Did you know that Stanthorpe literally means “Tin Town”? In 1870, when tin was discovered in the district, the locals naming the town combined “Stannum”, the latin word for Tin and “thorp” the Middle English term for village to create the name - Stanthorpe. So Stanthorpe literally means Tin Town or Tin Village.
Preparation for the ride
Accommodation
Please organise your own accommodation. There are many options available.
Weather
According to the forecast both Thursday and Friday will be fine with a minimum of 11 deg C and a maximum of 24 deg C.
Dinner and Start times
- Dinner Wednesday evening (April 10)
Some riders and in a few cases their non riding partners are coming up on the Wednesday are planning on dinner at O’Mara’s. We are meeting there at 6pm. I will book a table for about 10 people at 7pm. There is an event on the calendar for this dinner. If you wish to join us please register for the event - it helps me track numbers.
- Start Time (April 11) – meeting at the Visitor’s Centre, 28 Leslie Parade. Stanthorpe.
Please note that we are delaying the start until 09:30hrs to give some riders enough time to drive up from Brisbane.
The Stanthorpe Visitor’s Information Centre will have the coffee shop open from 09:00hrs if you need it.
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Some rider and perhaps even some non riding partner plan to have lunch at the new Ballandean Pub, part of the St Judes Winery just off Eukey Road. If you are interested, a separate event is in the calendar and it would be appreciated if you register so I can track numbers for the venue.
- Dinner location for Thursday April 11will be the Stanthorpe RSL, 46 Marsh Street, Stanthorpe. We expect to meet there at 6pm. A separate event is on the calendar, please register your interest in that event so I can confirm numbers.
Below are Garmin course maps for all sections and the written instructions are at the end of this post.
At the end of each day’s ride pop into the Tourist Information Centre and check out what else you can have a look at or visit.
Day 1 – Thursday, April 11
The ride starts at the Tourist Information Centre, travels down to Ballandean via Sugarloaf Road, Neilsens Road past the “full” Storm King Dam then left onto Eukey Road past a few wineries and ending at the corner of Curr and Sundown Road Ballandean. Below is a link to a course.
Day 1 Stanthorpe to Ballandean – 35km
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/57151323
I am suggesting a 1.5 hour break for lunch where you can go to the local café, a winery or simply a look around and then regroup back at the same place ready for the ride back via the Granite Belt Bike Trail. I am going with a group to Ballandean Pub https://www.ballandeanpub.com.au/ for a light lunch i but there are heaps of wineries and a bakery within a 3 km radius.
Day 1 Ballandean to Stanthorpe – 34 km
The return leg is the “Granite Belt Wine Trail”. There is one section of unsealed road that goes for about 1.5km. It is in good condition and would not pose a problem for a road bike. If you prefer a hybrid / touring bike that is fine. We won’t be in a hurry. Anyway the Garmin course link is below.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/57152147
Day 2 – Stanthorpe Loop – 50km
This day starts at 09:00 from the Tourist Information Centre, travels out along Amiens Road toward Mount Banca. We turn right at about 7.5km into Cannon Creek Road and towards Bapaume Road. At 17.5km we turn right into Amiens Road.
The course below should have the section from 17.5km to 20.75km removed. In other words we turn right at 17.5km into Amiens Road rather than left into Bapaume Road. The original course went out and back to a coffee shop which no longer exists.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/57152504
We head down Amiens Road through the Passchendaele State Forest, through apple orchards and end up at ~30km at the Jersey Girls Café for a coffee. They have free cheese tastings as well and if they are running you may be able to check out some of the local cheeses. www.stanthorpecheese.com.au The venue has been notified that we will be looking for a coffee.
After the coffee we turn right into Tennant Road then left through an underpass on the New England Highway and then follow the Old Warwick Road /Applethorpe Road / Aerodrome Road / McKillop Lane back to High Street the main throughfare through Stanthorpe (called High Street which turn into Maryland St). To make it a bit interesting for those wanting the challenge, we turn left into Davadi Street, left into Lock Street and continue to the Mount Marley Lookout. There is a little 8% climb for a short section and the photo below should give you an indication of the reward awaiting you at the top.
For those people who do not want to check out the view you are welcome to return to the Tourist Information Centre by keeping on High St / Maryland Street for 1.2km then turn left into Leslie Pde to the Tourist Info centre.