12th July - Ayr to Townsville

Nigel says..... Woke up at 0430hrs to watch the World Cup Final. I managed to see the important bits...the start, the big foul, the sending off, the goal and the end. I think Spain deserved to win. We then snoozed on and left the motel at 0900hrs because Gordon wanted breakfast at McDonald's......were there comments about eating crap food last night?

Gordon's long term psychological well being suffered a serious blow when the McDonald's girl asked him if he wanted a senior's deal!! Pale, gaunt, grey bearded and dressed like a weird tramp, I suppose she had a point. Gordon as ever failed to take advantage of a situation and did not take the deal - could have saved a few dollars! Saw a few retirement options for Gordon around Townsville - he will be on that special deal off season coach tour before he realises it....I realise now, that this trip is an exercise in looking after the elderly!

We then had to stop whilst Gordon purchased some new sunglasses in town. His old sunglasses keep slipping down his nose and he then finds it difficult looking through his Davros eye. I think his skull is shrinking - or perhaps his brain? He was going to throw his old sunglasses away, but I persuaded him to keep them as a backup for the inevitable loss/damage/theft etc of the new ones.

The Bruce Highway was not so good today. The early stretch had little or no shoulder and the road surface was quite rough for most of the way, although there were welcome stretches of hotmix. We had a couple on non descript service station stops and started to see the outskirts of Townsville some 10 kilometers out from the centre. It was the hottest day so far today with temperatures around 27 degrees. We cycled 93 kilometers (58 miles).

I suppose the clue is in the name - The Summit Motel. I think there is only one hill in the whole of Townsville and we are on top of it. Very pleasant for a motel however, and thankfully we are getting the washing done as we were both starting to pong a bit...If I can paint a very unpleasant picture - Gordon is sprawled on his bed wearing nothing but a towel watching the telly every item of clothing he possesses is in the wash. I shall see if I can speed up the drier by watching it go round...

We managed to get some time this afternoon to have our hair cut - mine was getting a bit long....Had a walk round Townsville. Gordon couldn't be bothered and went back to the motel to watch the Count of Monte Cristo - I think I might have been better doing the same, although I did manage to purchase a decent map of the Cape which we needed.

Thoughts and comments:

• Queensland Police seem to spend quite a lot of time in McDonalds.
• Saw more police on the roads than any other day.
• Saw a 'Big Brolga' (bird) just outside Townsville.
• The countryside was flat with cane, mangoes and cattle along the road. Some very big ky and tree clad hills in the distance.
• Snack of the day: Road sign south of Townsville - meat pie
• Tune of the day: Dire Straits - Walk of Life
• Fact of the day: In the wet season, Brolgas inhabit the swampland at the back of the beaches on Horseshoe Bay.....

Tomorrow Ingham. Cairns getting closer....

Gordon says ...

I knew I was looking pretty awful - like a sack of shit, actually - but for some dumb-ass Mcdonalds drone to ask me if I wanted a 'seniors deal' is just about the final straw ...

I realised things weren't going well when, while I was sick and stressed in Victoria, my beard went white within the space of a couple of days. It's the kind of thing you expect to happen slowly, and almost unnoticably, so I was shocked it went in front of my eyes - as if to signal 'this is all really bad'. And as my weight kept dropping, I've slowly looked worse and worse - I don't think my kids are going to recognise me. I'm starting to look like some kind of 17th century shipwreck survivor - all ribs and ragged clothes. Weirdly, I still have Popeye cyclist's legs, but my body-builder's torso, and wrestler's arms are now all but a memory ...

Nigel, of course, is happy as Larry. While I have gone from 'normal' to 'emaciated', he has gone from looking like a 'pregnant person who also has a severe goitre problem', to looking like 'someone who might almost pass for normal' - especially if you've have a lot to drink.

Apart from this appalling start to the day, everything else went OK. I'm currently listening to a book suggested by Jo - a work colleague - called 'The little Stranger' by Sarah Waters. I am undecided as to whether this is going to pass the newly created 'Tolstoy Test' of utter boredom. I''ll let you know in a couple of days. If it doesn't, the ridiculing will start ... although I should be too mean, as she is currently shouldering most of the burden of my professional absence (unit planning etc), for which I am very grateful.

Ingham tomorrow. Jeez ... Townsville is a dump.