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| Port Willunga |
Day 3: Friday, October 16
Luggage back, bike here, and I'm starting to feel like myself again. Surely nothing else can go wrong, right? Time to explore the wine regions of SA! This is probably my favorite day in Adelaide.
Activities:
Activities:
- 5AM start so Maddie and I can catch the Rapha women's ride at 6, and easy spin that goes to the beach and back before ending at a coffee shop for breakfast. Unfortunately, I did not pack a light, so I follow Maddie to ride start in the dark. The morning is cool and wet from the night's rains, and I realize that I will be forced to spend my evening cleaning off my trusty steed. I did bring my road bike helmet, so although I am the most aerodynamic person on the ride, at least I don't look a complete tri-dork ;)
- Ride is pleasant and well organized and a mix of women of all ride abilities. I enjoy getting to chat with everyone and learn more Oz terms (i.e. "chooks" equals chickens, and apparently some people think they run rampant in Oklahoma...). Maddie gains a nasty looking berry on her right leg as the slick roads throw her to the ground on a corner, but other than that the ride is uneventful.
- We end up at a coffee shop for brews and food. I order the long black (an Americano, essentially), as the Italian coffee culture is rooted in Oz and no one serves filtered coffee. I would kill for a large cup of filtered coffee. I temper my desire by digging into a plate of poached eggs with spinach, mushrooms, and toast.
- Afterwards I roll over to the Playford Hotel (across from the Intercontinental and home to TeamUSA this weekend) for the TeamUSA race briefing and course pre-ride. There we learn that all 1000+ athletes will be on the bike course at the same time during this event. On a 10k course. That we loop 4 times. Which makes ensuring that you don't draft in this draft-illegal event quite challenging. Tim Yount, our director, tells us to just ride and if we wind up drafting, which will be impossible not to do, just don't make it obvious (e.g. try to move to the side of the rider in front). Seems legit.
- I wait for the other athletes going to pre-ride for about an hour, and then we head out to the course which is just down the street from the hotel. The course is not shut down, and at no point this weekend will we be able to ride it when it is closed off. Besides us, there are about 300 other athletes all out to pre-ride, plus a full load of CBD Adelaide traffic. I can stand to do only a single loop of the course before I've had enough of the madness.
- I call Maddie and agree to meet her at the Central Market for a pickup. I am extremely proud of myself for braving the streets to ride them over there by myself.
- We grab some items for our picnic this afternoon before heading out. I bumble a bit when trying to purchase some smoked fish, realizing that they don't deliver in pounds (fortunately John was also there and quickly gave me the conversion to grams). I joke with the sellers that they should be used to pounds because hey, didn't the Brits colonize this place anyway?
- We shower up, and then Maddie, her friend Ailie, and I roll out to the McClaren Vale wine region just 20 minutes outside of Adelaide. It is not a prolific, famous wine region, nor is it known especially for a single type of wine, such as Shiraz or Riesling, but it is the closest to us and there are nice things to be sampled.
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| Upcycling at its finest |
- We tour a total of 3 wineries and are quite drunk by the end (except Maddie, bless her, who is a committed DD). In Oz, the winery tastings are FREE, and basically you can taste absolutely everything on their menu. They don't care. It is awesome.
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| I found a 'roo! |
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| It's crazy how pretty the grounds at this winery were |
- All the wineries now come with restaurants and don't want us to picnic, so we find our own damn spot amongst some vines and have a blast just the same. The food is just delicious, and it helps us rally to continue on with the wine tastings.
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| Picnicing was meant to be enjoyed amongst the baby wine grapes |
- After we are good and stuffed, we decide to head towards Port Willunga, stopping first in the small town of Aldinga to check out this Friday Night Fest we heard about. It is small, but cute, and I see the biggest pans of paella I've ever seen.
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| I wish I hadn't been so full! |
- Next stop is Port Willunga, which has the most beautiful, secluded beach I've ever seen. The overcast skies lend great atmosphere, and we take a breather there just enjoying the natural beauty, the isolation, and sound of the waves beating against the shore.
- Finally, we leave the McLaren Vale and head back to Adelaide, opting to spend the last bit of daylight along the beach in Glenelg, a touristy-part of Adelaide but still cute, nonetheless. After watching the most glorious sunset, we pop into a bar/eatery and I enjoy some steamed mussels with Maddie. We grab some ice cream from another local shop, where they (no shit!) dip the cones in some wonderfully melted Nutella (!!!). We then finally head on home, full and satisfied.
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