Riding Down Under - Tropical Cairns Australia

[MacDoc]

Once again can't keep my eyes open with 1/2 hour left in a series.
Very Australian tho. Spectacular scenery.

Found the dog awake on the couch at 3 am for reasons known only to her.
Marc enjoying Thailand and angsting over elephants. Cute riding partner but platonic

Maybe ride this morning as up at 7 and lovely day. Doc this aft then Bowls.
Sounds reasonable.

Bowls yes ride no ....forgot about appointment for new glasses.
Then successful doc visit - they let me ride another year
TWO new specialist appointments to add to my "getting old sucks" list.
Podiatrist or some such ....have a big toe that hurts with any pressure on it - no sure what's up.
Sinusologist ( pure guess ) - have a badly impacted upper sinuses which explains the long term post nasal drip.

Off to drown my sorrows in bacon, cheese on chips melt.

 

[MacDoc]

24 hours later a birdie and a lovely evening. 22 c quiet.
Watching Charlie and Ewen. Gotta say Ewens second wife is lovely. I liked his first wife and sad when they parted ways but this second girl is very attractive. Ewen and cat that ate the canary look

 

[MacDoc]

Took longer for the lightbulb tonight. Chilly 16.6 C
Short ride today - New gloves need some breaking in but feel much more protected.
Scored a $5 bacon deluxe

No wonder I skipped supper.

 

[MacDoc]

Slept late Sunday morning ....did not want to leave warm bed.
The lengths I go to stay warm in a house with no heat.

Love the hospital socks. My 60 lb weight drop certainly shows here tho camera aided.

Marc in Thailand.

No sign of Noraly lately.
It's noon and "may" finally be warm. Quite a windy day and of course wide open deck to the wind....normally the breeze is nice but not when it's chilly.

Noraly having fun in London chasing her book and sight seeing. The Tenere 700 she borrowed looks good. Buddy here is buying one for around Australia trip. Really nice luggage set up

She is still enthusiastic and giggly at new things even after 8 Seasons.

 

[MacDoc]

Off to urology on a rainy day.. Much warmer tho.
Youtube beating on Brave so sorting that and Facetime face planting

 

[MacDoc]

18, rainy, have headache tho at least warm enough
Might be a ride today now rain is clearing

Yep - found a only worn twice Katmandu down puffy pullover for $50 and snagged it. Is a size too small so a bit of wriggling to put on but that's okay for its use as keeping warm in bed when in teens. Down is nice.
At least with half zipper pull over the zipper won't seize up and it weighs nothing. I just had to soak my Nike jacket zipper in vinegar for a few hours to get the zipper to release. Perils of tropics

Seller did not like the colour...I'm "okay" with it but the black sleeves a bit odd. Does not bunch up lying in bed = good thing
Packs down very small with built in pouch.

19 and rain gone at 2 am

 

[MacDoc]

Itchy Boots having some adventures in the UK. Riding buddy here wants to buy a new 700 Tenere to loop Australia and vLog it.

Nice riding day but too little sleep .....see how I do later

 

[MacDoc]

Woke up about noon and found a great deal on a new Nolan 80-8 helmet for $50 - so I got a ride. $300 average helmet but fits comfortably and will damp the wind noise ...nice to have new unmarked visors .....my C30 is just getting old.


Found out the CB500F will do a real 400km before running out of fuel. Given what happened when my instrument cluster was out and I actually ran out of fuel and coasted into the station ...I still had at least a liter in reserve but was still nervous today as it went waaaaaay into the reserve.

Stupid smoke detectors went off at 4 am for no reason.
I was awake but partner was not.
Gotta be some sort of atmospheric condition that is triggering them ....we could not even figure which one went off. Third time now

Watched Lavi and Ollie in the Maldives. FWIW..used to be on our bucket list.

Marc running around with his cute friend.

 

[MacDoc]

Next day

 

[MacDoc]

Good sleep Winter Solstice for Down under

• Date: June 21, 2025.
  
  
• Time: 12:42 pm.
  
  
• Significance: The winter solstice is the day with the fewest daylight hours in the Southern Hemisphere.
  
  
• Daylight Hours: In Cairns, the day will be approximately 11 hours and 7 minutes long.
  
  
• Seasonal Lag: Due to seasonal lag, the coldest weather in Cairns typically occurs a few weeks after the solstice.

Winter solstice: Australia celebrates shortest day of the year with icy swims and lantern festivals

Antarctic researchers got in first with a dip in a sub-zero pool, but there are other feats of endurance, and creativity, to mark the shortest day of the year

www.theguardian.com

Happy Summer Solstice
One of the few times of year I miss Canada. Long days of riding. Reasonable temps.

 

[MacDoc]

Spent day with the dog bingeing whatever and trying to stay warm on damp windy but not too cold day.
Something is making my sciatica hurt all day even with 30gm of codeine on board. Had Panadol in all day so upped the pain med....still hurting.
Tomorrow looks okay for a ride....partner said I could take a Celebrex so might do that if hip still sore.
Not sure why it started to flare again after a long quiet period.

the codeine worked and want to stay off the hip for extended periods.
Alexa says it is not raining and won't rain.....um

It IS raining ...can hear it on the roof and there is lots around.
Might discourage a ride later....but going back to bed now at 6 am and will read and snooze. Keep my hip happy - took a regular panadol.

 

[MacDoc]

Guess I better decide on Audiobook version or Ebook.

Nice day - looks okay for "mid-winter" ride.

 

[MacDoc]

or not

Found out codeine works well on my sciatica which does not move me forward on riding as won't ride with codeine.
I will try 100 mg Celebrex later today if I'm inclined to ride.

Disappointed with the Airpod Pros and the Samsung 4k 55"...no way can get enough volume out of them. Common problem apparently tho they are okay for loudness with phone or from computer. I suspect the Samsung is at fault.
When I look at "about these Airpods" I get a repair notice so I want to track that down while they are still warrantied.
Had some hope for them with the new helmet too - that alone should motivate me to get out for a ride.
Going to try them with some rock tonight from the laptop.
That's not happening either...
Really hope they work in hearing aid mode with the phone...the main reason I snagged them. They are fiddly things.
Trying to marry up 10 year old MacOS with current AirPods with like weeks old AirPodOS software on the laptop might just not fly and can't really blame Apple. The Momentum 4 headphone software is current and works fine with the old MacOS.
The Momentums are mostly flawless both sound and tech with all my devices tho the 4k TV forgets the pairing all the time ....not a major issue.
They really are a treat.....saw a set offered used for $500 on FB ....way more than the $385 paid.
They list $535 on Amazon now. Most are selling at $399 Aus. Did not know there was a Pride Edition - might have bought those - easier to find in the dark and Apple is good about support Pride