It was a beautiful day with warmer temperatures forecast up to 31C.

We had a small breakfast from the buffet. We are getting fooded out but it’s hard to resist.

We loaded straight into the van and had about an hours drive to the Clare Valley. The road seemed very bumpy for us in the back seat.

We passed heaps more vineyards and small rural villages. We were dropped off in this pretty town called Auburn and headed straight to the cafe for coffee. It had a lovely outdoor area amongst a lush garden. We got tables under the big canopy roof area.

After coffee we set off for the trail which is a former railway line.

The trail itself ( the Riesling Trail) has an excellent surface however it was pretty much uphill all the way with a head wind.

It was mostly a gradual incline but with a steep climb up to the vineyard called Pauletts where we were booked for lunch.

The 3 not on non e-bikes really had to work and were pretty tired and hot when they arrived.

Mike and I were finding it hard to get a rhythm with our e-bikes. The lowest 2 power levels seem to do nothing and then the third level whizzes you along. Also you can’t go back in power level so if you are on 1, 2, or 3 you have to go up to 4 (which really does whizz you) in order to go back to 1 again. That can be disconcerting when you want to go back to level 1 on a downhill bit. We are all finding we use the power levels much more on these bikes than on our normal bikes as the gears are useless. It took me ages to work out whether gear 7 was harder or easier than gear 1 as there doesn’t seem to be any impact!

Being up on a hill the views out from Pauletts was spectacular.

We had pre-ordered meals, which we really didn’t want or need. I had ordered the lamb gnocchi, which was delicious but didn’t manage to finish it.

Mike had the beef brisket that he also didn’t finish and others had duck. We each got a glass of wine which was complimentary with the meals (which of course we’d paid for as part of the tour) so I chose a local Riesling and Mike had the sparkling Riesling. Both very nice.

After lunch we enjoyed the ride back down the hill to the trail and then to a nearby winery for our only wine tasting of the day. It was at Tim Adams.

Quite nice but not nice enough to buy anything. I liked the Semillon and the Tempranillo.

We eventually found our way to the Clare County Club which looks out over a golf course in the township of Clare. There was actually a shower of rain.

The rooms are a good size but a bit basic. We are all in the same block of units which means those last to use the shower get cold water. That was us unfortunately.

The bird life here is amazing. At about 5 pm the cockatiels started going crazy and flying around everywhere. There were hundreds of them and they made a huge racket. It was quite a sight.

We were booked into dinner at an Italian restaurant which was a 20 minute walk away in the township/village.

I did not enjoy the walk as had a sore back. Probably part riding and partly sleeping funny. We had a 3 course menu which was arrancini balls and antipasti first. Then a ragu pasta (the restaurant is called Ragu) then beautifully cooked slices of rump steak with an excellent green salad. The meals were put on the table to share and the group did not do the, justice. All of us are finding the balance of food and exercise is not right. The ride may have been all up hill but it was still only about 37km which is less than going to Cambridge and back on a Saturday morning!

I was dreading the walk back but actually found the sitting down must have helped. Once out of the village we had to use our phones as torches though as the accommodation is a kilometre or so outside the village and there are no street lights. We managed to miss the turn and went about 800m in the wrong direction but eventually turned back. It was a bit nerve wracking whenever a car came along as we’d have to get off the road and you were never too sure what you were standing on. Unsurprisingly I dreamed of snakes all night.