When Big Mike made the journey across to watch the Tour de France some years ago, he left impressed at the grandeur of the event, but somewhat disillusioned after the organised tour delivered a less than ideal experience for an above average cyclist. Reduced to 30 km rides and having to wait for those who would be more content riding a rail trail, was not what he signed up for.

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With this in mind he decided that if he was going to do anything like that again, he wanted a trip that catered to the cyclist who wanted an awesome experience as well as a challenge. Mike decided it was time to organise his own trip to the Tour Down Under. After floating the idea past Steve and Darrell, the inaugural trip was launched.

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When the lads returned, they waxed lyrically about the weather, roads and all round atmosphere at the TDU. And from that first trip, the legend has continued to grow.

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Fast forward to 2017. Not for the first time, Darrell, Steve and Scottie made the pilgrimage across the Tasman and once again, it had to be one of the bestest weeks you can do on a bike in this part of the world.

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One particularly enjoyable aspect of the trip, is that you’re in a city that is pretty much entirely focused on cycling for a whole week. As a result, the locals are incredibly welcoming and put up with us in bars, cafes, restaurants and most importantly, on the road. And when I say us, there are literally thousands of cyclists in all shapes and sizes, riding all manner of equipment.

 

Just imagine riding on roads where the cars appear to be happy to sit behind you and not use you as target practice... Just saying, it can be done.

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In a week, you can end up riding 700 + km, including iconic TDU climbs like Willunga Hill, the Corkscrew, Mt Lofty and Paracombe. All of which will test your climbing legs on the ascents and your testicular fortitude on the descents.

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​From the beautiful villages that the tour passes through like Hahndorf, Sterling and Williamstown located in and beyond the ranges, (Which are worth a visit on their own) to the spectacular beaches and towns like Glenelg and Aldinga Beach on the coast, it is an experience to be relished each day.

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While some days can be well over the 100km distance, it’s not just a hard out slog.

Because each stage usually includes a portion that is made up of laps, it allows you to

catch the riders several times a day from different vantage points.

So you can ride 10-40 km to a spot where you can choose to watch a start, catch part

way through the stage or perhaps even a catch a feed station and pick up a souvenir

water bottle.

From there, grab yourself a coffee, watch the race and then head off to another point

along the route.

Stop for lunch, have a beer and then carry on again.

Get the picture?

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Because the event is entirely based in Adelaide, it returns there every afternoon so you only need to book the one place for accommodation. We have always grabbed accommodation in Norwood which has traditionally hosted a stage start as a bonus.

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Often the pros also ride back to Adelaide once the stage is finished which allows the

rest of us to tag along. You can often get bunches consisting of up to a couple of

hundred riders all busting their nads trying to keep up.

 

There is a lot to be said for sitting in a bunch doing about a 45kph average

behind a couple of Pro teams that has a certain appeal I can tell you.

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And when the race day is done n dusted and you have made it back to your

accommodation, there are a number of bars and cafes that are only too happy

to assist you with the icy cold beverage to help you relive the day and contemplate

the next. Some even spray a cold mist on those sitting outside just to keep you cool.

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When the sun eventually goes down, there are also a variety of superb restaurants and cafes that serve some of the best Italian meals I have ever tried. Couple that with a bottle of red from one of the local wine regions such as Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale, it all means that the day is not yet over when you hop off the bike.

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After a good replenishing graze and vino, all that is left is the compulsory gelato trip on the way

back to the unit to finish the night off and the day is then complete.

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The only catch is, that you have to get up and do it all again the next day…

 

 

So if you are remotely interested in doing a trip to the TDU, here are a list of just some recommendations that may make the experience a little more enjoyable:

• If you can, make sure one of you has a GPS cycling computer that has maps. Not only do they know where they are going, sometimes they know more than we do..

• Plenty of sunscreen, lip balm and when you're watching the race, it pays to have a cap you can put on

• Plenty of electrolytes. When it's really hot you can get through a bottle in about 10km

• Earplugs if your roomy snores

• A healthy thirst and appetite

• Adelaide (despite what you may have heard) is not flat so bring your climbing legs