^{Date Published: 05 Nov 2010 3:56pm
Author:Steve Moore}

Leaving Yaamba behind, we headed further north towards Mackay. Before the ride we had a team meeting to see how everyone was travelling and looking for feedback about the progress so far, the meeting finished with a round of Happy Birthday for Bill Weir, Happy Birthday Bill.

We picked up breakfast at a roadhouse and kept on riding into Sugar Cane country. Andy and Steve A were enjoying the low rolling terrain and were soon at the changeover point. Sam and Conan took off and sat on a very pleasant 45 kph. Mark and Steve M took over and turned in a very respectable average of 35 kph on what must have been really flat terrain. The stages were whipping past in just under an hour and Steve A and Andy took off for ride No. 2.

Sammy & Conan put in another blistering ride and all too soon the old blokes were back on the road. The tranquil surrounds were shattered by Lauren of Caribou singing “On the road again” on the PA as they caught up to us. Lauren and John sat near us and chatted for a while. Mark then earned a Yellow Card from Lauren and a $10.00 fine payable to the charity. I’ll let him tell you why.

To our right as we rode along the ocean came into view, a very pleasing site after looking at various forms of vegetation for a few days. Temperatures are starting to increase and it was now around 27 C.

The ride continued on through the changing vegetation, definitely in the tropics now. Axe contacted the Mackay firies and they agreed to escort us in to the Fire Station. During the off stint for them Mark and Steve M called into a servo in Sarina to pay for some fuel which was missed the previous night in Monto. There was confusion between the driver and crew each thinking the other had paid. The owners contacted us through the website. Thanks for their understanding.

Steve M and Mark had the final stint into town and the group decided to ride in together. On arrival the old blokes pulled over and collected the other riders including Paul Manning one of our support crew who borrowed Conan’s bike. We met the fire truck at about the 8 k mark and slotted in behind it to be escorted all the way to their main station. On arrival we met Matt and his crew had a bit of a chat, a few photo pics, then headed off for the overnight stop at Ayr.

We had made good time during the day and arrived at our stop in time for a meal and a quiet drink, enjoying the luxurious surrounds in Ayr.

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