start to the trip we stopped off at West Cape light house for lunch. Lunch was a bit of a failure as my wrap never seemed to stay together. We refilled our water bottles to keep hydrated and head back down the hilly path. This time everyone was pushing themselves to the next stop eager to arrived at Dolphin Beach and swim in the clear, cool water. After our hard work the mission was accomplished. Having to ride through the burning sun on a sandy corrugated road with terrible hills and soft tracks, to the fresh swim at dolphin beach was definitely worth it. Even better we were able to swim with a friendly seal that didn't seem to mind us. He later became sick of us and headed off down the beach. All of us changed back into our cycling clothes and continued our ride through the National Park. We stopped off to the side of the road, had some Scroggin and got ready for Paul 2,8 Challenge. The challenge required us to complete the rest of the ride staying on the gears two and eight without having to stop. Paul was amazed to find out that nearly half of us completed the challenge. Paul later had to reward us with a cool Pepsi. The day ended slowly with the long bus trip back.

Day 3- 3rd of February

Our last Day seemed to be the most relaxed ride since everyone became used to long riding expeditions. Yet again we were dropped off by the buses at Sturt Bay and we were ready for the long ride. Today we brought Jack along, Dales 5 year old son. He rode on a one-wheeled bike that connected to Dale's seat post. Everyone had turns towing Jack along, including myself. While we worked our hardest pulling Jack's weight along, he enjoyed sitting back and pulling off a few unusual tricks. On the way to our lunch stop, a few of us noticed a large 6 foot brown snake slither across the track. Luckily the snake didn't take any notice of us standing beside it. We finished our lunch and yet again set off on our bikes towards the large wind farm. The wind turbines were absolutely huge, towering over us making us feel like tiny ants. I never realised how large they were because I had only seen them before far in the distance. We continued down the dirt road, finally reaching Edithburg. We changed into some boardies and ran down to the water ready for a fresh swim. The riding expedition was finally over!!! Everyone moved into their Wardlis ready for a good night sleep.