Lobethal to Birdwood was an exquisite roll through gorgeous farmland. And it was hot - got up to 32 degrees. Staying in a lovely motel with complementary wine and spa! Downing a few beers with some salt and pepper squid on the balcony of the Blumberg Hotel on a warm and still evening - bliss!!! Off the Nooriootpa tomorrow.

Started with a tour of the amazing National Motor Museum in Birdwood WOW!!! Even though we’re on bikes, we were warmly welcomed. And warm was the theme for the day .... 33 degrees! Not ready for hot hot, and tomorrow even hotter with expected max 37 😩😩 Left Birdwood around midday and rolled through gorgeous farmland and strange lunar-like pine forests. Glad to have a short ride today to enjoy the glorious countryside and to get over the shock of the Day 1 climb.  Saw two snakes - one brownie and a black - the later less animated. Met Mick the mad scot doing the trail solo in the opposite direction in 5 days!!!! Slogged it up the final hill to one of the many Jacobs Creeks vineyards to take in a spectacular view of the Barossa Valley before a breathtaking plunge into the valley proper. Hit Tanunda and refuelled before continuing to Nooriootpa and a most quaint 70′s motel. Having a well earned salmon and beer dinner. Off to Auburn tomorrow ... stay tuned!

Today was HOT ... and WINDY!!! Got up to 39C with 45kph head winds ... it was hellish!!! 😩😩 We anticipated this by leaving Nuriootpa at 6am when it was only 9C and no wind, but by 9am it was 35 and windy and it became a four hour slog. The last 15km to Auburn absolutely brutal. Oh, and I forgot ... 1200m of climbing. All resulted in a very slow average speed of around 13km/hr. We did visit some lovely spots - Kapunda township was a delight ... beautiful old architecture and the best danish and coffee. We’re now sitting out the remains of the heat in Auburn Shiraz Motel with our delightful host Gavin 😉who shouted us a few cold Coopers for our efforts. Funny pattern emerging - all three nights so far we’ve been put in room 3 by chance 😝😝 Off to the pub soon for a counter meal and sleep. Cool change expected overnight with much more moderate weather and less wind expected tomorrow.

Radical contrast to day 3. By comparison, today was a breeze. Left Auburn at 10am after a comfortable sleep (once it cooled down at least - was still over 30 at 9pm). It was a nice cool 15 degrees. Wind still a factor, blowing from our front-left all the way to Clare along the Riesling Trail. We saw three brown snakes - two at close quarters. Arrived at Clare and took refuge from the wind at Mr. Mick’s winery and kitchen, tasting our way through their entire range and buying some bottles to send home. Had the most splendid Tapas meal in their restaurant with some lovely local Pilsner. We were looking forward to the afternoon knowing the run from Clare to Burra would have a fierce westerly wind on our tails. And it certainly was, even the 500-odd meters climbing with the wind was like we were on e-bikes!! Flew into Burra, a really cute town, and sitting on the hotel balcony overlooking the main square was a great way to relax. Hopping for an early night to prepare for a huge day tomorrow - the longest day of our trip - 130km loop to Spalding.

Awesome day, really finding my legs and revelling in the wonderful experience. 

Magical day on this marvellous adventure dented only by increasing discomfort from official saddle sores 😩 Started out in Spalding with a continental brekkie. (Weetbix and two pieces of white toast). 😂 Relatively calm winds and not too hot. Traveled north through pine and eucalyptus forests with some lovely climbs and breathtaking descents. Met two other cyclists on their way south. We’ve only seen one other on the trail so far, so it was good to have a chat. Got to praise the designers of this trail - they worked hard to add big fun and gorgeous locations to each section, albeit by adding distance, but Charlie and I have committed to staying “True to the Trail” and avoiding shortcuts. Long exposed slog to Laura for legendary ice cream just before it closed. On the way we totally chanced an encounter with a train at a crossing (see vid). Our accom is at Stone Hut Cottages, an oasis of comfort in the middle of nowhere. We called ahead to ask if they could leave some food for our evening meal - all the places to eat in Laura were closed, even the supermarket. They obliged with some frittata and a bottle of Shiraz! Sitting now on the balcony of our lovely cottage taking in the sunset and lovely treats. Wilmington bound tomorrow, although we might push on to Quorn to get some more km while milder temperatures remain. Looking forward to the bike shop in Melrose. 

Looking forward to catching up with dear friends and long lost peeps tomorrow night in Adelaide.

Today started easy as we headed off from Stone Hut with goodies from the bakery. I had a tough sleep - probably coz I smashed a double strength Farmers Union iced coffee last night before bed ... and two beers and half a bottle of Shiraz ... big mistake that deprived me of sleep and found me struggling on the bike today. So no grog and no caffeine till the end of the trip! The ride went through more delightful pine and native forests, then pretty much boring gravel roads through farmland to Wilmington. We planed to stay there but considering to ridiculous temperatures and strong head wind expected for our three final days, we pushed on the Quorn. Good thing too - scored an amazing apartment used mostly by visiting film companies and travelling shows (plus some free cream buns) ...Very new and shmick! Our ride tomorrow is into the Flinders Ranges proper, so I’ll hopefully have some more interesting shots than today.