Challenge South Australia — Day 3 Blog
21 March 2024
Written by: Luisa Patel and Prue Mowry - returning Smiddy road crew
McLaren Vale to Barossa Valley
133 kms.
The day began for road crew with an early 5am start, a little sleep-in from the previous day. It was very chilly, a lot different to the weather we have been experiencing back home in Brisvegas. After a wholesome breakfast, thanks to the McLaren Vale Hotel staff, we where given the honour of ringing the cowbell for the fifth year in a row, to set the riders off on their way, with 133 kms ahead of them as they cross from McLaren Vale to the beautiful Barossa Valley.
Each year, we join the Smiddy road crew, is more and more special to send the riders out to begin their day climbing and rolling down the hills around Adelaide. After a quick check of the vehicles, we waved goodbye to our fellow road crew members - Jamie, Ra and Neil, the end of day road crew - who were heading off early to get to the Barossa and set up ahead of the riders arrival.
As part of the Catering ROad Crew, we are charged with ensuring the riders are all well feed as they peal their way through each day. Leaving Mcaren Vale, we grab some last minute items, fill the vehicles with fuel and a coffee to go to keep us charged up for the day ahead - the catering crew were on the road heading towards the tiny town of Charleston just above the Adelaide Hills for our first morning tea stop of the day. One of the wonderful things of being a part of the Smiddy Road Crew, is the genuine appreciation you get from the riders for supporting them. This is something that dates back to the first ride - founder Mark "Sharky" Smoothy has always acknowledged what the road crew bring to a Smiddy event. This goes back to the original road crew member, the beautiful Maria Smiddy, Adam's mum. Maria was your typical italian mama! Caring for and looking after everyone who joined a Smiddy event in honour of her son Adam, she bought love, beautiful food and the best warmest biggest hugs you could ever want, to each and every Smiddy event.
So it is in honour of our dearly departed Maria that the Smiddy catering crew now open up 'Cafe Maria' in little parks along the ride course to feed our horde of hungry riders. Every monring tea and lunch is served with the same love and care that Maria delivered on every event she attended.
The morning drive through the Adelaide Hills and surrounds was beautiful with the sun rising over the distant trees lighting the sky with an amber glow, and the mist rising off the dams in the paddocks. We arrived at Charleston to a very chilly 5 degrees. Quickly we unloaded the vehicles and set up for morning tea, a great excuse to keep you warm. There was a flurry of chopping, cutting and slicing in preparation of a yummy morning tea.
The riders rolled in after a very cold and windy 65km ride and proceeded to demolish the food on offer - the colder weather helping to build a big appetite. The warm soups and cups of noodles proving to be a popular option, although, the old Smiddy staples of saos, cheese & tomatoes being consumed in record numbers. It’s a pleasure to see all of the riders enjoy ing the fair on offer at morning tea and refuelling for the next leg of the day.
Once the riders have set off, it's a quick pack-up and back on the road to get across to our lunch stop at Lyndoch - the gateway to the Barossa Valley and a quaint little town surrounded by vineyards. To help amuse ourselves on our travels in between stop's we were keeping tally of our own roadkill – 7 unidentified furry objects, and one relatively fresh roo. We were lucky enough to pass the red peloton on the road and the chance to give some encouragement and support as we passed them by. Continuing to the lunch stop Prue enjoyed my singing, as she usually does!
Being part of the roadcrew is always a hive of activity and today we literally had a hive of bees to help us, enjoying the sunshine in the park and trying to sample the foods we were preparing for lunch, but we think they were more of an annoyance than a help. The red peloton rolled in first and shortly followed by the blue peloton, the riders and road crew were quickly enjoying another delicious lunch, with a selction of cold cuts, salad on wraps which always go down a treat. For the road crew, one of our favourite parts of the day is listening to the banter of the riders and watching the comradery between to two pelotons (or friendly rivalry). There is always plenty of chatter amongst them.
This is always helped when one peloton does something a bit silly - like rolling off in the wrong direction after lunch. Our fearless red team ride leader Coolie (aka Stinky Dave) sending the red team in the wrong direction down the bike trail, a quick recovery and turn around was greeted by the cheers and a few laughs by the blue team, who just happened to be on hand to witness the error. Much to the blue team’s amusement the red team received lots of cheering and clapping as they headed in the right direction.
After a busy day, the road crew had a short drive to our final destination for the next two days in the lovely town of Tanunda, where we welcomed and cheered in the riders in at the finish of a hard day of riding. 133 kms for the day but over 400 kms for the past 3 days, the riders are all looking forward to tomorrow, with a short 80 km day on offer follwed by some visits to the local wineries.
We gather around for the traditional Smiddy huddle, to give thanks to the riders and road crew for supporting each other, the huddle was led by Elliot Hinkley who thanked the roadcrew and Ryleigh Dowd, thanking the riders. Ending with the Smiddy chant, thinking of those who we hold close to our hearts or those who might be doing it a litttle tough battling cancer.
Another enjoyable day from the Smiddy roadcrew supporting the riders.
