Given my well-documented fear of solar radiation and a lunchtime conference call, I decided that the best plan of attack was to leave at 5:30AM - a little before sunrise. So the night before, I set my bike up in roadie position and laid out my power bars.
My alarm went off at 4:45AM, I hopped out of bed and looked outside... rain and darkness. One of the nice things about living in the tropics is that you can train in the rain. I had my heart set on this ride, so I got up, ate a box of cereal (easiest way to bring your cabos!) and screened up. I knew the climb was likely to be wet the whole way, but I like adverse weather (sort of).
Heading out, I was cold, wet and a bit concerned that I had underdressed. I soon warmed up, and the rain eased off. Another great thing about Cairns is that the rain seems to work just like in Singapore. It comes through in cells, which tend to blow over. It wasn't long before I was on the climb and working my way towards the clouds. As the day heated up, the clouds rose and the rain eased. Despite the mountains being shrouded in mist, I never managed to reach the clouds.
These guys are real popular with the tourists.