Only eight full days to we set off.

Bruce has set up a blog just for this ride – check out stragglingstuetal.wordpress.com

My new Shimano SPD touring sandals have arrived from Wiggle. Now the fun of finding the right position for the cleats begins! New knicks also as the current ones almost transparent and the chamois was falling out. tolerable after three years of general riding and the Great Central Road ride last year.

The panniers are on the floor for washing and packing. The cardboard bikebox from Perth needs a bit of packing tape to hold it together for the flight from Brisbane to Cairn but will be OK.

For sleeping I have borrowed by nephew Callum’s warm climate sleeping bag (good to 10 C for a man, 12 C for a woman – I never knew that men are hotter than women but women friends assure me that every woman knows this). I hope whatever creepy-crawlies joined Callum in Laos and Cambodia have moved out since his return. If it gets colder than 10 C overnight I’ll wear my camp trousers and pub shirt to bed.

One or two last laps of Mount Cootha (25 km circuit with a 250 m climb at 1:11) will finish off my training for the ride.

By Wednesday I’ll be boxing the bike, packing the panniers and giving Callum the bad news that I’ll need a 6 am lift to the airport!