Day 462 | 30 km from Mt Isa: just next to the old road

98 km | zzOz total: 14,507 km

No breakdowns today, just trucking along into the wind, roadtrains in evidence and plenty of cars, with or without caravans, that are not covered in dust, ie, only using asphalt in their travels.

The main highway, from Townsville to Darwin, has improved since I last travelled this route, back when I was 19, there’s a long stretch of the old single lane, that’s 1/2 a lane each way with no centre line, built during WWII as part of the war effort, alongside which I remember as one of the bumpiest roads in Australia, pothole city, hundreds of ks of intense patchwork in shades of charcoal.

The new road built in 1994 is a phenomenal change from my dirt travels from Chillagoe and with my present seating condition, the exploding saddle, I’m not embarrassed, much, to admit I’m enjoying the smoother ride.

Must be getting soft.