Ahhhh, my pants are washed. I know it’s gross, but I can’t resist showing a before and after:
I warned Ellie that when I return to Perth I’ll soon after need to buy new gear. This trip is like an additional 1.5 years of riding for me. New pants (!) and new helmet… I must say, it’s pretty sad when you don’t like your own sweat smell in the helmet. When I rode to Adelaide and back a few years ago I dunked the helmet in a tub of shampoo – I don’t think that will suffice this time.
I actually started the day catching up on some blogging – Daintree had some rain come through around 8am so I sat under the kitchen area and typed away while she dumped down. On and off, it lasted around an hour. Washing was done after that – there seemed little point hanging it out with the rain coming.
After that, just wandered around a little. The caravan park had a kind of “old 60s” kinda theme… almost a museum.
Unfortunately, the designated walking tracks were quite a distance from where I stayed – not wanting to get on the bike for the day, I decided to just hoof it up the road (advice from the local info centre)… cupla Ks in the humidity had the sweat pouring out. It was good to spend some energy.
I was waiting on a few others to return from their river cruise as I’d heard a few disappointing whispers. It seemed it was the wrong time of the year – most of the crocs were hiding (not needing to come out for heat), so it was just birdlife. In the end, none of them were that enthusiastic, so I decided to save my petrol money. Ellie & I will return at the right time for this one.
I’d noticed my rear tyre was developing the typical square shape you get when you ride in a straight line for 7,000+ km. This was quite disappointing as I’d got closer to 30,000 for the rear – and this didn’t look like it would make 10,000. Clearly, the weight on the rear of the bike (extra fuel/payload) and the trailer was the culprit. I didn’t think it would be that bad as others in the club has suggested, but I live and learn. I’d made a few phone calls to source a new tyre, and Townsville seemed the goer.
My schedule had me here at Daintree for a total of 4 days. Given the limitations here, I decided to head off tomorrow and use the extra days for some additional layover further down the track (with probably 1 extra at Wooli).