Stage 4, Friday 23 January 2009
Limited to 5000 riders only

The Tour Down Under is now the first event on the UCI ProTour circuit. You can ride the same route as the professionals on the same day prior to the official race start.

The Mutual Community Challenge Tour is part of the Skoda Breakaway Series, which forms the official recreational ride program of the Tour Down Under.

In 2009 there will be three distance options for you to choose from on Friday 23 January, Stage 4.

The Mutual Community Challenge Tour is also ideal for corporate or social teams looking to cycle in a group.

Form a team of five or more and keep track of each other along the way, wearing your team name on your official Mutual Community Challenge Tour Jersey

It’s a challenge – not a race but with the ultimate satisfaction from riding under the official finish arch.  This ride is for regular riders who can make the distance – will you make it to the finish before the professionals arrive?

EVENT DETAILS

*Does not include a ride neutral distance of 12.3km from Burnside Village to Stage 4 Adelaide start location.

Stage 4

Burnside Village to Angaston 143km

Friday 23 January 2009

Freeway quite shaded early on, 3h 15m route, Ridgeview Road very cool.

Encountered a big grey kangaroo at 8am going up Norton Summit Rd.

Range Rd Basket Range was a new road for us.  Steve said "it's relatively flat"... Andy's Polar doover read 14%, then 16%,  then 18% gradient in one part of the road.  Relatively flat to what?  Everest?

Nice and scenic and a great workout.  Roadkill count 1xfox , 2xmagpies.  Bogan count immense at top nth east road. Careful.

A great, fast, generally flat ride, with at least half distance tailwinds.  Tailwinds before the sen-sa-tion-al omelettes at Swedish Tarts on Semaphore Road.  Cold legs and full tummies afterwards.  A great alternative to a wet day in the hills.

A shorter stiff climbing route going through Belair national park.  Emus and koalas roaming free, no echidnas spotted this day (March 2010).  The septics at the top of Sheoak road were on the nose as was the abusive BMW driver.  Across Basket Range the expansive veggie plots had recently been manured as well!  A tiring morning in the saddle.

More quality kilometres with a break for chocolate mango muffin from the Stirling Organic Cafe.  A great autumn ride.

Passed a grunting koala approaching Chandlers Hill.

A brisk (7C) early May morning ride to Cudlee Creek with a little variation to test the thighs up to Camelot Castle.

The bit from the Cold Store to Cudlee Creek is one of the better undulating and sweeping rides around.  Max speed at Fox creek hit 73km/h without trying too hard.

Road quality of the Gorge is going to sh*t from the quarry down.  Very bumpy at speed.

a cold windy day through the autumn leave of the Adelaide Hills.  Capped off with the 50km/hr coast down Greenhill Rd, nearing 70 just below Hallet Rd.

A nice wet weather option.  Not forgetting the omelettes at Swedish Tarts at Semaphore.

Quite a hilly little number made worse by the misreading the weather totally.  Clear skies at the start were replaced by freezing rain from Norton Summit onward.  It was so cold (mainly because I had no jacket due to there being no rain on the radar) that I was looking forward to the uphill sections to get warm and hating the wind chill from the downhills.  A one hour stop for several coffees at Stirling also helped sit out the rain...

a nice wintery hilly ride... otto bakery a highlight and a refuge from the cold... should have tried harder to crack the 1,000m climbed! 

A great ride on sunny day.  The river was flowing strongly after recent rain.

A great leg stretch with two great coffee/bakery options at Clarendon and Stirling Organic. 

a nice hills ride with a couple of testy bits.

beautiful hills ride, including some sweeping high speed descents after some good climbing.

A fantastic short and hilly ride with the Upper Sturt General Store a great destination.

A great early morning hills ride, some great descents, plus the very shady (but still hot) Aldgate Valley Drive...

A great short hilly loop!

Why did I suggest Greenhill Rd today?  It just keeps giving and giving and giving...  down it at 70km/hr is much more fun than up it at 11km/hr...

A brisk autumn ride through the hills with a nice dry descent from Crafers to the beach.

A hilly and hot autumn ride through the hills