Thorn and Giant Rohloff-equipped, in FNQ

[il padrone]

Just a bit of a catch-up on our touring exploits from last year, June-July in Far North Queensland. We spent 5 weeks exploring this tropic region, ostensibly in 'The Dry'  but we actually managed to get quite wet. We travelled north to Port Douglas and the Daintree rainforest. Then south to Atherton where we followed part of the Great Northern Cycle Trail, a mapped route through the rainforest, waterfalls and into the dry savannah of North Queensland. Here is my video playlist from the tour. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNcvKHYEYC8&list=PLEX2xbENINSu6P2rWgpF5BBL-m4251Jrm

[RonS]

Thanks for sharing that.

The drivers seem a tad more aggressive than those I encountered on my recent trip to Scotland.

[Andre Jute]

Thanks for sharing your tour, Padrone. I especially enjoyed your scuba adventure in the first part. The most amazing thing though is that you have breath left for a constant flow of even-voiced commentary, which implies breath to think with.

Don't fancy the motorists on the narrower roads much.

Yo, RonS: I don't suppose that on Scottish roads you will see any equivalent of the hub caps proudly displayed across the front of awesomely hew-huge haulers on the graded dirt back roads of Oz. Each hub cap is a car that they ran over in the dust or the dusk. It's contrary to the "code" of those truckies to pad their resume by displaying more than one hub cap from one car.

[il padrone]

Thanks for sharing that.

The drivers seem a tad more aggressive than those I encountered on my recent trip to Scotland.

Yes, sadly the drivers on the roads of Australia are probably some of the worst in the world, and the main highway cretins of Queensland are some of the worst in our nation. That road in the first stage (the Captain Cook Highway) was really our only route to get to Port Douglas and the Daintree, 35-40km of nastiness. The rest of the tour was generally a LOT better, on the quieter back-roads. Check it out, especially parts 4, 5 & 6.
We have well-developed cycle-craft strategies to deal with the madmen drivers and can maintain our safe road space even on the worst of roads, but we generally avoid riding on the 'crazy-land' routes.

[il padrone]

Thanks for sharing your tour, Padrone. I especially enjoyed your scuba adventure in the first part. The most amazing thing though is that you have breath left for a constant flow of even-voiced commentary, which implies breath to think with.

Thanks. We had our fair share of breathless periods; they generally did not make the cut for the videos 

I don't suppose that on Scottish roads you will see any equivalent of the hub caps proudly displayed across the front of awesomely hew-huge haulers on the graded dirt back roads of Oz. Each hub cap is a car that they ran over in the dust or the dusk. It's contrary to the "code" of those truckies to pad their resume by displaying more than one hub cap from one car.

Actually, out on the gravel backroads, and even on the highways in Australia, it is the heavy-hauling long-distance trucks that are the very BEST of drivers, if you know how to handle them*. They will always be the first ones to slow a little to time their safe overtaking move, always the ones to give you the greatest amount of safe space where possible. And they are more likely to be the ones who slow to a 10kmh speed to wait behind if they really cannot get past safely. They know their licence is their livelihood. The only exceptions to this general rule are dirt-carters and recycling compacter drivers - piece-rate earnings, time-is-money.

* Stay Safer; Ride Wider!