Day 64: Calen to O'Connell River - A happy ride around Australia (second attempt) - CycleBlaze

April 19, 2021

Day 64: Calen to O'Connell River

Start: 7:25am
Distance: 51kms
Ride time: 2:40hrs
Average: 19km/hr
Max: 40km/hr 
Finish: 11:55am 

It was grand to wake up to a dry tent this morning. There is a small amount of rain forecast every day for the next week. Hopefully the rain will fall on the hills to the west and not on me.

I'm not scared of this pretty little spider.
Heart 7 Comment 2 Link
Annie O'SheaIf you check BOM you'll find you're heading into alot of rain also possible flooding in places as they're recieving up to 300ml . So be careful
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3 years ago
Vince McCarthyThank you Mum.
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3 years ago

He is about 1cm long. He was on the top of my tent.

I watched him hunt and catch a little wasp. Then I put him and his prey on the grass.

I think he's a type of jumping or peacock spider. I downloaded a spider app to try to identify him but that just made me see lots of different and scary spiders. Yuk.

Crossing St Helens River.
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The hills provide nice scenery.
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I stopped for a rest and took this to show that I had a strong tailwind at times.
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Rita McCarthyThat’s my type of wind!
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3 years ago
My healthy morning tea break bought from a servo.
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Plantation Creek.
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Big tyres.
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I should take more pictures of the trucks. I see many 'over size' trucks carry big interesting machinery.

When they are on my side of the road, I pedal extra hard to catch their slipstream for a few moments. It's like truck surfing. All at a safe distance though.

I haven't seen any road trains. I guess I'll see them when I leave Cairns for Darwin.

It was a semi cloudy day and with the good tailwind, it didn't take me long to arrive at O'Connell River Tourist Park.

A big shady spot for $20.
Heart 6 Comment 2 Link
Brianna DallAny tricks you can impart for touring with milk. Do you leave it in its original container for example.

I enjoying reading about your ride each day .

Cheers,
Brianna
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3 years ago
Vince McCarthyHi Brianna!
I buy 1 litre of fresh or UHT milk from the closest shop to where I plan to camp. I leave it in the original container.
If there's no fridge in the camp kitchen, I just leave the milk outside my tent. Even though it's not kept cold, it's never gone off overnight. The night temperature here is about 20C.

I make sure I use it all by the next morning. I don't travel with half a bottle of milk.

Cheers
Vince
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3 years ago

There is no camp kitchen here which means I'll have warm milk with my muesli in the morning. Grrr.

O'Connell River.
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Pumpkin soup for dinner :)
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Cheryl IvesMy favourite soup Vince :)
Looks a nice and thick soup too.
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3 years ago

Tomorrow I'll detour off the highway for 20kms and go to Airlie Beach. I'll have a rest day there and hopefully do some snorkelling. I'm very excited. I hope to see more turtles and pretty fish. Yippee! 

Today's ride: 51 km (32 miles)
Total: 3,062 km (1,902 miles)

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Kerrie McCarthyI’m so enjoying your writing Vince 🤪quirky You ❤️
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3 years ago