Julie and I were supposed to be hiking the 5,000km Continental Divide Trail in the US in 2020, but COVID-19 derailed that plan. Instead, we will have an adventure in Australia, circumnavigating the country on our bikes, a distance of about 16,500km taking approximately five and a half months. We will use minor roads where possible and occasionally catch ferries across rivers and inlets to avoid busier inland routes. We will camp some of the time and stay in motels, hotels, etc, at others. There will be stretches of up to five days with no accommodation or resupply available, so we will need to be self-sufficient.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 019 - Sarina to Proserpine

Day:  019

Date: Monday, 20 July 2020

Start:  Sarina

Finish:  Proserpine

Daily Kilometres:  159

Total Kilometres:  2168

Weather:  Cool early, then warm and partly sunny

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Ham, cheese & tomato sandwich/Chicken & cheese sandwich

  Lunch:  Chicken, cheese & tomato sandwich/Chicken salad roll

  Dinner:  Chicken parmagiana & vegetables, ice cream

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  None really

Lowlight:  None really

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our goal for today was to get to Proserpine, 159km away, where we will have a day off tomorrow.  Knowing it was a long way, we set off soon after 6:30am intent on getting as many kilometres as possible under our belt in the morning.

The first 35km to the major regional city of Bowen was very busy with commuter traffic in addition to the usual trucks (but too early for caravans) along the flat road with cane fields either side and a beautiful sunrise lighting up the fields and mountains.  Although we didn't go right into the centre of Bowen, we passed through its suburbs and industrial areas, encountering the usual traffic lights and roundabouts, and on our way out of town, took a breakfast break at a service station.

From Bowen, the road passed through more hilly areas, with the cane fields and cattle pastures backed by green mountains.  The cane harvest was underway, with harvesters, trucks and cane trains active along the way, always giving us something to look at.  The feel was quite tropical, with lush vegetation around farmhouses and in the pockets of forest near the road.  We were working up the hills, and it became sweaty work as the day warmed up, but our fitness levels have improved, and apart from some gasps of relief at the top of the bigger hills, we maintained a good pace.

We took a couple of short breaks along the way and then stopped for lunch at a service station at 1:30pm with just 38km to go.  The elevation profile for the last leg showed gradual downhill, but it missed a couple of long ups, and there were also some sections into a steady headwind that made it a grind.  No matter how far we go each day, the last leg is usually hard work, and today was no different.  Thankfully, the last 15km was dead flat and we were aided in some places by a following breeze.

We reached our motel in the middle of the small sugar town of Proserpine at 3:45pm and checked in for two nights, happy with our day, and looking forward to a day off tomorrow.  Later, we bought microwaveable dinner from the nearby supermarket, did a load of laundry and had an early night.

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