Day 75 &76

Day 75 took off from my glorified Donga about 27 km North of Townsville at Blue Water Caravan Park and proceeded to Ingham . After Ingham i ran into a gentleman cycling from Cairns to Byron Bay and stopped to say hello. His name was Savaade ,and we had a good chat and a laugh about diffrent things. I think we just felt comfortable that we where on the same page riding through the country side on our own. Savaade was telling me that he retired from being a builder when he was diagnosed with Melanoma Cancer, and was told he only had six months to live, seven years ago. He puts the extended time of his life down to exercise that he gets himself into and at 67 years of age looks bloody fit and healthy

Savaade, looking a picture of health.

Cruising back on track again i couldn't help but notice the snakes on the side of the road where getting bigger and bigger as i headed further North and thought by the time i get to Cairns one will just swallow me whole, bike and all and that will be the end of the trip.

This snake has been run over about twenty times and been dead for about a week but i still keep my distance.

Ended up reaching Cardwell about 4pm and thought it was such a nice place on the Bay, i might as well stay the night in a good room and enjoy as i'm not expected in Cairns till 2 days time.Found a place right on the beach ,two story and a nice view

Just before dusk view from my room.

Dawn, from my room.

While kicking back in my room in Cardwell, Deb and Steve ring me to ask me "where are you" .Well, with all the techno gear i've provided on the trip i thought everybody new where i was. lol .  I told them, and we do a few calculations and i work out that i might be able to make it to there place, as GordonVale is about 23 km South of Cairns  the next day.That night I slept with my cycling gear on to get a quick gettaway ,as i was excited.
Day 76  Left Cardwell and it was a great day for cycling, blue sky and a tail wind to push me along and knowing there was gold at the end of the rainbow. Cruising and pacing myself, sometimes it seemed as though i was slowing up to bottle up all the excitement within, to explode when i see Deb. Plenty of places along the Bluce Highway to wet the whistle and even came across and stopped to talk to an elderly lady at Babinda who i thought had a fantastic garden on the Bluce,Colleen, and  took a photo.

Colleen and her garden which she just loves.

Off again and time for another photo of a house a bit further along which i think might be the go at my own home back in Perth to keep the grass down.

Trouble is the dumpidge rate would be huge.

Finally arrived at GordonVale looking for Debs place about 5pm , Deb and Steve where outside there house and the  emotion was felt for miles as we locked eyes.lol.The first words from Debs where jesus mate ,we didn't expect you for hours ,god, have a look at ya ,nothin left a ya, put your bike here , do this ,do that, do this ,do that. I knew then, for sure it was at the the right address .Once settled and showered Steve cooked up a great meal for the three of us and Deb started on any issuers with my health, being one of the top nurses in Queensland.
After dinner we talked for a while and all retired early as Debs still doing 15 hrs a day work which she has been doing for the last 35yrs ,and i'm off to Cains by car with Steve to get a commando style flat top haircut for the, across the top part of Australia "the last frontier".as i need to prepared for anything.

WTF!!!!!!!!!!Nobody told me about this.

Been there but can't remember who with?

Special moment,not only Jim in my thoughts but also  another true mate. Long live Johnny B.

What can i say.

Probably worth two hundred but no , 4xxxx will do.  Good onya Wal.

Hoo Roo, Grant

DAY 73 & 74

Day 73 started as usual this time from Proserpine, backing down the outside stairs of the pub i had stayed at with  the sun coming up. Only this time with a girl all dolled up following me down and i could tell wanting me to hurry as she wanted to get some place or just out of that place. Pretty hard to smile and act cool  wearing my tights and green jacket, all at the same time hanging on to a 50kg arkward object descending backward, but I think i did O.K.
Then off into it, pedaling and waiting for the body to tell me how its  going to treat me today. Something i have no control over. The body is like a computer when you start off , it takes everything into consideration as how much you have pushed the day before,wind direction ,rain, temperture, hills, calorie intake, positive and negative thoughts etc etc. The list goes on forever but i dosen't take long before you know what the answer is, good or bad.
Thankfully, today the answer was good and with a tail breeze and the land flat , made good ground to a place called Home Hill.The scenery around here these last couple of days has been great, if you like Sugar Cane plantations.

The sugar canes everywhere.

On arriving in town i asked at a motel how much were there rooms,  they said  $95 and i said thanks, and am now in the  $30 Pub with more stairs but i don't mind carrying the bike up for $65.lol. Had a counter meal there and went to my room as all the big macho men wanted to watch H... & A... at the bar tele. Out with the lappy and checked all the weather forecasts and fell asleep.

More photo's for the room 3 St Paul Primary School,Mildura

Annabells my name and i'm hungry.

Tyler is my name,lets go for a ride.

I'm Blake the snake

Hi i'm Big Bird,Nacinta.

Day 74 started a bit late from Home Hill as i just couldn't get moving. Though once on the bike and the veins opened up  the blood started pumping , i was in the zone.  Passed the town of Ayr and just kept going toward Townsville. On arriving the sign said City or Cairns and of course i went ,Cairns it is. Then not too far up the Highway it turns into a Motorway and no bikes allowed. What do i do?, thinking that i had finished with all these Motorway problems earlier in the big cities. To hell with the rules , here goes and off i go. About 5 km down the completly safe Motorway some workers are there stuffing around with witches hats. To me thats all there ever do and not much actual road work gets done in Queensland. This is when it gets weird, this guy see's me from a distance and starts walking fast toward me and holding both hands out as though to stop me going any further. I'll try and paint a picture of his look, orange overalls with Traffic Control written across them and a walky talky sticking out the front, fat ,red long hair and pulled up under his hat. Teeth with exposed gums that shot out while he was screaming WTF ARE YOU DOING ON THE RING ROAD. I then said quietly, can i get off at the next exit because i'm trying to get to Cairns. NO he said screaming,TURN AROUND AND GO BACK. I then said that would be more dangerous. He goes , I DON'T F...... CARE .Well i then let him have both barrels, DON'T YOU F....... SWEAR AT ME IM GOING TO REPORT YOU and then took off and made a run for it up the Motorway while he is again screaming.  I'M GOING TO GET THE POLICE ONTO YOU AND I HOPE YOU GET RAN OVER. One good thing about these interactions with these weird people you forget about the pain your in while riding, because the hate kicks in. Thinking that Mr Plod would be soon beeping me to pull over, i came across a women putting a sign up and she said ,"how you going". "Good thanks" ,i said, " i know i shouldn't be on this road but if i take the next exit can i weave my way up toward Cairns"?. And she said,as she touches me on the arm, "no, if i was you stay on this Motorway and about 10km it will turn into the Bluce." I smiled and told her about the Red Haired Baboon in a orange suite with teeth and gums to die for abusing me. This quite spoken helpful lady new exactly who i was on about and started frothing at the mouth using words to descibe him you wouldn't hear in the roughest pub in the Australia. 

True to her word i was soon back in my comfort zone , The Bluce Highway. I stopped not long after to buy some food and then the drizzle started and have ended up in a upmarket ,with everything, Donga type room about 27km out from Townsville in the Bluewater Caravan Park. I'm feeling pretty good about everything at the moment, it might be the excitement of seeing my Big Sis and her partner Steve in Cairns. She always brings the best out of me. 

I'd Sue them Meg.

Thats deep

Daniel T,J,B. 

Move over Scout ,this is Snout

This is what i've been looking for, to prove that these Northern Queenslanders are out there. A  fish hanging on a street sign ,and it is a frequent habit which is not healthy. Definitely Duelling Banjo stuff.
HOOROO
Grant.

Day 70,71 and 72

Day 70 and 71  where rest days at Kate and Gregs nice road house in suburbia of Mackay. The guys really turned it on for me by just letting me hang out like a  sloth ,laying around and fattening me up with huge amounts of food and cups of tea. Chocolate and biscuits where in front of me all the time and disappearing quickly.
On the first day(Sat) they took me into town and found a bike shop to put a new tyre on Hearse and then to a Post Office to send some things back to Perth (jocks) which i didn't want to carry anymore. Then they gave me  a quick sight seeing tour of Mackay and  showed me there original house they had bought and sold a few years ago. The first night on arriving we dined on Kates home made Lasagne, the second night it was Gregs home made meaty stew he had prepared for the occasion, both delicious . Also all my dirty washing was taken care of without a fuss. (no jocks to worry about now) Ended up a  latish night boring the guys with my cycle  and the meaning of life stories
The second day (Sun) they invited a friend over, Stevie Bell and his wife ,Bridgette and their two boys,Brodie and the green monster Bailey for Brunch.
Steve i knew from Perth through the Argyle boys, and hadn't seen for about 16 years. and it was good to catch up for Brunch which Kate magically put together for the seven of us. After, we walked them back to there home, not far, as i wanted to see there house and the new pool he had just installed. Steves turned out to be a real family man and hasn't changed a bit except he has become a qualified electrician  doing a mature age apprenticeship with Rio Tinto. Smart move big fella.

Bailey,Brodie,Kate,Greg,Big Steve and Bridgette brunching.

On arriving back in the afternoon to the house, Greg  starts cleaning my bike and helping me pack for the following day of riding. Later his off down the shop to get the big "T" bones for tea for that night and more chocolate.lol. They cooked up another storm  with dessert and to top it off Kate starts throwing sandwiches together for me to take on my ride the next day .Then  it was time for them to relax completely now with a wine and, get this, to watch the DVD of Jim's funeral i had carried all the way to show them whether they wanted to or not.. Unfortunately it was a bit damaged from the ride but most of it was O.K. and i think they enjoyed it. Finished them off with some more of my boring stories and then i retired for some well earned sleep.

Very much still in love.

Day 72 was an early rise for me to be dropped back onto the Bluce Highway by my chauffer, Greg, after our breaky. While dropping me off and saying goodbye i noticed  Greg was not dealing with this bit too well as he kept passing me and stopping and then going again to pass then finally turned  around to give me the big wave but no roar of excitement this time  as though, is this really happening.

Greg not wanting to leave my side with his road house in the background.

We soon drifted apart and went our seperate ways. Not long after that emotional parting i was jolted into reality with a stature i saw and i nearly wept with home sicknness.

"Just been down to get the bread luv".I approached them if  they wanted to sell it .It's bloody huge.

Still there was a job to do and that was to pedal to Proserpine some 120km away and it was drizzling the whole way so when i arrived  about 2 pm  ,booked into the pub and showered to attack tomorrow, as the next town is 64 km away with nothing in between and didnt want to push too hard the first day back.

Here is some photos for the guys at St Pauls Room 3 Primary School i took and i found out there names too

Hello my names Krystelle and im cute.

My names Luke and who are you looking at.

Xavier is my name and i'm very small 

My names Zachari because my face looks exzackly.........mean.

Four more to come later.
Hoo roo whoever is lookin in.........Grant

Day 69

Day 69 started with a full breakfast from the road house ,where i had spent the night in my tent and making that huge announcement.( H/W ). I still needed to ride the last 150 km to Mackay and was getting excited to see my friends  Kate and Greg where they now live. Thinking it was going to be a grind due to the long distance without any services i was pleasantly surprised by the amount of petrol stations and fruit shops along the way not marked on the map. Even a home made ice cream shop ,which was like an oasis. The day before (68) was exciting and a huge relief for me to reach halfway,not so much physically but mentally, 7 km before Marlborough. I was starting to feel as though i couldn't start returning home until i got there and i was getting impatient to get there. Still , it's just a state of mind.

Now for the second half.

On leaving the road house and on the recommendation of the road house owner i travelled  a few km along the highway and turned into a caravan park at Clairview and you can follow the road along the beach and it will bring you back onto the highway some ten km further and the road is more scenic and less hilly. Doing this surprised me by the amount of people camping and living permanently there. I even thought i saw a coffee van with it's side doors open, but no, it was Andrew and Pauline in there drain cleaning truck doing the dishes from breakfast. Seeing that Myself ,Tim ,Jim  and Uncle Glen all have a connection with drain cleaning i needed to stop and chat.

Andrew with his fully rigged vehicle of high pressure water cutters and cameras..Andrew and Pauline live in Kempsey (Slim Dusty territory) and are on there way to help there son in Cairns for a few days building his house. There business name is "round the bend"

Andrew and Pauline where telling me they often ride 100 km at times to keep fit and had the bikes in the back of the truck. Even had there  kelpie guard dog"Bindey" in the truck and if you put your hand in there ,look out.

Back on the highway i was making good progress with the excitement of meeting Greg with his trailer on the Bluce Highway at a place in Mackay. At one time i thought if I'm going this hard and fast what am i am i going to be like if I'm close to home when and if it happens.
10 Kms from Mackay and totally powering i look up and see Greg coming toward me with his Toyota Prado and trailer and we lock eyes and after 7700km to see each other, we both let out a scream that could be heard to Cairns. Him now going the wrong way and me spinning my little legs to scramble even closer to Mackay. He then passers me later and turns left into a quite street nearly causing a Major accident with a mean looking bikie group running into him from behind. I  followed Greg and we shook hands and he looked dumbfounded that i was actually there in his presence. I then asked him how far out  we where  from the original meeting point, and he said quite a way but could not resist  the temptation after watching the tracker for 2 and a half months. I then pedalled to the original location and loaded the bike into the trailer and said "take me to your leader"

Finally got there as promised.

On arriving to the house Kate arrived home from work and it was great to see her and catch up. She cooked a fantastic Lasagna enough to feed a football team. I ended up talking till the cows came home as my turbos had not shut down. Eventually i wore them down and we all went to sleep.

To my supporters.

WTF!!!!

I'll buy it.

inspirational.

A few photos to keep you amused
Catch ya later.
Grant

Day 68

Day 68 has been a big day of riding and i am now in my tent typing after having a feed and about to make my big announcement that i promised you i would.You ready,o.k here goes.......I'M HALF WAY

7KM before Marlborough.

Let me just say a big THANK YOU to everybody who has blogged,it keeps me strong. Good night.

Hoo Roo Grant.

Day 67

Day 67 was probably one of the most uneventful days so far on the trip. Left Benaraby this morning and arrived in Rockhampton about 3pm. No problems with anything and the road was good. The wind was with me at first then turned against  me which convinced me to stop at Rocky overnight, as well as the place is having a cold snap and i didn't want to stay in the tent. I didn't take any photo's either as nothing really was worth taking.
I had plenty of quite time today to do some serious thinking, and this leaves me to now to let my supporters know that i will be making a huge announcement tomorrow. I will ride as normal and decide when and how i will put the message across correctly. I'm sure some people will be relieved and others not so. Some people won't care either way but i cannot worry about  what other people think in this case but i will make the announcement regardless through the blog so there is no confusion.
Thanking You
Grant.

Day 63 ,64 ,65 & 66

Day 63 started off by saying goodbye to Jeanette and Pietro early in the morning to get a good start out of Brizzy before the traffic got too busy. As instructed off i went over the Story Bridge and wasn't sure which direction to take once over because i am not allowed on the M3 ,so as a precaution i asked a big breasted nurse getting into her car what direction do i take to Aspley and she told me,go back over the bridge. I couldn't believe it and just rode off a bit further and all the signs where there saying Sunshine Coast. I hope she never operates on anybody,she would end up taking the wrong part out .
 Cycling along  i couldn't stop thinking about my stay with Jeanette and Pietro ,and how Pietro was a Mr Universe and in all those Bolliwood movies and all of a sudden i see him again on a huge Billboard, the guys famous

Eat these Grant to help you cycle for longer,Pietro

Eventually found my way to the service road which runs  parallel with M3 and made good progress till i  could jump onto the Bluce Highway. By the time i got to Cooroy about 4 pm i decided to call it a day. Not knowing where to stay i went looking for a motel and came across  the only place in town and settled there and then headed off to get as much food as could to keep the energy up. Pietro's Diet, eat,eat,eat.
Day 64 was a day of much the same, after having my vita bixs and loading up on carbs, start cycling. On my travels i noticed Linds has bought a big truck to collect more Koalas. He puts a lot of effort into that
because he has a thing for Koalas.

Linds picking up Koalas in his new truck.What a guy.

Ended up finishing up  for the day at Maryborough, and staying at a place right across the road from Red Rooster for my daily chook i am trying to eat now. One place i saw in the town made me smile but i didn't
want to stay there, just a photo would do.

The place is for sale but looks too run down.

It was closed unfortunately ,i need mine sorted

Day 65 left Maryborough and headed to Childers and as i was climbing a hill into the town after 60kms of riding a gentleman at the side of the road goes,"is that you Grant". Jesus i thought ,they have found me.
With a worried look on my face i said yes,who are you?. He says,do you know Monica  Dixon?.Yes I said, she's not pregnant is she?.lol. Well i am her dad,Peter he said  and i thought i might go for a bit of a ride with you.Sure i said but i need to sort out a few things in town here first. No probs he said, i will go about 8 km out of town and set up a cup of tea and a sandwich and when we have that off we will go. The plan worked out just fine as you can see in the photo

Peter and I  at our tea party getting ready for the 25km cycle together.(nothing more ,nothing  less)

Peter was a real trooper driving out from Bundaburg the 50 km and cycling with me the 25km.That's 100km driving and a total of 50 kms cycling to be part of it. A retired school teacher (Linds and Jude). with a hip replacement only two years ago .He told me he loves to cycle,it beats the hell out of catching Koalas.
At 71 years old he rode like a thirty year old probably due to riding his 40kms each day.Thanks again Peter for joining me and being apart of it just like your daughter ,Monica (Ballarat) and enjoy your 3 months holiday with your wife in Europe starting next week watching some of the Olympics.

Well done Peter.

As we parted, Peter heading back to his car and i cycling toward Gin Gin , there i bought another chook and squeezed out another few kms to set up my first bush camp under the stars for some time. I heard that the nights are warm up here.Well i woke up every hour ,frozen ,and twisted and turned with the hard ground and the noise from the Highway was ridiculous even though i was a good 100 metres away down a track.

Day 66 was a slow start as i had to thaw out and wrap my wet tent up etc etc.Took off sluggish and wondered if this huge calorie intake is the right thing to do as i am finding it hard to get moving but feel as though i could bench press 300kg. Crawled into Miriam Vale and tried to get some money out of the ATM. Turned out no money available which i transferred in on Friday in Brizzy with the help from the teller at N.A.B, so panic station set in and went next door to the local P.O. and not to bore you guys anymore ,sorted it out with Pauline behind the counter ,because i was dealing with the Australian Post card,Load and Go. No Keith ,not that type. Now I don't usually take photos of P.O. girls to put on the blog but i am very grateful for her so here she is.

Pauline and I ,with the help of Jackie and the Doc we conquered.

With my money and the delayed rest, i made a dash for Benaraby through all the road works which is happening on the Highway. With a little tail wind to the side i was making good time but ended up being stopped by the traffic controller which Ive noticed are usually very rough looking but this particular one was a stunner.Her name was Diana and she would not let me go through because of the safety issue but i think she just wanted to talk to me. She said, "just out for day are you," and i said "yeh the 66th day." I thought to myself that would be a lot of gear just for one day.We spoke for a while and she told me that she is from Ireland and has been working on the Highway for five months so i decided to take her photo and post it on the blog. I thought i wouldn't see another traffic controller like that again ,but i was wrong, at the other end on the road on the other  walky talky another beauty was their,just like bookends. Found out later from my inside contact,Clint, that they are travelling together. Good on them ,if they where in Ireland they would probably have to share that job with 4 other people.lol

What a babe.

I km from my town for the night,Benaraby ,disaster strikes,the bloody Highway is good sometimes but really bad in some places and this particular spot just ran out of bitumen to the left of the white line and i tried to get back up and did ,but blew the front tyre. Fixed it and am now in a nice motel,showered and ready for bed for another day of riding. By the way who is putting all these Grants on the signs or am i just presuming its got something to do with me.

G-DOG!!!!

 Hoo Roo Grant