May 12, 2023
Day 2: Marrabel to Morgan
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Day two started a pattern that was to become a routine. Get up early with the intention of an early start. Have breakfast, pack up and realise that we just can't get going much before 9.00am. I don't know how people manage to set off early, we seem to work flat out to manage nine o clock. We were up at 7am every day, that was first light. Any earlier and you were fiddling around in the dark, not to mention the cold. We just had to accept that, regardless of what everyone else "says" that they achieve, 8.30 to 9.00am was our limit at this time of year.
The hills continued to Eudunda, the roads were still familiar as I used to work in Eudunda and travelled this way every day. I'd only cycled this way once before.
The ride to Eudunda continued the hills from the day before with one last challenging climb before dropping into town. The day was very warm again after a cold night and we stopped at a bakery in the town.
Looking at the profile on Komoot, it was a relief to see that the rest of the day was mostly downhill. The highway to Morgan was one we used to travel frequently to go swimming at the river. It can be an unpleasant stretch of road in the summer and I never liked driving it, very open and flat. The only positive thing I remembered about it from those days was the fact that we always saw emus. The ride was a welcome relief from hills, it could have been difficult with a head wind but, if anything, the very light breeze was in our favour. It's amazing how much different things can look on a bicycle. The countryside was actually quite pleasant and I was astonished to find that the Sutherland pub was open. There is an old railway line running parallel to the road the whole way, it would be great to see these things utilised, if not for trains then for bicycles.
Probably the most significant place along this fairly remote and barren highway is the Mt. Mary Pub. I first called in here in early 1975 (and last called in here to be honest) on my way to the Riverland to pick fruit. I was surprised to see a pub out there then. I remember being told by the publican to put a shirt on if I wanted to go in the room with a pool table. He said that he enforces the rule for the locals so it had to apply to me. I remember thinking, 'what locals.' There seems to be nothing for miles. Over the years it became known as a bikie pub. Motorcycle gangs from Adelaide would meet there. It's certainly undergone a sea-change now. I'd describe it as an upmarket 'Grey Nomad' pub. It was doing a reasonable lunch time trade when we called in. It has a good menu and, even though we didn't order food, it seems that the meals were good. We sat outside with drinks and made our own lunch, got talking to a few people, very pleasant place to go out for lunch these days.
Sitting in the sun at the pub made riding in the afternoon a bit difficult to get going, fortunately, it wasn't far to Morgan. Another point of interest before Morgan was a historical plaque on the old railway. These things usually just give some basic information but this thing had an essay attached. It was a very interesting read, not just about the railway but the locals who used to live round about. One fellow went crazy and was found in Eudunda suffering from 'religious mania'. I've met a few of those. Apparently, he was cured and went on to lead a successful life. There's hope.
We had decided to camp at the caravan park at Morgan for a shower and to wash clothes. It was a decent distance so seemed like a good idea. We got there in good time for setting up but the caravan park was booked out. This is a very uncommon experience for people in tents. I didn't realise at the time that there was a caravan park at Cadell, which was within range. The problem at Morgan was that the park had only just opened after the flood (a common theme from here on) and space was limited. Also, it seems that lots of road workers were housed here on contracts after the flood. The owner found a space for us in between the caravans so we stayed the night. I was a little surprised at the price, $30, but later found that this seemed to be the going rate, a little on the cheap side if anything. Obviously I haven't used caravan parks for a while. The park and facilities were all good but, being a small tent in between caravans, it was uncomfortable privacy wise. We did not have a good night.
Today's ride: 83 km (52 miles)
Total: 131 km (81 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 1 |