Every year Bicycle SA organises an event like this, where people ride bikes for 9 days, visiting a different town every day. In 2009 the tour took place in the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale, some of the most important wine regions in Australia. We drank Australian wines directly from the production !! We  were able to drink these delicious and affordable Australian wines that are too expensive to drink in Brazil , while enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

On day in July, we were looking for volunteer work to do and we saw a list with many institutions, including Bike SA. We already knew they would do this trip in October. We loved the program but we couldn’t afford it at the time so to be volunteers was a wonderful idea! We then wrote an e-mail, went to an interview and were accepted! Great!

Bicycle SA is an organization that provides bikes, helmets and lockers for free every day to anyone who wants to go riding. We heard about them when we were in Brazil and since we arrived in Adelaide last June, we’ve been borrowing bikes on the weekends and we’ve got to know many sites in and around Adelaide 

It was marvellous to go with them!

 

 

 

Everybody met at the Bike SA office, in Adelaide , at 7.30am. We had breakfast and started to load the two trucks that would carry all the luggage and some spare bikes. We went in the “Kangaroo truck”, with Colin, our driver. Allan drove the second truck, “Echidna”.

It was cloudy and raining lightly. The road to Williamstown is very beautiful with many trees. We passed farms, we saw birds a dead kangaroo by the side of the road which had been run over (this kind of thing, only in Australia …). In Williamstown, we set up camp on a football pitch.

After finishing our work, we went by bike into the little town and around some little sheep farms. Bike SA was very generous and lent us two nice new bikes that we used many days in our free time.

This trip was incredibly well organized. On the way, the riders were given water and food. For lunch, they had (and us) very nice and delicious sandwiches. There was coffee and tea, cake and biscuits all day (not good for the waistline!). There was a huge tent, warm inside, were everybody could talk, drink wine and have meals. Dinner was baked potato, chicken, vegetables and a delicious dessert.

In the guide, there was advice to snorers: “If you are a snorer, be considerate and park your tent away from the others”. On the first night, there were three snorers close to us! We were in the snoring area! That night was too cold and we couldn’t sleep very well but we had little to complain about otherwise.

 

 

 

6.00-6.30 – We woke up, had breakfast, broke camp, loaded the luggage truck, and Paul’s truck and were off again! Paul’s truck was the heaviest one. There were so many things in it (tables, chairs, umbrellas, sinks, gas canisters, food and so on) that it was impossible to think how everything could fit in it! He brought the house, including the kitchen sink!

The next city was Tanunda. We set up camp behind a castle, Chateau Tanunda,  in a winery. It is owned by a South African guy who was riding past the winery on his bike and saw the castle. He liked it so much that he bought it and is still running the business.

This night there was a “black tie” dinner. Some people were really elegant, while others… its better not to describe in details…. Like some Brazilians, for example…  We didn’t know that it would be a such a fine dinner, so we had to invent an outfit from the few clothes we had. Some wore a tie and sneakers, others flowers in their hair and pocket, this kind of thing. Others used crowns, metallic hair, hats and skirts made of foil.  Hazeline, the masseur, performed a nice belly dance. Fine dinner! We drank a sweet white wine that was delicious!

Renato and I felt exhausted into our tent… but when I sat down on our brand new inflatable mattress… it suddenly deflated !! I realized the zip on the back pocket on my trousers had punctured the mattress, when I heard shhhhhhh ! What a disaster! At least we were able to improvise a bandage made with silver tape and sticking-plaster, that worked quite well for two nights.

 

 

Renato’s birthday.

A mostly sunny day. We’re working hard, helping to set up the tents, tables, chairs and carry some things. I don’t know if our legs are getting stronger but for sure we are exercising our backs and arms!

We walked around the town in the afternoon. At night, a delicious dinner and a surprise! Russel talked about things that happened in the day (as he does every evening), giving hints and advice for the next day, etc. Then, he said “There is a birthday today! Someone that came from very far, from the other side of the world indeed: Renatooo!!”Than, Alan came with a muffin with candles on it and a card stamped with a kookaburra, signed and writhen in by all the other volunteers. It was a huge surprise!! His first birthday in Australia !

About the toilets… every day, we had a “truck toilet”. It was a truck with toilets and showers, separated for males and females. It was very exotic for us, we’d never seen one like this before. Contrary to popular belief (at least in Brazil , where people think that toilets like this smell like bus station toilets), thanks to Ted it was always very clean!

 

 

The night was freezing! In the morning, there was a thin layer of ice on the tent and on the grass.

We went to Clare and tonight we slept in a hotel. I don’t know how many stars, but for us, it was more than 5 !! It had a real mattress (no punctures!), no grass inside and not cold at all ! Fantastic! So many days sleeping in a tent and we got a bit tired! A long nap in the afternoon and we were ready for dinner. There was live music and people danced at the end. More Australian wine, this time a sparkling red!

Three ladies prepared a surprise show after dinner: Alice, Sonia and Millie (who is unfortunately  going back to Adelaide tomorrow) appeared dressed like nuns… suddenly, they took off their clothes like strippers and did a special lingerie dance!! Congratulations, girls! When I grow up, I want to be like you!

 

 

 

A free day in Claire. As we were planning some months ago, it was time to ride the stunning Riesling Trail. We rode 30 km only, but enough to see beautiful landscapes. The trail is made on an old railway which now only pedestrians and bikers can use. Along the way we went off the main track, where we saw lots of  vineyards and fields with wild lavender. We saw many birds and a magpie tried to attack Renato, but nothing grave happened. Eehhhh!! We saw two kangaroos too!! They hopped away when they saw us.

At the end, a delicious lunch at Bake House. It couldn’t be more delightful!

 

After dinner (accompanied with a shiraz ) we went to wash our stinky and filthy clothes in the laundry. We took the smallest bag possible for this trip, but on the other hand, in four days, we had already worn almost all our clothes (some of them we wore much more than three days !! arg! ). About the laundry… another interesting thing. For Australians it may be normal, but for us, it is a very curious system. There was no one in charge of the laundry. We just went there, put coins in the washing machine and washing powder, and afterwards used the dryer and the job was done! Someone had left their clothes in the dryer and left the place and when we left they were still there.

 

 

 

Last night we slept in the hotel again and then hit the road again! But only after fixing the oval fence that someone destroyed when trying to reverse the truck (it is thought to be someone whose name begins with a “C”).

We were in a winery in Seppeltsfield today, a very elegant place, with beautiful gardens, plenty of flowers. Perfect for resting on the grass, or under a tree.

The dinner was delicious! Wine of the night: sparkling white.

 

 

 

Our mattress got a puncture again! We woke up on the hard ground!! This time, Renato tried to use a “bike bandage”, hoping it would be stronger than the last one.

Hahndorf is one of the cutest towns that we have been to. It is a good mix of German and Australian style. There are many shops, cottages and nice restaurants. It is small, but quite busy and touristy. German culture is everywhere and very important here.

We stayed in a primary school. We set up the tents on the oval and the tables and chairs under the stadium. During the dinner (delicious German food!), the Hahndorf Band played lots of delightful music!

 

 

 

The night was frosty again, but the day was sunny and warm. Perfect! In McLaren Vale we were in a school again. It is a small town that has a trail similar to the Riesling Trail, in Clare. In the afternoon I rode there and there is a lot of beautiful scenery, mostly vineyards. I passed people jogging or riding and the sun, almost on the horizon bathed the area in a lovely orange hue.

Today we had the last dinner of this trip. The food and music was German, everything very well done. There was a fancy dress competition (the theme was German dress), a very confusing and funny “hat dance”, some prizes and lots of fun!

 

 

 

This week was the personal best of many people. Congratulations to everyone! Very few people gave up riding (maybe 2 or 3) and those ones that couldn’t keep going only syopped because they were really sore!

We were very lucky with the weather being sunny for 9 days. The “weather girls”, our weather forecasters for the tour, said: “Thank you God for giving us sunshine!”

We worked very hard these days, we were tired on Sunday but very pleased to have been on this trip. It was an amazing experience, with many courageous, persistent, witty and friendly people. We felt like we were in a big family and we’ll cherish all these wonderful memories forever! Absolutely sensational!

 

 

 

Russel, Maureen, Janet, Denise, Alice, Paul, Ian, Colin, Alan, Martyn, Barry, Ian W, Chris, Debbie, Chris, Christine, Ray, Richard, Detleff, Ziggy, Barry O., John, Sonia, Amelia, John H., Hazeline and Hilary.

 

Thanks to Emma, my English teacher at GEOS, that corrected all this text.

 

Thanks for you patience with our Port-English. Australian English is sometimes still a bit hard to understand, although lovely! Thanks for the surprise on Renato’s birthday, for your kindness and for these nine unforgettable days!