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