Day 30 Charters Towers to Townsville 134.25 kms

What a beautiful day and sunrise but then the fog descended and it was hard to see further than a few feet in front of you. It was a bit dangerous riding in these conditions and the riders were nervous. They all got away early so they could have pulled over and waited for the fog to lift but no-one did.

The scenery was great with the mountains in the background and green pastures in the foreground. Morning tea was at Mingela. We met Robbo and Jerry coming out of the town and they stated that there was no-one around and they had all ridden off. I had received a phone call from Fliss stating she  was already at the town and would wait for us; so we went into town to have a look and here they all were, waiting for us. Not sure which town Jerry & Robbo went into because they were all there. We had safeway cookies again from Jan. Apparently the rest of the group came in the first turn off and got blocked by an extremely long train that was parked over the road in and when Robbo wandered into town from the other turnoff he saw the train but not the riders behind it. Anyway we caught Robbo & Jerry further up the road to offer them water.

Lunch was to be at a roadhouse called Woodstock but when we got there we at first thought it was shut but when we tried the door it opened. There was hardly any stock in the place and it smelt of fat cooking and the toilets were all out of order. The guy running the place suggested we try the park just around the corner. The other car was parked at the corner near the store to guide the riders to just around the corner which turned out to be a little tricky and some of them just couldn't find us so they continued onto Townsville stopping for food as they needed it. Those that did stop enjoyed the area and it was clean and good toilets (everything a rider wants).

Jerry went ahead because he wanted to catch the ferry across to Magnetic Island. Georg went ahead because he wanted to have a beer with Jerry before he went across to the island. John went ahead to have a look around and I received a very excited phone call from him stating how cool the town is with coconut drinks in real coconuts and real green tea and he got to swim in the ocean. Alf & Anna had left us the day before for a little private time in Townsville and we didn't see them today although Robbo tried pretty hard.

The rest got in pretty early after some confusion with Collis' directions down the Bruce Hwy. All was well except for Robbo who panicked a little and got a bit upset when he had trouble finding us. He came in safe and sound and quickly calmed down when he heard Collis' explanation for the trouble with directions.

Some of us jumped straight into the swimming pool and had fun on the kids slides and in the spa. Nice afternoon had by all. Collis took me into town for a quiet dinner together but we ran into Jan  and then John & Theo. It was still rom antic sitting on the beach after dinner eating yummy ice cream and watching the waves lap on the sand.

Poetic Justice
He thinks that it should be unlawful
To write verse that’s quite this awful
He regards rhyme as a henious crime
Deserving more than just fine
The case is only prima facie
But I expect no mercy from Judge John Tracy
He will use his sentencing parameter
To send me down from my pentameters.
Cleat Poet
A word man who’s the real deal
His observations quite surreal
He’s a cleat poet of some repute
At the Quantum Mechanics Institute
His themes are original, never sloppy
Only his transport is a Coppi
He pedals it on a quest
Searching for the steak that’s best
But he will only meet meat perfection
I f he travels in the other direction
By Jerry