Mawson Lakes Café Va Bene.

60 km 540 m climbing ride.

Rider rocked up lid less, good job he lives nearby and returned fully attired so off to a flyer.

As usual some nice single-track trails down Dry Creek and out to the Hope Valley reservoir. Heading clockwise around the reservoir and down to the Aqueduct trail.

Trail head closed due to an outbreak of Giant Scale on the pine trees and under quarantine to stop the spread. A fair number of trees have been felled and hopefully the outbreak is contained.

Lucky for us it wasn’t far to access the trail a bit further down the Torrens Linear trail. We soon came across my fallen tree nemesis. Managed to get over it this time but still wary of it. One of our most skilled riders nearly stacked it, front wheel came off but he managed to stay balanced and rode it out, legend.

After leaving the aqueduct trail we crossed a couple of bridges and up a steepish dirt track and headed down the Torrens. It was then we noticed we were one short, last seen at the bottom of the Aqueduct. He said if we got separated, as it was his first ride back in 2 year, he would see us at Va Bene.

We continued searching out the dirt tracks along the river heading for coffee stop. Va Bene wasn’t the intended destination after a few bad experiences but we went to meet the lost sheep.

As it turned out the sheep didn’t appear but the service and food were much improved this time and had a good feed and chat.

The return ride seemed hard going, maybe it wasn’t but it felt like it. Rumbling in the guts forced an emergency visit to the crapper. Luckily, we were near the Hope Valley reservoir and there is a loo there good job or there could have been a nasty accident hehe.

Still, a good ride today sweated buckets on the way back and tried to stay hydrated but I don’t think it worked. 3h 30m moving time and a lot more for refreshments, 17.5km/h average.

Massive cramp in one leg on the way home, leg still sore two days later I’m sure I’ll live.

Random Roaming.

Not a bad 35 km flat as a fart ride to start the year, coffee at the Water Shed, not that there was much water in the wet lands.

Barker Inlet wet lands a lovely shade of green, not the foliage, the water. Wouldn’t fancy my chances if I fell in and took a sip. Looks like the nuclear waste on the Simpsons.

Not the warmest of welcomes from one staff member at the Water Shed but it got friendlier as the food came out. Good food, good coffee and great company.

Did a bit of pissing on the boundaries, tracks not ridden for a while enjoying the sights of fly tipping all over the place. Most of it could be put in a bin, takes more effort to drive it to a location and dump it than bin it. If I had my way the perps would be in the stocks on Saturday arvo for people to throw rotten food at them, dirty bastards.

Rant over, back to the ride.

Couldn’t help noticing the tree clearing on P Wakefield Road and Globe Derby. More industrial units on the way, why oh why? Answer $$$$$$$

Ranting again doh!

Not much wildlife kicking about, haven’t seen a snake this summer. Oh there was a bunch of different kinds of birds having a party in the Baker Wet Lands on the rocks but that was it.

Quite an uneventful outing but still a good one. Temps started to get hotter just as we finished up in the car park. Cool bananas.

Trailing the Torrens

First things first a quick demo on how to slosh sealant around a tyre and fix a snapped quick link on an eeeb.

Heading up the Torrens on the left to loop back down the right-hand side hit a slight problem, “Path Closed” A huge section of path heading back towards the oval dug up and fenced off, no detour info and no path up to the road. What a pain in the arse and a fucking useless council (part 1)

Anyway, heading back towards the ocean we picked up some sweet single track just as the heavens opened. Piss wet through in no time but what can you do. Nice ride down to the ocean apart from a couple of bushes trying to strangle me, mental note, use the dropper hahaha.

Rain stopped.

A short trip up the coast for refreshments at Cibo, Henley Beach. Nice coffee with bacon, egg and cheese brioche on the side. Top tip, do not lean the bike on the roller blinds a strong gust billowed it out like a sail and over went the bike. 3d printed bar end plug damaged, no biggie.

Set off back down the opposite banks of the Torrens towards the city. All going well until, wait, what’s this? Fucking useless council (part 2) Trail under bridge fenced off and closed and yet again no detour info. Maybe, just maybe it will be possible to ride the Torrens without closed sections. As me old man used to say “he who lives in hope dies in despair”

Back on track again, and again a nice ride on the edge of the river. After the trails ran out on this side we headed over a bridge and rode the trails in reverse back to the Brickworks.

Great 35 km ride, not much elevation to speak of but not as flat as a fart.

Last ride of the year, thanks for all the support and I hope you all have a happy and prosperous new year.

Random Roaming Salisbury.

Random roaming Salisbury soon turned into random other places.

A brief encounter with a couple of riders who were regulars a few years ago. Nice people and nice to see them both fit n healthy out enjoying the trails. Although thinking back it is more than a few years back, time flies as they say.

Starting out from the Golf Club a quick admiration for the new water tank besides the pond. New things springing up everywhere in Salisbury.

Re tracing an ancient route past ye olde Red Rooter/bakery/café, now funeral home, and down to Mawson Lakes. A well redden route spoilt by bitumen, personal opinion.

Half a lap of the Lake at Mawsons I noticed someone out rowing and some kind of goals in the water. I bet the RC Yachts aren’t too happy about the new intruders/obstacles even though they are allowed to be there.

Down the Dry Creek trail for a loo stop, no sign of the Phantom Flasher and all doors firmly secured.

Followed dry creek and came to the Wynn Vale dam. A quick lap around and I had a voice in my head “good place for a group photo” Oh, yes, wait, that’s right it wasn’t in my head it was emanating from somewhere in the group. One of the group picked up a random toddler for a photo, while his dad took the snap, but I won’t name names hehe.

A conversation about scrunchies then took place with looks of puzzlement on a few faces. Once that was cleared up, up the hill to the shopping centre for coffee.

Coffee, cake and other refreshments at Zeea’s Café went down a treat. Smacked some shit for a while and headed off to the Creek of Cobblers, yes two rides in a row.

Pinballed down the improved Ruins trail but it was showing signs of degradation even after two weeks. Electric moto’s ?

Down the berm track and out at the bottom, having a brief discussion about the reason for the temp fencing in Cobblers Creek at the edge of Bridge Road. Confusion cleared up by a local resident and rider.

Pretty much usual track back to the Golf Club with no serious incidents. One minor incident for a seasoned rider, but hey, who hasn’t clipped a bar riding between two side by side trees?

All in all an excellent ride, 43 Km with 305 M elevation in 2.30 hours of ride time.

Luncheon.

Annual lunch, nothing to do with Xmas so it’s the not the Xmas lunch.

Third year at the Watershed Café Salisbury, could it be the last time at this venue? We will see how things go in 2025.

Such a nice location next to the wet lands, perfect weather for it too. Having been a regular at this café for many years I have seen many changes in service, food etc. Are things as good as they once were I’m not so sure.

What I am sure of is the bunch of people who turn up for this annual event sure make up for any deficiencies in the venue.

Great people and an awesome get together in a relaxing atmosphere. No rushing after a ride or rushing a coffee stop during a ride.

I would like to thank everyone who turned up for lunch, those who couldn’t make it for all the support they give for the social rides that are Northern Off Road Rider. Without you guys there wouldn’t be a ride group.

Thanks once again, have a good Xmas and all the best for 2025.

Mark

Cobbler/Cobbler Loop

Cobbler Loop.

Good weather for it today. We were joined today by a new face, riding an Eeeeb and not using the battery.

Nice steady ride up to Cobbler Creek to be greeted by the re appearance of the Fence.

Riding up the Babbler you can’t help notice how much the trail is eroded, huge ruts and loose rocks everywhere.

Jumped across the Grove Way, not literally, and headed towards the down section of the Ruins Loop. Met at the top by a huge roo jumping across the trail between two of the guys. One of the crew tried to fell a tree with his head but the tree won and put a nice dent in the skid lid. Trail changes smoothed out previously rocky bit but still had a few hairy moments hehe.

Continuing on the Ruins Loop and a nice climb up to the top, it would be perfect with a few more switchbacks instead of the last straight up section. My 2 cents worth.

Out of Cobblers and out to The Stables for an excellent coffee, eggs Beni and conversations.

Back down the creek and up to the top of Cobbler to take the Babbler down to Short n Sweet. Managed to make the turn this time near the bottom, third times a charm.

A quick run down the berms and jump track finished of the bike park.

Steady ride back to the golf club ending a most enjoyable ride. 45 km, 632 m elevation and just short of 3 hours moving time.

Mawson Lakes Café Va Bene.

60 km  540 m climbing ride.

Weather was good at the start and gradually got hotter and windier (wind sucks as well as blows).

A bit of a late start with a tyre problem, small hole next to the bead. A couple of thin plugs and some nice trimming sealed the tyre, without air loss, for the whole ride.

Some nice single track trails down Dry Creek and out to the Hope Valley reservoir. Heading clockwise around the reservoir and down to the Aqueduct trail.

Heading on the Aqueduct trail there are a few single tracks, one has a fallen tree across it. Somebody nailed a couple of bits of wood either side to ride over. However it is blind meaning you can’t see over it and has proved to be a mental problem for me and a few of our riders. Today one of our riders attempted to ride over it, lets call her the Phantom Flasher. She managed to get over the top but the front wheel came off the plank at the other side and took a tumble. Luckily no injury just dusty clothes. Well done on the attempt, next time I’m sure you will nail it.

We dropped down to the Torrens Track and picked up some single tracks on the way to our terminus, Café Va Bene.

We have used this coffee stop for a number of years but the service today was unusually slow which made the whole ride longer than planned. Coffee and food are great and worth a visit.

The return ride was a bit of a slog, head winds most of the way and increased temperatures.

Still a good 3 hour 30 ride today, maybe we should have started an hour earlier to keep away from the hottest part of the day but unforeseen circumstances played it’s part.

Paralowie Golf Club Random Roaming Salisbury.

40 km flat as a fart ride.

Fantastic weather for it.

Nice tootle around the Little Para, Mawson Lakes and The Paddocks.

Coffee and a full breakfast at the Watershed Café went down a treat.

No incidents or mishaps to report.

An awesome foursome ride with 2h 20m moving time and a bit more for refreshments.

Shepherds Hill Recreation Park.

33 km ride with 733 m of climbing.

Rainy start to the ride but cleared up once in Belair.

A two coffee stop outing, first at Banana Boogie Bakery after the long climb from the recreation park. Second at Escape Goat Café on the Birdie loop.

We encountered an Emu on the trail, first time I have been that close to one in the wild, big bugger.

Managed to pick up a pop rivet stalk in the rear tyre on Sheoak Road which required plugging. I must have pushed the end of the stalk right inside the tyre when plugging and retrieved it later in the day.

All in all a good ride with 2h 20m moving time and a bit more for refreshments.