Day 9 Blue Water to Townsville

Up early as usuall slept really well which may have had something to do with the beer! Deb the librarian on her way to Cairns gave me some papaya which was delicious. Then I attempted to pack up as quickly as I could just to see how long it would take me. Guess I was ready in an hour and a half. Had a coffee and toast with Ben then set off at 7.45 already pretty warm. Going to a warm showers in Townsville so will be a short ride today. Traffic was pretty light considering it's the beginning of the schools 2 week holiday. Hoping that prices don't increase too much. Made good progress then hit the edge of town and the cars increased and came across the occasional driver with cycle issues. I mean who revs there engine at traffic lights like they want to race you? Bizarre behaviour. On the whole though they have been good. Had to go over a couple of roundabouts but just made sure I made eye contact with them to make sure they had seen me. Passed Anaconda ( an outdoor store) and popped in there to get an inflatable pillow and a replacement bottle holder. I broke one when I fell off my bike. Thought about getting a chair but going to hold off on that. I actually wheeled my bike into the foyer of the shop as I didn't want to leave it outside. Got to Rosanne and Peters the WS place via a bit of a detour. All the choices of roads threw me a bit and ended up going a long way. 43km cycled today. Then I had the joy of being attacked by a magpie! Attacked my helmet 3 times, pretty scary. So the solution is cable ties on my helmet. Rosanne made me very welcome and I spent the afternoon relaxing. In the evening watched a rugby league match between the Cowboys and Sharks. Was a great game and Peter explained the rules very well, it was a high paced exciting match. Really enjoyed watching it.