Cycle Across Oz ... Perth to Sydney: Thursday, August 22.

Day 26. Clare to Gawler.

Distance: 88 km in 4 hrs 02 min at 21.9 km/ hr.

Distance so far: 2657 km.

Climbed: 1201 ft.

Elevation tonight: 213 ft ASL.

AHR: 98 bpm.

No of punctures so far: 0

Cyclist 5 ( of 15)

Peter. (Sydney) Retired accountant and has done this trip from Cairns i.e.all except the first section. We roomed together in Clare. Had some gear cable trouble on road into Port Augusta. Won the photographic competition for the Broome-Perth section with the brief of ’Water’

Cyclist 7 ( of 15)

Paul( Sydney, but native of Belfast) We have cycled most of the trip together and roomed together. His mom died last week and he went home for a few days. Back again in Clare.

Foggy and damp and cold this morning as we started out. We had our briefing at 7 and left soon afterwards. It had rained heavily during the night. All the cold gear was on all day. All I wanted was to get going and spin those pedals to warm up. The day was like a miserable summer's day at home......damp, cold( not freezing) and showers on and off.

I had the rain-gear on again today (3rd day) as showers moved towards us. Generally, I kept dry but my shoes and socks got wet, and nothing as uncomfortable as wet feet and a cold wind blowing. That added to the apparent length of the day. But, in Gawler in the afternoon, I did something to rectify that. Bear with me.

Out of the Clare Caravan Park, we turned right ( south) and headed for Auburn parallel to the Riesling Trail that I was on yesterday. A fog covered the road ahead but we had all the flashing lights on.

Auburn is regarded as the 'Gateway to the Clare Valley' and shortly afterwards the vines disappeared. Some wineries still appeared and also olive groves.

Then , it was back to wheat, canola and sheep and rolling hills of green. As we rode along we shared the road with school buses on their way to work.

Morning tea was at Tarlee (not to be confused with Tralee) a centre of agricultural activity, and soon afterwards the rain gear went on. The road was rolling with some long slow climbs but with corresponding descents. I think it was these long ascents that made the day seem long - the heart rate of 98 would indicate that it wasn't a demanding ride.

At one stage, it was announced that we were approaching the town of Rhynie. However, downtown Rhynie turned out to be rather sparse, just one premises,and that didn’t seem to be too busy.

Roseworthy was well announced with the giant Viterra Grain Facility. Roseworthy is a centre of Agricultural Education conducting trials on various cereals and also heavily involved in viticulture (winemaking). Silos and bunkers appeared all along the roadside on my right as I approached the centre.

Machinery yards featured some large mean machines from the John Deere stable (Oisin, I know you'll like these).

Just before I reached Gawler, I heard hounds barking off to the right and spotted the sign for Kellmann Kennels. In Roseworthy, I heard the same but didn't spot any particular kennels.

Gawler, is a dormitory town of Adelaide. This is as close to Adelaide (45 km) as we get. It’s a busy town with outlets to cater for everyone and is referred to as the gateway to the Barossa Valley, the other winemaking district. It is named after one of Adelaide’s early governors and is historically significant.

When I checked into the Gawler Caravan Park, it felt warm, much warmer than Clare. Three of us (Woody, Paul and self) booked into a cabin. I had a quick cup of coffee to warm up and then I was off on a mission. I had to do something about these cold wet feet as we are likely to have more and more of these conditions as we move onto Victoria.

I made enquiries and located two sports shops; one turned out to be just fashion sports but the serious bike shop was 5 km distant at the other end of town. Off I go, past the racecourse and located Gawler Cycles. They had just what I wanted, neoprene shoe covers and merino wool socks. Tried them on, was satisfied and purchased. Wore them on the way back to the caravan park and felt so comfortable in spite of the wet shoes and wet sock beneath.

Had a few other errands to run in town (phone, provisions etc) and after shopping in Coles was ready for home. This had been a satisfying end to a seemingly long day. The hot shower was the icing on the cake.