I want to ride my bicycle

Michele: Yesterday Gavin bought 4 shiny new bikes from the nearest Kmart 70 km away in Innisfail. Woot! We have been looking for three weeks to find used bikes but didn't have luck. The fellow who rents bikes to tourists recommended that we just buy cheap bikes and if they are in good shape he might buy them from us. A brilliant solution.

Gavin valiantly put the bikes together and with the help of our neighbor's compressor to pump up the tires, we are now spinning around the neighborhood. To be honest, they are still Kmart bikes so there is a fair bit of rattling going on the spinning, but ah well. They are bikes and with them we can soar.

Today, Gavin and I rode to Wongaling for lunch. It turns out that not much is open in Wongaling for lunch but we found an overpriced Greek place that had very good food. With tummies full of souvlaki and calamari we set out to ride back home on the beach. The fine sand and silt are packed so that at low tide, your can ride along the beach. Yes, I know that sand and salt water are just about the worst things to expose your bike to --- but it is fun! At low tide, you can ride all the way from Wongaling to South Mission Beach on the beach because the creek between the towns fans out along the sand. The ocean waves and views of Dunk Island were amazing companions for our ride home. The head wind and tightly pumped tires on sand were not! Note to self: it takes twice as long to get home upwind along the beach than it does to get there along the roads. Second note to self: get gel cover for cheap Kmart bike seat.

After our nice workout, we were looking forward to sharing the joy of beach biking with the kids. They were so excited that before I had the chance to finish the sentence "Stay away from the water and be careful not to turn on the loose gravel" guess what happened? Will turned on the loose gravel and went down. Falling on the beach is usually not a big deal but somehow his toenail got bent back and this has convinced Will that beach biking is the worst idea ever... for now. Robin has a different outlook and is already planning to see if she can ride all the way to Cairns on the beach.