It started to rain lightly on the way to Tarana. It looked cloudy to the north, but there was blue sky to the west, so I forewent those great bends on Diamond Swamp Road and continued west towards O\u2019Connell. It was an otherwise warm day in early January.<\/p>\n
There was a sign on the road warning of cattle. A guy under an Akubra gave me a warning wave from his ute, and I nodded. I trickled through the cattle on the road at idle in first gear. There were a lot of baby calves. I had earplugs in, but I could hear my daughter on the pillion seat cooing. She is a sucker for anything with four legs and big brown eyes, ungulates especially.<\/p>\n
One cow stood her ground until the last minute and tried to stare us down, but broke and trotted off.<\/p>\n
The rain stopped, but the road was wet. It was scenic, though, albeit narrow; and I trickled along at 3,000 rpm, picking my way around the bumps. I came around a turn and two large wedgetailed eagles rose from a wallaby corpse. They were at head height, maybe two metres to our right. I\u2019ve never been that close to a wedgetail. They are magnificent.<\/p>\n
I pulled in to the Kelso Hotel shortly after midday. There were ads for their Australia Day festivities. There was to be a thong-throwing competition, and face painting, and yabby racing,\u00a0and a mechanical bull. I made a mental note to check my social calendar.<\/p>\n
I led my daughter in to the bistro. We dumped our helmets on a vacant table, and headed for the counter. I had lunched there the previous day with Ben, so I knew the menu. \u201cSirloin steak, please\u201d, I said. \u201cMedium rare, salad and chips, pepper sauce.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMake that two\u201d, said my daughter.<\/p>\n
I paid, and saw her back to the table. \u201cDrink?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n
I went to the bar. The barmaid called me luv, and asked me what it would be, as a proper barmaid should. I glanced at the array of taps. \u201cA schooner of Carlton Draught, please, and the same of your finest pink lemonade.\u201d<\/p>\n
She busied herself, and asked where we had ridden from. \u201cSydney\u201d, I told her.<\/p>\n
\u201cNice\u201d, she said. The Carlton tap was a bit gassy, and it was taking a while for the beer to settle. She decided she would Engage with the Customer. \u201cDid you have a good Christmas?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had an excellent Christmas\u201d, I told her. \u201cIn fact, I made my first ever new year\u2019s resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReally?\u201d she said, as she finally got the Carlton Draught topped off. \u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI resolved\u201d, I told her, \u201cto give up sexual innuendo. But it\u2019s hard. It\u2019s so very, very, hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s six fifty\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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