Heckle Me!: Day 2 - Beaudesert to Casino

Distance: 129.6Kms
Pain Factor: 8 out of 10.
Magpie attacks: 5
Cow sightings: 4857
Accommodation Highlight: The massive old school pub veranda our $30 each a night room opened up onto.

http://www.strava.com/activities/191510971

<<begin rant>>
Fuck you Magpies. There, I said it. Useless rats with wings. Do you stupid, uninteresting, black and white oxygen thieves really think I give a shit about your babies in your nest? I'm on a bike. I'm not stopping, so leave me the fuck alone.
<<end rant>>

5 Magpie attacks today. Though these must be lazy northern country magpies that had perhaps had too many XXXX's the night before, since they did not actually "get me", rather fluttered and flew around my head in a "threatening" way. Little did they know I had a weapon on my side. The sun and my shadow. I could see the stupid feather covered lumps of turd approaching just by looking at my (and their) shadow on the road. Thank you Mr Shadow.

Anyway, today was the border crossing from Queensland to New South Wales. Though it would seem us New South Welshmen are not welcoming of Queenslander's as rather than a "Welcome" sign, there were a about 3 cameras. Given that it was a very quiet country I could accept the lack of a welcome sign, but the cameras? I could only assume this is a well known point for illegal border hops?

Here is the entry point facing back into Queensland:

And here, the view of people trying to enter NSW:

My journey took me along the Mount Lindsay Highway in what was a relatively smooth sailing journey (bar Magpie attacks). The journey started in it's usual way with chit chat over the bluetooth headsets between Santo and I. As usual though, SuperSanto gradually pulled away and I was soon greeted with the crackings of a faint bluetooth reception so it was music time. It was around this time that the oddities in our Garmin's (despite being loaded with the same routes) sunk their first blow. At a little town called Rathdowney I noted the distance on the road side signs to my next "if I'm having a heart attack stop here" town, Kyogle, was a solid 30km more than anticipated. Realising I should have taken a turn further back, I discovered an option from Rathdowney to get onto this road and cut out the extra 30km's. I inquired of the route of two old ladies working in a petrol station, who after laughing at what I was about to attempt said "that way is shorter, but more hilly". I made the quick assessment that hills in old lady terms were mere mole hills for a strapping young lad like myself and I was on my way.

..I soon discovered the old ladies were right. One hill even had a warning sign indicating a 19% grade for 1.5kms. With a bike weighing nearly 20Kg's, I admit I walked that bad boy.

Today was a big day, 129.6km's crossing over the border ranges with 1231m of vertical climb. Unfortunately, Santo was already too far down the Mount Lindsay Highway and covered over 155km today. I actually found Running Creek Rd and Lyons Rd (where I crossed into NSW) quite a highlight of the trip, it was about as country as you get with meandering road, open fields, woodlands, forests and those cattle grates on the road, so good for a road bike without suspension!

Other highlights of the day include:

- a chain rapped around the spokes in the middle of woop woop that took 5 minutes and a sinking feeling of disaster to repair.
- A chinese-come-Thai-come-Chinese-come-Thai restaurant with an identity crisis which turned out to be not so bad.
- It was a Sunday so the moto's were out in force (all willing to give me a wave)
- Minor cramping (which I was shocked to learn later would be the only case of which on the entire journey).
- A cafe in Kyogle that could easily fit in to a hipster suburb in Sydney - great coffee and a brown rice, pumpkin and kale salad that rocked!

Leaving Beaudesert (and sadly Bo Jenkins) behind: