Bloody hell, when you get up in the morning before daybreak all I ask for is a decent breakfast.
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| Long Ride day 6 - Hughenden to Townsville |
After packing up the bike and heading into Hughenden's town centre before 7am I was surprised to find that not one shop was open, well sorry I tell a lie, the butcher was open. There was nowhere to get breakfast. It was bloody ridiculous, this must've been one of the biggest days in Hughenden's history and not one place was open.
Sorry, again I tell a lie. The tiny little BP service station just outside of town was open, and it had a 'cafe'. The fuel they had on offer was a worry, it didn't state what it was, just unleaded but fuel was needed and so fuel was bought.
We also got breakfast from the place which looked exactly like something from an American road movie, and it was set in the 1950's. I ordered the bacon, eggs, tomato and spagetti. What I got was one of the best breakfasts I have ever had, it was sensational and came in ample serves.
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| A Big Bugger, and the driver had 'no idea' how long it was. |
After eating it and chatting to a few others riders about the size of a restrain parked across the road, to which the drive didn't know the length ... bullshit! ... we set off for Charters Towers.
At just over 250 kilometres, this should've been an easy run, it turned out to be pretty tough as we battled a strong headwind. With very little fuel stops along the way and the last one having nothing at all it meant we all came very close to running out of fuel. A few of us had to switch to reserve and mine actually ran out at the petrol station in Charters Towers.
The thing that made the worry a little easier along the way was that the landscape was starting to change dramatically. It was not only becoming hillier it was also starting to get denser vegetation, it was certainly starting to feel more tropical.
Once in Charters Towers we were to meet at the Town Hall and form all of the bikes up as we met Councillor Frank Beveridge the towns mayor. The Charters Towers Regional Council had made a great donation to the Long Ride and were showing us all great support. What they had done for us was fantastic and everyone loved being in the town, especially as this meant having lunch here too.
After meeting the local media and residents a few riders were taken to a hill that over looks the town by Cnr Beveridge. It was a truly impressive site, and clearly showed that Cnr Beveridge is very proud of his town. I don't blame him, it is one of the prettiest towns I have every seen and would very much like to go back there one day.
Once we had seen a few sites Cnr Beveridge road a Honda Chopper ahead of us out of town. It was
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| Mayor Frank Beveridge was keen to show us his town and we were keen to see it. |
We headed east for Townsville and our first glimpse of the ocean since starting the ride. It was around 140 kilometres to Townsville and on a road that was said to be quite good and through some pretty impressive scenery. It was spot on. The mountains we began to thread our way through were certainly impressive, the landscape was also so very green. On the downside, it looked very likely that it would soon start to rain.
It eventually came but only a few drops as we approached Townsville. It didn't wash away a strange, but nice smell as we rode through the outer suburbs. Later I would discover it was the Frangi Pani trees and they are everywhere making the whole city smell lovely. I was really surprised by Townsville. The only thing I had seen of it was from the V8 Supercar racing and it really doesn't do it any justice, in fact I think it now does it a disjustice. Townsville is a beautiful city, with a great mix of old and new buildings. The only thing is it is very quiet during the day time.
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| Charters Towers, a really pretty town and ... |
After checking into the hotel and finding the nearest Bendigo Bank a restaurant attached the hotel but on a 2 hour happy hour, so we settled in to a few beers and chatting about the days racing before a few of us went to the Townsville Yacht Club for dinner. During the discussions we had learnt that while a couple of riders had received speeding fines one had had a very lucky escape. OPulkling out onto the road his bike had been collected, tearing the front right off the bike. The rider was OK, but bruised, the bike was destroyed.
The yacht club itself wasnt anything special but the food and the service was second to none, another place I would really recommend it.
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| and Frank Beveridge (right) was very keen to show it off. |
A highlight of the day was when the father and son riding the 1952 Panther sidecar rolled into the hotel. The previous day had seen the sidecar depart from the bike, both passengers were okay, but some major work had to be done to the machine it was and everyone appreciated the fact that they were still taking poart in the ride.
With a day of 405 kilometres the total now riden is 2,829 kilometres. The total raised is $12,596 and I'm still hoping we can get above $13,000 before we finish in Cairns.
Tomorrow is an early start with all bikes needed to be made available to the public at 6am so that hopefully the morning can also be broadcast on Channel 7; Sunrise program. After which we will head north along the coast before turning towards Atherton.
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