Sipping a soothing cuppa from the China

Owen Rule checks in at the end of Day 10 of Carter's Legacy Ride on postie bikes to outback Queensland in memory of Carter Keeble and raising funds for Boort District Health

Day 10 - 15 July - BIRDSVILLE - BEDOURIE

Same coolness on the legs, crisp air, sun on the face and a landscape as flat as a pancake heading due north of Birdsville.

The people you meet surprise me sometimes to a point of being one of the biggest highlights of the trip apart from quite a few bucket list items including the Betoota Hotel, Birdsville Hotel and Big Red.

Winding Rhonda up out of Birdsville a couple of caravans were sitting on 70kmh so around we went. Caravans 0, Rhonda 2. Over the next 30-40km they'd crept up and were sitting behind for a while then overtook us. Ahh well the score is now Love All.

Half an hour later at the Carcory Reststop, I tooted to the more than half a dozen vans and travellers with quite a few waving back. Then a lady at the side of the road was waving me in, so back I went to see what's the go.

Turns out to be the two vans from earlier. Bob said to Ros who run an outback tour company for 20 years: “I bet that bloke has a story, what say we make him a cup of tea at our next stop” hence all the waving. Well Bob, 84, the kind of man with a new looking hairy cut, a fine white moustache, wearing a shirt and good shoes full of life experience and Ros, 82, had her hair all done up, large sunglasses, full makeup, the pink shirt and small vest and nice jeans.

In no time at all out came the China cups with teas and coffee all round, a platter of Sao biscuits, cheese, tomato, cheese, salt and pepper and some butternut snaps.

Well, they got their story about Carter's Legacy Ride and were fascinated that we'd come all the way from Bendigo. There was no leaving without photos and exchange of details so Bob can post me an 8x5 photo of Rhonda out on the flat plains and blue skies. Ros also thrust some cash into hand for a donation for the cause.

Post the obligatory beer at the Bedourie’s Royal Mail Hotel, setting up camp, everyone went next door in the artesian hot pool, well over 40c, then back and forth to the cold pool.

One incident to report. Tumble Tom had another flat tyre, easily fixed on the road.

Oh, nearly forgot. Late yesterday afternoon the majority went out the 39km to Big Red, reportedly the largest sand dune in Australia to watch the sunset. Having water on either side meant we had to traverse a single lane track up along the side of the dunes a couple of kilometres to get there. The views were absolutely stunning and typically a photo doesn't do it justice.

Distance travelled 186km Total 2621km