That's a good one. I'll have to tell it to Captain Skull when he (hopefully) picks me up on the other side of Australia.

Here's another good joke the First Mate told me: Question: Do you know which letter of the alphabet is every pirate's favorite? Answer: Aaaaarrrr

Unbelievable what they can do in a garage these days. Don’t let HMO get wind of this.

While you were aboard Captain Skull's pirate ship, did you happen to learn why pirates don't shower before they walk the plank?

It's because they'll just wash up on shore later.

One of the quirks of traveling in imaginary Australia is that some towns can make up their own traffic laws.

Interesting their street signs are on the right side of the road when they drive on the left...

Thanks, George, for seeing the realism in my totally fictitious bike tour. That reminds me--I should probably post a reminder about that, lest millions of readers start believing I can ride thousands of miles per day.

I just discovered this journal and immediately jumped into the day-by-day tour specifics. I was so excited to learn you were not only riding around the world but setting all sorts of crazy records doing so! You can't imagine my disappointment when I finished the daily entries and then went and read the introductory stuff, only to discover that this is an imaginary trip - it had seemed so realistic to me! Oh well, I'll continue following along anyway, at least in my imagination...

Well, I've been fishing a lot since retiring in 2008 so I notice stuff like that. When the temp. is above 50 and I can stand around without going into hypothermia and it is not raining, I ride my bike 5-10 miles and fish. When it is colder, I just add layers and ride out and back without stopping for fun.

Link to my 9 March catch:

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10229641105108046&set=pcb.10229641107148097

Very astute, Mark. But you seem to have forgotten that there was a foot of ice underneath the snow, which makes THIS Nepalese black bear over seven feet tall.

Another good catch. I became complacent, because it is very rare for a fish zipper to have a hair.

The nice thing about that picture is that it give you perspective on how deep the snow is. Knowing the size of a Nepalese black bear, it has to be at least six feet deep.

I'd probably decline that one as my sustenance... Its zipper has a hair hanging out.

Championshipness and piratemateness are EXCELLENT words. Well done, Nancy.

Thanks for the reminder. Not sure, but is that the place where an American guy got "caned' a couple decades ago? He couldn't sit down for a very long time.

On a regular tour, it would have been enough for FIFTY breakfasts. But I'm sure you can imagine how hungry I was after climbing Greg-World's highest mountain, riding thousands of miles after that, and only eating a bowl of soup the night before.