Mt Barker

Careful preparation and detailed planning led Dave and I to tackle the Adelaide hills on a 39 degree day, with limited water, and no realisation that we were climbing the Adelaide hills at all. My memories of riding that day are few and sketchy as I mustered all my energy and might to erase them. Long hours of climbing and falling drenched in sweat, covered in sores from horrible chaffing, trailer feeling more like an anchor, eyes obstructed by sweat, knee sore and stiff, mouth complaining like a little girl. We were both fighting serious demons. But as we came into Mt Barker, and found a public toilet for a 'basin shower' , we were set to celebrate our efforts. A few jugs later our silly behaviour was begging to show. Either you are a cyclist or a drinker, the two don't mix well. We remained in relatively good shape however, and made friends with a couple of local guys our age: Phil and John. After this things really did become silly and we woke up on the front lawn of John's house, tents half erected. His girlfriend Rachel had him sorted, so we were to sleep on the lawn like naughty dogs... but we didn't mind. In the morning he made us breakfast and we were able to shower. Some chatting revealed that I had pushed Phil down a steep hill in a shopping trolley (which hit a pole at the bottom throwing him into the bushes unharmed) and Dave had snuck off early to go to bed without a word.
Mt Barker had agreed with us, and it was only a short, down-hill ride the next day into Adelaide..