Day  21:                                Eversleigh to Hughenden (340m)

Distance:                             103.22km

Av speed:                            8.4kmh

Total Elevation:                  385m

Calories:                             3303 per person

Weather:                             Hot (30*C)

Waking rejuvenated after the previous afternoon and evening, Jon set about helping Roger release the weaners from the cattleyards on the 4 wheeler, whilst Chris dried the dishes and cut the lunches... no guesses who got the raw end of the stick there!

We were then off to a local property to check out the Royal Flying Doctor Service who were holding a clinic for the day. It appears delays aren’t restricted to JetStar services and the plane was delayed by about 30 minutes, before we had an enjoyable time meeting more members of the local community at the associated morning tea. Knowing he was going to burn a lazy 3000 calories during the day, Chris took it upon himself to carbo load with a lazy meal of 4 cupcakes, 6 pikelets, 1 slice of coffee cake and 2 Tim Tams. Lethargic for most of the morning, the moral of the story must be that sugar isn’t a premium fuel after all.

After sadly having to say goodbye to Jenny and Roger and thanking them for an amazing 15 hours, we set off for the Cameron Down State School, a small primary school for about 10 kids. As Fiona had proudly told Chris at the Muttaburra Motel, CDSS is one of the last remaining QLD State Schools situated on a working cattle station. We parked our bikes in the racks and spent an enjoyable hour chatting to the kids about our bikes, beards and travels.... we figured they had a few years before they needed to worry about their prostates! It was another amazing experience and we only wished we could have stayed longer... however, Chris did find the time to polish off 3 slices of orange cake to add to his burgeoning belly.

Around 2pm we waved goodbye to the kids and set off for our stopover at Hughenden. The heat seemed hotter today and it was tough going on the ‘horror highway’. With the bitumen in sight and having survived over 170km of the roughest road youll come across, Chris’ rear tube finally gave up the ghost and blew out. There’s something quite disheartening about having to change an inner tube so close to the comfort of a nice piece of road!

We finally rolled into town around 6pm and have enjoyed the hospitality of Queensland’s finest men in blue. With our own ‘barracks’ for a bed and a barbie and beers awaiting our arrival, its been the perfect way to conclude an amazing couple of days. We’ve also checked in with Coach Jeff and another podcast will soon hit the airwaves.

Tomorrow were riding ‘Up the Lynd’ and wont be contactable, so once again you’ll have to wait at least 48 hours for our latest tales and exploits. Once again we’re hearing its a pretty ordinary road... but this time with the nice disclaimer that its nothing compared to ‘horror highway’!