Mountain Monday in Adelaide

After the Criterium Race last night, today is a "rest day" of sorts for the pro riders, as the official start is tomorrow in Prospect, a very short distance from here (really just north of the Adelaide City Center). We took a quick drive east to the Cleland Wildlife Park, and from there Tony, Bill and I set out with Kevin to climb Mt. Osmond and then Mt. Lofty. First, we rode through some newish suburban areas, then higher up we rode through some beautiful eucalyptus-scented woods with panoramic views down to the city and the bay beyond. We saw our first koala perched in a tree by the side of the road, and he was very cooperative and photogenic.

Tony, Bill & David; Mt. Lofty

The total ride wasn't that long – about three hours and covering only 32 miles – but offered over 3,000 feet of climbing and a really nice descent off Mt. Lofty. The fast descents on the "wrong" side of the road took some getting used to – with things happening so fast and the curves being backwards (right turns being easier on the outside of the curve instead of how they are normally much tighter on the inside), but eventually it all began to feel normal. The views from the top of Mt. Lofty were spectacular, and we could really get a feel for the layout of the area.

We met the rest of the group back at the beginning, and we three, plus George, decided to ride back to the hotel instead of driving. So we set off, with the help of Mr. Garmin, and arrived back with no problems – once again, getting ourselves in some pretty heavy urban traffic, but feeling good about it. It was nice for the three of us, plus George, to be back on the road together again. Very familiar. Good fun.

Later, we returned to the Cleland Wildlife Park and were able to see a lot of koala bears up in trees, and many, many kangaroos. These were tame enough that we were able to walk right up to them – some even let us touch them, but it was pretty interesting to see them that close. The emus were awful-looking – you didn't WANT to get close to them – and they made this extremely low rumbling noise that sounded really unfriendly. There were lots of other native animals, all in pretty natural settings, again in the wonderful eucalyptus-scented woods.

Leaving the park, we drove back over the summit of Mt. Lofty to beers and dinner at the Bridgewater Inn, up in the Adelaide Hills. We drove through some beautiful neighborhoods first, big houses surrounded by oceans of deep blue agapanthus in full bloom (the agapanthus is everywhere here, even growing in roadside ditches). It was a long, delightful dinner outside overlooking a river, under a trellis of grapevines. And, still light well past 9:00 p.m.!