Hi all. Emerald – loved it! Great place, had a nice vibe, helped on by meeting a few genuinely nice people.
I got the bike sorted at Sunflower Cycles. Ok I admit, I STILL missed a problem!! A goat head thorn still in a tyre. Seriously, am I hopeless or what. Please poke fun at me. I deserve it. He said they are brutal and I should be more worried about them than the trucks. The owner of the bike shop was a champion. For a guy that has the only full bicycle shop in an area nearly the size of Tasmania, it was all about customer service. I returned before he had finished and he happily chatted away about his biking world, Emerald etc.. He mentioned the roads are much better ahead. I still maintain I didn’t actually find what I had ridden so far that bad. I told him what I was doing. He then proceeded to share a story about a guy who found out he had a brain tumor and set about cycling AROUND THE WORLD while he still could. This guy called him months in advance to order new running gear for his bike and turned up almost to the day. He then completed the final 600km of his ride in TWO DAYS! I quietly retreated to my corner with my inferior ride. Anyway, two fresh tubes on the bike and two fresh spares and “here mate, take two puncture repair kits for free”. Noice.
The bus ride to Emerald turned into an experience as well. Full size coach. Only a dude up the back and me up front. Despite calling the company warning I had a bike (non e-bike) the driver wasn’t going to let it on! A quick call sorted that though and I ended up having a yarn to the driver the whole 1.5hr journey. I hate that I had to bus that 110 odd km’s. However a) it wasn’t by choice and b) it really just added to the experience.
I did the best I could in the interview and finally wore the other random item I brought with me – a business shirt for the video call (and yes I was wearing shorts at the same time). They knew what I was doing and were of course interested and I think liked the fact I was getting my break/adventure in before my next career move. The rest is in their hands now though! Get this though, I specifically chose a decent motel that would have good WIFI. I got a login code. It said unlimited up/download speed but 5MB download. Naaah I thought, they must have meant GB. But no, 5MB total before you need to go to reception for another code. MASSIVE WTF! MASSIVE EPIC FAIL but for a change NOT ME! You can hardly look at your email list, let alone open one for that! Thankfully I had full 5G coverage, heaps of GB left on my phone so tethered and did a test before hand.
Anyway, I then proceeded out for some grub and again met another lovely person and shared some stories… and it appears I have picked up another blog follower (so perhaps I am hitting double figure followers?!
Not too many photos today. The bike shop guy recommended the “Blah Blah” cafe to fill my time. It’s for sale by the way………..
***THE SOCK*** So the sock matter is sorted. It belongs to my favorite (yes only), niece. Apparently it is trendy to have dude “Jackaroo” socks. Perhaps she needs them to endure the the hours and hours of dancing she does a week. Or perhaps it provides a good “yang” to the “ying” of the 57 bobby pins she wears in her hair. Nonetheless, there is a lonely sock waiting back home for its partner to return. A shout out to my favourite (again only) nephew again on his birthday. He is currently building a time machine and got parts for his birthday. It’s a bicycle time machine, not a Deloren (and the champion is starting to challenge me on bike know-how). My sisters car has been relegated from the car-hold to make way for his tinkering. 1955 buddy, that’s where it’s at!
So I intend to ride for quite a few days now without a rest day. Tomorrow is a run with both water stops and options to extend the ride. My Auntie and Uncle in Brissy warned of cyclone leftovers but it seems like I am far enough south now. Winds apparently a direct easterly but modest. I won’t need to worry too much about water tomorrow but there is an upcoming stretch heading towards Roma I need to put some thought into.
Oh and speaking of 1955, song of the day is “1955” by the Hilltop Hoods. I’m not suggesting Emerald is stuck in 1955, but its a nice chilled song with the sensational voice of Montaigne adding that nice little touch. The lyrics do touch on “Time moves a little slowly here” though. But I’m down with that…