Long Ride - Day 9 - Cairns to Ayr

Long Ride day 9 - Cairns to Ayr

Well back on the bike, the 9th day we are riding, and basically it's all down hill from here.  Well that was the general plan.  What should've been just over 5 hours of riding turned out to be much longer, a few issues slowing us down, and mostly all my fault.

 

The morning started with a bit of sleep in before we started packing the bikes again.  Checking out of the Pullman's International we set off through Cairns and down the coast road we didn't take on the way up, picking up the road at Innisfail where we had been a few days earlier.

 

The views this time were magnificent, previously we only got to see misty rain, now we were in glorious sunshine, but shit it was humid.  Crutch rot was starting early today.

 

We stopped at Innisfail to refuel and get a coffee, only to be accosted by a guy riding a BMW Adventure bike.  He was really keen to have a chat to us about what we were doing especially after seeing the ride on the local news.  He pointed out a few things we should do on the way down the coast.  The local baker also said he had seen the ride, so it seemed that the word was getting out there and the message was working, at least in some part.  The lady who was working at the servo also gave us her Coles 4c docket so we could save some money.  It was only $1.50 but we put this in as a donation.  It was a small gesture, but one that showed people are aware of what we are doing and was willing to show some support.

 

Not far out of Innisfail I noticed there were no bikes behind me so turned around to see what had happened.  To my horror my beloved water bottle had fallen off my bike but thankfully had been retrieved.  It was a little worse for wear, but I think the battered look suits it better.  At least I can still have a drink when I need it.

 

Resting in paradise just before the phone went
flying.

Exactly what I needed an hour or so later as we rode through Cardwell near Hinchinbrook Island, the humidity was becoming unbearable.  It was funny, we passed the pub we had stopped at on the way up and the same bloke was sitting in the same spot on the balcony.  He gave us a wave as we went by to find a spot a little further down the road.  We stopped in the driveway of a gated community and basically passed out.  I drain what was left of my water and after a short lay down in the shade we geared up ready to leave.  I knew my phone was on top of my topbox, must remember to put it in my pocket I thought.

 

I took off only to notice that no one was following, the phone had come off the bike.  It was retrieved, and although a little battered I'm hopeful it will still work.

 

We got going again after a bit of a laugh and headed for Townsville.  We didn't get far before trouble struck again.   The roadworks we had encountered on the way up were still there however, now we were having to stand with the bikes running in stifling heat.  As we got closer to Ingham, where I was hoping to get to a local pub and have a decent feed, I noticed that my gear shifting was becoming more difficult, eventually the bike was stuck in third gear.

 

Entering Ingham I was able to get it changed down into first but it would go no higher than second.  Shit, thousands of kilometres from home and no gear higher than second.  Anyone who knows me well will know what happened next.  I had one of my usual tantrums before thinking things through and making a decision.

 

That decision was to ride it back about a kilometre to a place called Ingham Motorcycles and Mowers for them to assess.  The guys there were great at first they thought it was a damaged gearbox, maybe a jammed selector.  They took the bike too the workshop and began the assessment. 

The workshop in Ingham, these guys were good!

Thirty minutes later they had it fixed.  It was nothing more than a dirty input spline.  It looked like it had never been greased and had become slightly damaged they repair it and got the bike going again.  Thank God, we hadn't even got as far as Townsville yet.

 

Once in Townsville we refuelled and headed off towards Ayr, as darkness started to fall. In the mirror I could see one of the greatest sunsets I have ever seen fall over the hills we had just passed.  This is truly a beautiful part of the country.

 

We arrived in Ayr on nightfall and were all pretty exhausted.  We checked into the caravan park and then went to the Burdekin Hotel, that came highly recommended.  It was an old school pub, mainly for backpackers.  The food was reasonably priced and was absolutely delicious,  I'd recommend it to anyone.  The downside was watching 2 smokers.

 

The first was in the designated smoking area.  He had an ashtray on his table and yet still made the effort to get up out of his chair and walk to the footpath before flicking the butt onto the road.  The second was a woman who pulled up out front of the pub in her baby four-wheel drive.  She lit up a cigarette, got out of the car, took 3 drags and then flicked the butt on the road.  This really pisses me off, the blatant disrespect for others and this great country we live in.

 

The good thing about this pub was an old 'duck' sat at the bar who asked what we are doing.  Where we had come from and where we were going.  She said it was a great thing we were doing and said she was disappointed that the media hadn't got behind it more.  Again we were getting the message out there.

 

Anyway, an early night tonight as we continue down the coast and try to spread the word of what we are doing tomorrow.  It was a bloody tiring day.

 

With 436 kilometres covered today we had now completed 3,795 in the Long Ride.  The total raised is now $12,778.