Mt Lofty twilight ride

It was Friday afternoon and I was gazing out the window at work, admiring the uncharacteristicly balmy autumn day. I was thinking about the previous Friday and that unpleasant ride to Hindmarsh Island when I decided that, since I'd ridden my bike to work, I might try and knock off a bit early, taking advantage of the beautiful warm day, and go home via Mt Lofty Summit.

Predictably, things came up at work and I didn't get out the door until just after 4.30, but it was still a beautiful warm afternoon. I grabbed some sports drink and a protein bar or  two from the mini mart and headed for the hills. Glen Osmond Road on a Friday afternoon is busy place and, given the absence of a bike lane, I was quite relieved to make it up to the Tollgate corner.

Just before I dropped my phone....

Up the road from Devils Elbow (Devils Armpit??)

I settled into a rhythm up the first bit along the bike path to Devils Elbow. This section has a few steep bits to give your legs a bit of a workout in preparation for the climbing to come. The path then goes on to Mt Barker Road from Devils Elbow onwards. I love the next series of bends on the west facing side of the hill, especially on days like this in the late afternoon sun. Admiring my long shadows on the rocks to my left, I snapped a few photos with my phone, which of course, I then managed to drop it on the path (I'm always dropping the bloody thing - that's why I stick to cheap phones).

Me and my shadow

What I really like about this ride is the quietness. You don't see much traffic - in fact on Friday I only saw one car on the way up and one on the way down. In my experience the most traffic up there is motorbikes going for a fang up and down the hill. Most of the time all you can hear is your breathing, your chain whirring and the birds chirping. On a warm, still afternoon like this one, all those sounds seem amplified, which makes the experience strangely intimate, given the expansive environment.

The lookout just past Eagle on the Hill (beautifully autumnal at the moment)

This section up to Eagle on the Hill is pretty challenging and by the time it flattens out by the ghost town servo and the old pub, you know you're alive and you're two thirds the way to the top. Cruising past the lookout you can see the TV towers at the summit off to the left. They seem like they are not much higher than you are which is deceptive because there's still quite a bit of work to do. Heading towards Crafers the path veers away from Mt Barker Road in a steady climb to the bollards at the end of the bikeway. From there it's up to the summit (via Shurdington Road for me). I catch a glimpse of the sun setting when I'm about five minutes from the top - I had hoped to get to the top before sunset but I meandered a bit today, taking photos etc.

Heading up towards Crafers

... and looking back down the hill.

Looking across to the summit from just after the bollards.

After a brief stay at the summit it flicked my lights on and rolled down the hill. It was getting pretty dark so I took it easy on the descent. The most noteworthy event on the run home was a deer crossing the road in front of myself and another cyclist, which could potentially have been quite dangerous for all parties (deer included). 'That was unusual' I remarked to the other rider as we rolled off down the hill.

The Mt Lofty ride is clearly incredibly popular - there's hundreds of cyclists at the summit on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Its popular for good reasons - it's accessible, challenging, safe and scenic. I only did the ride for the first time six weeks ago and have become quite addicted to it, basically going up there nearly every week. This particular twilight ride was my favourite journey up there so far. As I hope you can see by the photos, it was just a great time to be riding a bike up a hill.