But it all fits and is super well balanced so far so we will
see. I spent the day on the Great Barrier Reef and it was
fun.

But that is another Story so now to bed and get an early start
to Mareeba tomorrow. Thanks to all of you reading and please
wish me good luck and fair winds!

written by  Mike_Veine on July 26, 2012 from Cairns, Australia
from the travel blog: Mike's Magical Mystery Tour
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They fed me and offered a spare bed, but I slept in an open shed overlooking their creek. Very sweet and I could see the stars and hear things that go bump in the night. Off early the next morning and had a very hard time with a headwind and still not recovered from the day before. Stopped a little short of Atherton with another 50k day at only noon to rest and recover more. I found a free campsite at a War Memorial Park with many Caravan Campers (Trailers in the US).

I will turn in early and see if I can do better tomorrow. I hope to get to Ravenshoe or even a little farther, but I am really trying to listen to my body and not risk an injury that would end the trip.

The country around me looks kind of like Idaho around Emmett and there is a large River called the Atherton that I passed over today. Arlene said that many of the landmarks are named for early explorers and that name sounds familiar, but I don't know the history...one more thing I should have done! Oh well, it is what it is. I am happy and seeing cool things. I will post some pics when I get to an internet cafe.

Quick add on... I'm in Atherton now having a nice breakfast and feeling better this am. Still hard riding because it is constant long but not steep climbing with very few flats and no descents to speak of. I am getting tired of the small chain ring lol.

written by  Mike_Veine on July 28, 2012 from Atherton, Australia
from the travel blog: Mike's Magical Mystery Tour
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I am staying over a day in Mt Surprise today, been riding for five days so now I will take one off. 

Yesterday was the first day I actually got into The Outback and the riding is definitely easier  now with more gentle rolling hills. Long ride- I finally topped 100K with a 112k ride. 

It seems to be cattle country out here with large ranches. Ian told me that there were two ranches larger than the entire state of Texas!

This is Savannah Land with stunted trees and long grasses predominant. I've only seen birds and cattle out here alive, but many dead kangaroos or wallabies on the side of the road victims of collisions with road trains.

I've been passed by many road trains now and the drivers are very professional and honk sometimes when overtaking me. I hear the cars and trucks behind me from very far away and it is no problem getting over for them.

I left at sunup to get a jump on the heat and took a 1/2 hour nap at noon after eating and hydrating before continuing on. This and the easier terrain made the afternoon ride better than the day before. Once when I felt too hot I just dumped a water bottle out over my head to cool off and rested in some roadside shade for 10 minutes and then back at it.

When I was riding at about 4pm the sun angle lit up the tall grasses around me and I could see the grassheads reflecting pinks and purples as they waved in a gentle breeze. A small herd of cattle all turned their heads together to watch me ride by- guess they'd never seen a bike before!

I heard from several local residents that there is a woman ahead of me who is walking to Darwin. She is from Siberia and started walking around the world when she was 17 and she is now 42- pretty amazing! I hope I will catch up with her around Croydon a couple of days and hear her Story.

Resting, reading and eating today, catch you all later! 

written by  Mike_Veine on July 31, 2012 from Mount Surprise, Australia
from the travel blog: Mike's Magical Mystery Tour
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