The Mawson Trail: August 2008

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Mawson Trail Take 2

Plans are afoot to get back to riding the Mawson Trail. In late September will be riding on the Mawson Trail again, with Graham, Pete & Sally.

None of them have started it before, so we will be doing the first few days again. First up, from the start of the Mawson Trail at Gorge Road, Athelstone to Birdwood, a distance of some 39km.

We will be riding from Birdwood back to Athelstone, as that will make it a bit easier, esp for the newbies. Here's map of our planned ride (thanks to martin13):

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About the Mawson Trail

The Mawson Trail traverses some of the most beautiful and spectacular regions of South Australia including the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa Valley, Clare and Gilbert Valleys, the Flinders Ranges and remote rural areas. With almost 900km of little-used country roads, unmade or unused road reserves and forest tracks, the Mawson Trail is Australia's premier off-road cycling trail.

The trail is named after Sir Douglas Mawson, an intrepid and adventurous Australian explorer. As a lecturer in petrology (the study of the origin and structure of rocks) at Adelaide University, Mawson led field trips to the South Australian Outback on numerous occassions in the early 1900s.

The trail was originally developed by the State Government in 1992, starting from the Festival Centre in Adelaide. In 2004 the trail was redeveloped which involved redirection in some areas, including a re-route via the Riesling Trail, the rail trail from Auburn to Clare, and the inclusion of some loop trails in some of the more popular areas. A new logo was developed, representing the ancient land of the Flinders Ranges, Australian fauna and the bike wheel, and the trail re-signposted with bright, informative new signs. The trail officially starts at the eastern end of the River Torrens Linear Park, on Gorge Road at Montacute (approximately 15kms NE of the Adelaide CBD).