Starting from Palmer we did a small climb through the eastern Mt Lofty ranges,accompanied by a light south easterly wind. It was pretty much downhill from then on.

We stopped to ponder on the the reservoir at the aptly named Reservoir Rd. The reservoirwas used to supply water to steam trains using the old Sedan – Monarto South rail line.

Indeed the Appamurra grain terminal 2 km down the road is still in operation today –serviced by road train of course.

The reservoir was fed by a man made channel stretching almost as far as the eye can see down the slope above. But why one would one devote considerable effort to building a creek when several cross the old line? The answer appears to have a lot to do with gravity.

Pumps in the steam days were significant investments. A much better design was to site the reservoir above the track so that it could supply water by gravity. No need for a pump – or cutting wood to power it.

Just out of interest the original water column is still in use at Port Adelaide

We then continued on down Long Gully Rd to lunch at Mannum.

After lunch we tackled the gentle climb from Mannum ( a little above sea level) to Palmer (210m), assisted by the south easterly which picked up a little in the afternoon.

A pleasant day’s ride at just a tad under under 60k.