June 12th: Rest Day

Day 242

It was humid, hot, windy, and dusty with some sprinkles to finish off the day.

The wind picked up and we met several caravaners who told us they were spending double on fuel driving into the wind. It was between 20 to 30 kph for the last week. It was a perfect day for a break. We took advantage of the cheap internet at Sunset Caravan Park and spent the day in the shady camp kitchen, typing and updating.

We received word that we will be able to pick up 4 new tires from a bike shop in Townsville, “The Bicycle Pedlar” and even a place to stay and a warm shower. We will be replacing our front tires, Schwalbe Marathon Plus’s, with the Marathon Supreme. It’s not as hardy but has less rolling resistance. My two front tires are worn through, and Cher’s left tire is worn from being on the rough shoulder. I will use her one good tire as my rear and her rear tire still looks like new. So far we have put about 12,000 km on our tires, mine a little more since I was able to commute to work.

I broke off from Cher, my Siamese cycling twin, and managed to do a little birthday gift shopping. I managed to score a cozy hooded fleece at one of the local shops and a couple bottles of wine. I also grocery shopped, and exchanged USD for AUD. Oh how nice it is to have some convenience. It’s colder than we imagined and we haven’t really acclimated yet, and it’s due to get chillier as we move south into the Australian winter. I’m literally about 2 degrees F. warmer than Cher so she gets cold quite quickly. If I can keep her warm than we will both be a lot happier. So I guess the gifts are for me too.