Our new Roaming collection celebrates the moments we roam. Sometimes epic, often fleeting.  The  buzz of an early morning start, the moment of relief in a long haul roam when you’re on the  downhill  stretch, the moments when you struggle and make it through. The shared moments, the nod of  recognition on a lone road.  The moments after the long ride, a new place to settle and a new day to plan. We roam for these moments.

Photography: Andy Rogers | Words: Katherine Brabon & Carlos Furnari  

Blog Words: Mathew Bird

Train: Making the most of the earlier sunrises we decided to catch the first train from Adelaide to Seaford. While Adelaide has a relatively small train network the fares are cheap and nearly all the lines take you to prime riding areas. Our chosen area was the Fleurieu Peninsula, a beautiful part of the greater Adelaide region renowned for its vineyards, rolling hills and beaches. As we settled into the semi-comfortable train seats and watched the coast whizz past we discussed our plan for the day, with the early start putting an end to any pre-ride coffee stops we decided to head straight for coffee in Aldinga Beach. 

Dunes: After a short trip on the train, we arrived in Seaford, a short bike path along a creek took us down to the beach but not before luke demonstrated his cyclocross skills by linking a perfect slalom through the trees. The network of coastal trails runs from Seaford all the way to Port Willunga. Filled with technical sand sections, views along the coast and jumps built by the local kids it’s hard not to get carried away, as Sophie and I discovered, both having little spills when the stoke got a little bit out of hand. A final sandy descent dropped us into Port Willunga and with a short section of road between us and the first coffee of the day, we put our heads down and got to work. 

Beach: With Caffeine consumed we carried on our way, a short cruise down the esplanade bought us to a decision point, stay on the road or ride along the beach. Throwing drivetrain lifespans to the wind we decided to take advantage of one of the longest passable beaches in South Australia. Dodging waves and horse riders we quickly arrived at Silver Sands where we headed back inland and followed the trails through a small yet extremely muddy wetland to Sellicks Beach. After scraping the mud off our tyres and shoes we cruised up the hill to the Victory Hotel. A building which predates the Federation of Australia, but more importantly to us the base of the Old Sellicks Hill Road climb. 

Sellicks Hill: Rising 223 meters in just under three kilometres the Old Sellicks Hill Road climb is a lot tougher than the numbers suggest. A closed road with no vehicle access the surface can best be described as “entertaining” as you fight for every scrap of momentum you can find. However the tough surface doesn’t detract from the beauty of the climb, we were treated to views back along the coast towards Adelaide and across the peninsula towards Victor Harbour. 

Train: After lunch and a quick bike path commute, we found ourselves back in Seaford with enough time to pillage the local service station for snacks. Armed with cans of drink and ice creams we rolled down to the train station and lounged in the sun waiting for the train and reminiscing the highlights reel of the ride, before boarding the train and doing pretty much the same thing. Before we knew it we found ourselves back in the heart of Adelaide with only a short commute to get back to our start point in the eastern suburbs, where hot showers and cold beer were waiting for us. 

Embrace every moment.

Special thank you to the following: Matthew Bird, Luke Finlay, Tessa Manning & Sophie Edwards