Matt's Enormous TransAmerica Bike Ride

At the Pacific. . Note the lack of sun

2009-09-06T18:27:00.001-07:00

We did tell him its not a good look. .

2009-09-06T18:25:00.001-07:00

Teddy celebrated too. .

2009-09-06T18:21:00.001-07:00

Callum needed assistance after cycling in his speedo trunks

2009-09-06T18:20:00.001-07:00

The Lads being lads in Florence

2009-09-06T18:18:00.001-07:00

We made it! Atlantic to the Pacific, the lads felt the need to get naked

I'm pointing at the sign, i'm not in pain. .

2009-09-06T18:15:00.003-07:00

Totally finished this time!

2009-09-06T18:15:00.001-07:00

In astoria, no more biking

Finished for real this time!

2009-09-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

Finally in astoria. . Ye-ha. .

FINISHED...sort of

2009-09-04T22:57:00.000-07:00

It's friday night, sat in a hotel room and we've all dipped our toes in the Pacific as we've made it to the west coast!!!! It was somewhat of an anti-climax to be honest as it took us ages to find the beach and when we got there the sea was bloody miles away....
So we left Eugene and most of us took the shorter but less scenic route. Mike and Lad Chris decided to do the long route for some reason, the rest of us just wanted an easy life. It was a crappy road for the first 10 miles or so but it was ok eventually. There were more of the big road works the Americans do so well - 19 miles of disruption but it's impressive to see them digging it all up and relaying it all in one go. And we did get to cycle through some tunnel with a 7% gradient without any traffic, so that was good.
Lunch was at some hippy hangout which would have been better if the 2 stoners running the place could have managed to remember all the orders and what was supposed to go in the sandwhiches. The Lads had previously decided that when they were going to hit the coast it would be in their Speedo trunks, so Callum and Mike duly got changed and sat on their bikes in their trunks. Not so bad for Callum who has trunks that fit. Mike has trunks that might fit a pre-pubescent 13 year-old. But we've seen them enough not to be too peturbed, but the general public haven't. With the addition of some reasonably tasteless graffiti on their backs courtesy of Lad Chris, we set off for the ride to the sea.
I think this ride was longer than Callum and Mike anticipated. As we got closer the temperature dropped and the boys no longer had padded shorts on. And saddle sores were already in existance. Nice. After 4000 miles you don't want to suddenly revert to unpadded pants. Callum got to the point of lubricating himself on the move with spit. Not the recommended option. I think Mike just suffered.
So we made it to Florence, hit Safeways for food and Champagne, then I decided to have a bit of a breakdown. It was a bit sad as I've had a great time but it's only happened because Ruby died so there were plenty of mixed emotions. From there we did the last 5 miles to the beach, then discovered the sea was miles away and we couldn't get the bikes to the sea for the traditional tyre dipping ceremony. So we trudged over the dunes with food and drink and finally made it.Mike and Callum charged into the sea and nearly died from shock at the temperature of the water. It was too cold to stand in, let alone swim in. Lad Chris eventually made it in too but the rest of us just watched, freezing. The Lads being lads, nudity ensued for a while, champagne was drunk, photos taken...it was good. We all have more miles to do though, so the celebrations were a bit less than if we had completely finished I think.
Next stop was a nearby campsite where we pitched our tents in a spot where we shouldn't have, then we were busted a couple of hours later, so we had to move elsewhere...tedious and pointless.
So today was the day when we had to split up, the Lads off south to San Francisco, the rest of us north towards Astoria. We all decided to go up the coast a few miles to see the worlds largest sea-cave which contains lots of sea lions, apart from it's not actually the largest sea-cave and the sea lions only go in their in winter and during bad weather, and the cave wasn't that exciting. But it was $11 dollars well spent...for the owners. Callum did give the woman on the desk a thorough questioning which she remained very good natured about, just. Very professional.
Then it was time for the goodbyes. I thought it was sad saying bye to them, they have been a great laugh to have around, shame it has to end. Most of the humour does involve Callum one way or another, I think the girls were particularly sorry to see him go. Hopefully they'll have enough cash and stay friends long enough to have a good time before their flights home in a couple of weeks.
We made it as far as Newport where we found a brewery that did dinner so we sat their for a couple of hours before sacking the idea of camping and deciding to get a hotel room. We're all in the one room, with our bikes, 2 double beds, Aaron is on the floor, I'm with Shaz. We've done our laundry and it's time for bed. It's supposed to rain for the next 2 days, which is a bit of a shame as the weather has basically been fantastic for us, so can't really complain. The next entry should be after we've definately finished all of it, right to the end. If I can get my wi-fi going I'll put the end of the ride pics on.
Night night.

Thursday 3rd September

2009-09-03T08:14:00.001-07:00

Morning...quick update before we set off. In Eugene, had a day off yesterday so we could recover from the night out we had the night before. It was our official farewell to each other as the TransAm boys will be heading off tomorrow to San Francisco and the rest of us will be going north to Astoria and Eugene is a real town with restaurants and bars.
We came over the Cascades on Tuesday and the scenery changed dramatically - we went from high desert type area of Hells Canyon, to more trees but still dry to the rainforest of the western side of the Cascades. The trees are huge - might be redwoods, I think they are the really big ones, and its all covered in moss. The best bit was the miles of downhill we had. I think it was 16 miles up the hill from the town of Sisters where we'd stayed then 70 miles downhill, with about 10 of those steep, winding with switchbacks through the forest. Nearly died but it was great.
The place we stayed in Sisters was fab. Some woman in a VW camper van pulled Man Chris over on the road and asked where he was staying, thinking he was on his own. Explaining there were 8 of us, she said we culd go to her place and camp - turns out she and her husband have been putting up cyclists for 24 years. The place was great - a ranch just out of town. We pitched the tents on the L-lawn (the lawns had different names) next to the lake, which we were able to swim in. They gave us a lift to town to buy food so we had a BBQ, sat around chatting and playing with the 6 week old labrador puppy. Very civilised. The couple were great - Pattie and Jim. Old hippies it seemed, late 50s but in good shape, to the point where some of the young lads fancied Pattie. Or perhaps it was her boob job they liked.
So today is the official LAST DAY...Florence and the Pacific is the target, its only about 50-60 miles off. The plan is to get some champagne and camp on the beach - we'll see. We're probably not allowed to camp on the beach and who knows if there is anywhere to get champers. I'm sure we'll manage to celebrate in some way, before the tears!! Well, I know a couple of people will be glad it's officially over but there are some of us who don't want to finish. It's still 3 days cycling to get to Astoria but as far as I'm concerned once I hit the sea the rest is optional. The TransAm boys have another 600 miles to go to San Fran so they have a way to go.
Right...I need to get to the bakery for breakfast, laters....

Monday, somewhere near the end...

2009-08-31T12:40:00.000-07:00

Well, Prineville, Oregon to be exact. It doesn't strike me as very exciting.
Haven't had the opportunity to update this for nearly a week. Idaho has a lot of nothing in it, so no libraries, so no computers and the same is true for this side of Oregan so far. I'm surprised I've managed to find an open library on a Monday to be honest as it's usually a day off here.
So since last week, what's happened...the group is still together, just. I think Chris and Chris might be making an effort to escape but they'll be lucky. Having said that we'll be at the coast in a couple of days or so and that's where the lads will part company and head south to San Francisco so we'll all be going our separate ways very soon.
We made it through Hell's Canyon, just. It was well named. The road leading up to it was seeming guarded by lots of really ugly crickets, seemingly called Mormon Crickets (see picture). They are about 2" long and 1" high, jump about 6" and stride around the road eating the corpes of their mates that have been crushed under wheels. Lovely. As we decended into the canyon at breakneck spped, we were expecting a cooling breeze but instead it was like cycling through an oven. It was well hot. Over 100 degrees we discovered later. It was good though, quite enjoyed it. There were loads of big carp (possibly) in the river below the dam, surfacing and slowly swimming around...it was too hot to do anything particularly quickly. We eventually got out of the canyon and found a store with a porch where we crashed out for a couple of hours, till it cooled down a bit. For some reason I then decided to leg it 10 miles up the hill as I was full of energy and a sprint seemed like a good idea, at the time. I was battered the following morning though. So we made it to Halfway, had beer and dinner then went to a bike hostel where we stayed the night. It was run by a woman who said she had cycled 'a bit' but her son revealed she had competed in 3 Olympic games for the USA and come 3rd in the womens Tour de France. Inge Thompson. What was nearly as cool as that was that they had a semi-resident tree frog living in their bathroom. I was impressed. And they had dogs, a couple of which I actually liked - one was an Australian Dingo cross, which was pretty good. And horses, which were huge.
From there we went to Baker City, which was only 50 odd miles under an overcast sky but it was a nightmare. Possibly the hardest day so far. Drank all my water, couldn't get up the hills, was knackered. We all struggled, Shaz had to get a lift into town, but we ended up at an RV park with a pool and a hot tub so the hideous day was soon forgotten and we went out for Mexican food in the evening. Which was nice...
Where did we go then...? Mmm...still have no memory. We are back on long days, about 80-90 miles and we stayed in another bike hostel on Sat night, Maike and Chris cooked Thai chicken curry which was (a) cheap and (b) good so was a winner, especially as they also bought chocolate cake. The night ended up with a video, The Thomas Crown Affair, which is crap.
Yesterday saw us over another hill, which bored me to death. It's funny how some hills are ok and some are just tedious. I was so bored with yesterdays, it got right on my nerves. The scenery was ok, we went through a good canyon, called John Day. This made me laugh as I had a lodger with that name, who vanished, so he became known as Dead John. He's not dead though, he was just avoiding paying me money he owed. The downhill was good after the annoying uphill so that made up for it. We went passed a tree that must have had 50 pairs of shoes hanging from it. Not sure what this is about - we passed a similar one a couple of days before. It's not exactly recycling.
We ended up in Mitchell, at a very entertaining cafe. The woman running it knew exactly how to handle us - took the piss out of our accents, made us do as we were told and had a laugh. She was great. I told her she should go to see the old witch in Jeffrey City that mum had the run-in with, to teach her a few things. I was being quite tame by using the term 'witch' but they thought it was a bit much I think, although they did laugh. We were in town early, by 3.30, which is almost unheard of as we did 80 + miles I think, but it did mean we could chill out for once and not just arrive in town, put the tents up and go to bed.
Another early start today, up at six, 95 miles to do and we should be in Sisters tonight, again at a city park, so no showers again, unless we use the sprinklers. We haven't been told off for that yet but give it time...
Tomorrow will see us to Eugene and then it's only 70 miles to the sea!!!! This isn't a good thing, although it does mean Alex is nearly here. As Mick Cant said in his message after the last blog, it's supposed to have been arduous, a trial, etc etc and it's actually been a pretty good laugh most of the way. That's not to say it hasn't been bloody hard work but I have / am really enjoying it, and would quite happilycarry on for another few weeks / months. My knees and right thigh may have a different opinion but the painkillers I have are very good.
Although the coast isn't far off I think it will be next Saturday before whoever is left of us gets to Astoria. We cycle up the coast for a couple of hundred miles, it's not just a sudden stop when we get to the sea, so it's not quite in the bag just yet. But almost.

I'm not saying Americans can be fat, but they have weight limits on their toilets

2009-08-31T12:27:00.001-07:00

They must have had big horses to pull those pioneer wagons

2009-08-31T12:24:00.001-07:00

Recovering after Hells Canyon. .

2009-08-31T12:23:00.001-07:00

Ahh. . The last state! Scary

2009-08-31T12:22:00.001-07:00

A green lake at Hells Canyon. . Didnt swim in that one

2009-08-31T12:21:00.001-07:00

A very ugly Mormon Cricket

2009-08-31T12:19:00.001-07:00

Urban shower

2009-08-31T12:18:00.001-07:00

Me having a shower in a sprinkler in a city park. . It was that or pay 7 dollars for one at the has station

The lads, on the way to Hells Canyon

2009-08-31T12:16:00.001-07:00

Wednesday 26th August - Riggins, Idaho

2009-08-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

We are on our second-breakfast stop....
I'm getting behind again on the blog. I think Idaho is the least populous state so there aren't many towns to go through and libraries are thin on the ground, plus being on a school trip now means more time messing about. The TransAm boys might be pulling away from the rest of us today so the school trip aspect might be over.
So we left Missoula on Monday, eventually. I think it was a 1130 start which is bad even by our standards. We hit some cafe for lunch and some of us ate food we had with us rather than spend more cash. Perhaps me or Lady Chris (as she is now known) should have stopped Mike eating his turkey slices that he had in his pannier for 3 days, but we didn't. We've all been eating food that perhaps we shouldn't so it didn't immediately ring any alarm bells....
Several hours later we stopped for dinner at a very nice lodge where the was live piano music and even a harp being played and we ate lots..and lots. Mike agreed to carry Lady Chris' trailer instead of paying her the $70 he owed her, as well as all his own gear, which is something of a challenge but he is 21 and can do anything. We all headed off to the Hot Springs where we were going to camp. Me, Shaz, Aaron and Callum got to the turn for the springs and waited and after 10 minutes or so decided to go to the springs as it would be getting dark soon, presuming someone had had a puncture or something. The mile walk up to the springs was well worth it as they were heaven...once we had disturbed the lurve-making naked American couple who were in the next pool up. The temperature was perfect, just sat in a river, surrounded by forest. Bliss. We eventually decided something was wrong as the others hadn't appeared and headed back to find Lad Chris (as he is known) looking for us - Mike was pukeing and shitting for England it seemed. We got back to camp to find half the place was out of bounds due to the contents of Mikes guts being evenly spread about and him lying on the floor in his sleeping bag. Lad Chris had been an outstanding friend and washed Mikes shitty shorts in the river as Mike had been unable to co-ordinate the delivery of partly digested food out of both ends of his body at the same time. So once Mike was holed up in his tent we set about trying to hang our food out of reach of the bears which turned into a 3 act play as we were surrounded by the wrong kind of trees. It's very difficult when you're surrounded by conifers it appears. Broadleaved trees are best.
Having not been maimed by bears or mountain lions in our sleep as Callum thought we might be, some of us had a return trip to the springs then headed off again into Idaho, which was beautiful at this point. Tree lined valley, clean rocky river, sun, downhill all the way...I felt like I was in an extend 'Famous Five' story by Enid Blyton.
We found a sportmans lodge to stay in that night in some town I can't remember the name of. I actually had a bed again - yes!! So good. We bought a load of food and cooked a big meal, had a couple of beers, it was great. And there was even wifi...what more could you want? Another late start followed yesterday morning and we hit the road aiming to do 70+ miles, not all downhill sadly - a big hill in the way. Idaho suddenly became very dry and arable, with fields of wheat (?) waiting to be cut and lots of brown / golden fields. Even Kansas was greener than here.
There was a ridiculously suicidal hill to get down with far too many hairpin bends or an alternate route via the main highway. Callum had gone ahead so missed the turn off down the hairpin hill and we lost him for 2 hours...we were camped out on the side of the highway, Mike cycling back up the hill looking for him, us flagging down drivers asking if they'd seen him etc. We were outside some house and the guy came out to see what was up. Lost no time in telling us he was a conservative and brought his dogs up that way too (dobermans) but he was quite funny and he gave us cold drinks which was good as it was banging hot. Eventually he look Lad Chris up in his truck to look for Callum but to no avail. Finally we flagged another car down that reported a cyclist having dinner in the nearby town who was now on his way to us...
We didn't have too much food at this point so 3 of us went back to the gas station for supplies. Thought it was a good time for a restroom stop, until I got in there that is. The toilet and urinal were separated by a wall of glass bricks , no door other than to the corridor and the toilet seat on the floor in need of a good clean. I decided I could wait. So at this mornings cafe stop, the toilet did at least have a solid partition, but again no door. You couldn't come on this trip and have a problem about going to the toilet in semi-public. They aren't big on privacy.
So it should be 80 miles today to Council and tomorrow is Hell's Canyon...exciting. We may well melt going through there...

Did someone die or move?

2009-08-25T09:40:00.001-07:00

Relaxing in the hot springs

2009-08-25T09:38:00.001-07:00

Hot springs in a river near where we camped. . This was at 8am prior to the days cycling. . A local couple were desperate for us to go so they could have a little loving we think. .

Idaho

2009-08-25T09:34:00.001-07:00

With chris and chris. . 2nd to last state. . Nooo!

Glacier national park

2009-08-25T09:31:00.001-07:00

Black bear

2009-08-25T09:30:00.001-07:00

A little sacred black bear. .

Tuesday....calm before the hill

2009-08-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

Just sneaking onto to Chris's laptop while breakfast is consumed...
It's been impossible to get on a computer since Friday - day off Saturday, libraries shut sun and mon. Well past Missoula now, about to go up a big hill onto Riggins, Idaho, subject to the weather not melting us. 'Us' is still the full posse - Chris and Chris, Aaron and Shaz, and the TransAm boys, Chris, Mike and Callum. So it's now a bit like a school trip but we have to work hard. It is a good laugh though...very entertaining.
We got to Missoula, hung around at the Adventure Cycling offices (the organisation that publishes the maps we follow) and went off and found a beach by the rver to cool off as it was up to 100 degrees (I have no idea where the degree symbol is on this computer). I love the fact you can go swim in the rivers here (well, perhaps not in Kentucky) and you don't die of some nasty disease afterwards. There was a highway over the river which the young locals were throwing themselves off, doing increasingly daft jumps...it peaked with one lad stood on the roof of a quickly moving jeep throwing himself off as it went over the centre of the bridge. It may have been stupid but it did look impressive. As we were leaving we overheard a couple of voluptuous young ladies realising they had to attend the same probation office - they were like re-uniting best friends...ahhh.
Aaron and Shaz were staying elsewhere so the rest of us hired a car and headed up to Glacier National Park for the day off. It was stunning, a beautiful place. The glaciers were a bit thin on the ground, as you may expect in this day and age, but the scenery was amazing. Huge mountains, big valleys, lakes etc...well cool. On the way we saw a black bear, so I guess I can come home now...damn. It was a bit scared of us and was up a tree in no time, so the climbing a tree option of what to do when a bear attacks is off the list. We also saw big horn sheep, wild goats, marmot....
Got back from Glacier late, had to pay extra for the car, and hadn't eaten and just got to all the restaurants as they had closed. The drive-throughs wouldn't serve us as we didn't have a car and wouldn't count the bikes...tossers.
Need to get organised....

Thursday...hot, hot, hot

2009-08-20T12:59:00.001-07:00

Finally, it's getting hot again. It's supposed to be in the 90s today, which after this morning where we literally had to scrape ice off our bags, will be good. That's a 60 degree temperature change from dawn to the afternoon. Needless to say I haven't got the clothes for all those temperatures, so was rather cold when I got up.
Currently in Darby, should arrive in Missoula tomorrow, which is the end of map 4, then only 3 to go!! Scary....
So, on Tuesday we actually did something normal - we went to the pictures, to see Public Enemy (I think - memory has gone again). It was good and a novelty doing something normal. Then ransacked Safeways and got food. I'm now doing cereal in a morning instead of the normal fry up so I (a) save money as I've no idea what all this is costing me and (b) make life slightly healthier. So I bought some granola, which according to the pack has 11 servings in, which I finished this morning, so it lasted for 2 breakfasts. I think their portion size and mine differ somewhat.
We left Dillon at the late time of 10 and I intended doing about 80 miles with the rest (Chris and Chris, Aaron and Shaz) stopping at Wisdom, about 62 miles. There were 2 decent climbs but the whole way was a head wind, again. It was knackering. By the time I got into Wisdom I was battered so pitched the tent and had a kip for over an hour. I headed into town for dinner and found the TransAm gang had arrived so ate with them, and about 9 the rest of the gang showed up. We had a right posse together - 9 of us all camped out. It's good. We're sticking together today it seems and might all end up having Saturday off and going up to Glacier National Park, in a hire car.
This mornings ride was glorious, once the temperature rose above bloody freezing. We went through pine forest, next to a river, sun shining...you could smell the forest. We had a decent climb then a 2800ft decent over 7 miles, with virtually no traffic, which was fantastic. One of the TransAm guys got up to 48 mph, madman -I think I hit 38mph, quite enough.
I think both me and mum and dad were in Jackson yesterday at the same time but I was Jackson, Montana and mum and dad were Jackson, Wyoming. They should really have had more imagination when naming these places. Hope the flights were ok if you're reading parents. Did you go the national fish hatchery at Ennis? Apparetnly the population of that town was 280 people and 11000000 fish, according to the town sign.
Time to go...

The Fit Family

2009-08-19T06:59:00.009-07:00

Mike, Dorrie and Gregory on their bicycle made for three. Someone in Chorlton needs one of those

Big buffalo

2009-08-19T06:59:00.007-07:00

Another chilled out buffalo doing its thing. No road sense.

Thats why they call it yellowstone presumably

2009-08-19T06:59:00.005-07:00

The grand canyon of yellowstone, with yellow stone

Thermal springs

2009-08-19T06:59:00.003-07:00

This was when thermal springs were still interesting. . Seen too many now

Interesting wyoming

2009-08-19T06:59:00.001-07:00

The rock formations are marvellous in wyoming

Tuesday, Ruby Valley, Montana

2009-08-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm cycling along Ruby Valley today...very nice it is too.
So, parted company with mum and dad yesterday after another fruitless session of bear-hunting in Yellowstone. Did see wolf though. But not the same as a bear. Chris has seen 6 now, it's not on. I'm not leaving the US until I've seen a live, wild bear!!
We made it to Mammoth in Yellowstone where the thermal uprisings have created lots of terraces and pools. It did involve a bit of an uphill walk though and dad gave up early and as it wasn't initially very impressive when you reached the top, mum went back down. The agreed plan was that they would drive up and meet me on the Upper Terrace Loop. I took my photos for 5 minutes and waited....and waited...waited a bit more, went and stood by the main road...and waited....about 3/4 hour later, they arrived having sat in another car park lower down, gone back to the bottom etc etc. I think tempers had been frayed.
When we got back to civilisation, we did eat a great meal of real food at a bistro...lovely. I thought that might have been it for the good food for a while but last nights was surprisingly good too.
So , we all said our goodbyes on Monday morning, me heading off into Montana, mum and dad, who knows where. It was a very good idea for them to come out in the middle of the trip, really enjoyed it, had a good rest for a few days. So off I went....then about an hour later, mum and dad came past, en route for Quake Lake, where an earthquake wiped out half a village and created a new lake, exactly 50 years ago yesterday. I was heading that way too. So we had a drink in a cafe together, said goodbye again. Then met up again about 20 minutes later. Goodbyes again. Then met up again at the Quake Lake visitor centre. They were leaving as I arrived, so more goodbyes. As I came out, 20 minutes later, they were still there - mum had some poor guy in an armlock, not letting him go until he had give her his life story. Anyhow, that was the last goodbye of the day. They are off to Jackson where they fly from tomorrow.
Along the route a posse formed of Chris and Chris and Aaron and Shaz, so we were all camped in Ennis last night and ate together at a very nice restaurant - real food again!! The RV park where we camped charged us $15 per tent to camp, which isn't too bad but isnt cheap. The RVs only pay $28 though, which take up literally 10 - 15 times as much space, hook up to the electricity, water and use up loads more resources than we do. Gits. We are definately being ripped off. Particularly as, although the facilities were there, I don't think any of us bothered with a shower. How our standards are dropping. Must remember to get back into the swing of being clean again when I get back home....
Back home...that's almost round the corner. Aargh! Culture shock ahead!!! It feels like I'm virtually finished, even though there is about 1200-1300 miles to go. In my head the Pacific is just round the next corner. I should finish early as well I think, although that doesn't account for random days off that may occur - such as going to Glacier National Park on Saturday that might happen. It's supposed to be some of the best scenery in the US, although everywhere claims that.
Roadkill is back on the agenda it seems. There wasn't any in Yellowstone - either they clear it up there or drivers are very careful and miss all the wildlife. Not so out of Yellowstone. There was a very big red smear down the road yesterday, though no animal. It must have been a big deer or bear. And there have been 3 deer today. The trucks do hoof it down the roads though, I'm not surprised the deer get squished.
I caused a bit of a diplomatic incident this morning - oops. I know, me, as if!? I was asking Aaron and Shaz how they were getting to Seattle at the end of the trip and when it became apparent that the plan of being picked up wasn't actually set in stone I joke that perhaps Shaz might like to cycle the extra 100 miles. Mmmm. Shaz is ready for the ride to end today, let alone in 18 days or whatever, so the thought she might not get a lift and my little joke about extra cycling went down like a lead balloon. I might have got away with it in an evening setting but before breakfast and before a big ride up a long hill, she wasn't happy. I made a tactical retreat and left them to their developing row. Which seemed to have lasted all morning as it seems Shaz couldn't find Aaron at the first town of the day...which was because he hadn't stopped there. And so it goes on.....Perhaps I'll cancel that interview with the Diplomatic Sevice.
We met lots of east-bounders yesterday, about 10. They had better cycle fast or they'll be snowbound before the end. One was a family of three, riding 1 bike. I don't know what they call that. The 8 year old had a small seat at the back and he had to pedal. They were sound. From California, she was a teacher, home-schooling the boy, they sold up and set off. Summer across the US, followed by winter in either Australia or New Zealand, then who knows where. Not sure I know many 8 year olds who would choose to spend 24/7 with their parents though, especially for months on end. What about his mates? There was talk about meeting his best friend in Yellowstone but it would mean hanging on for a week so it was in doubt. Poor kid. He seemed happy enough though, perhaps its just me.
I tried putting more pics up but now my phone refuses to work with WiFi so it didn't happen, so it looks like it's just going to be dry text from now on. Joy. I'll subject you to the pictures when I get back then!! So the several hundred pounds worth of phone is only useful for telling the time at the moment, as it won't play music over the speakers either. Or make calls. Oh, it does take pictures though, for now.
Right, I'm off. 50 miles to Dillon I think.

Saturday, part 2

2009-08-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

I've had to come across town to another internet place as my time ran out at the library...even though there was a computer free, I'm not allowed to use it. Little empires.....
There is a local paper here, as in most small towns it seems and they all publish what the local police have been up to. Here are a few selections from this weeks 'West Yellowstone News'.
1. A citizen reported rental car stolen from a local hotel - officer found it had simply been misplaced.
2. An intoxicated individual was passed out in the lobby of a local hotel - Officer assisted individual in locating hotel in which he was allowed to pass out.
3. A black poodle was reported lost. It was decided that the poodle was not lost, only that he didn't care where he was.
4. A report of several individuals skinny dipping at a local hotel resulted in individuals making themselves rapidly un-locateable.
There are many sensible reports but it seems someone in the police department has a sense of humour. It kept us amused over breakfast.
Yellowstone is amazing. Wyoming improved the further west I got, the the Grand Teton mountains appeared which take your breath away, then you hit Yellowstone which is superb, though somewhat lacking in wildlife so far. Have seen 1 buffalo, but that was holding up traffic as it slowly strode down the centre line without a care in the world. I think we're off on a serious buffalo hunt today.
I finally bumped into the TransAm2009 boys, 3 lads from Loughborough Uni who I'd seen signed in at the Cookie Lady's place at the start of the trip (they were a week in front of me too - I don't mess about!!). They seem a good laugh and they should catch up again as I'm having this time off. Also caught up with Chris and Chris again in Dubois (pronounced DuBoys, they obviously don't do french here). They were also cursing the wind in Wyoming as it had taken them 8 hours to cycle the 70 miles (they had their bags).
Had enough for now...need to find mum and dad and go search for Buffalo. I should be back on normal service as from Monday as the days off will be over and I'll be back to cycling with all my gear, so I'll be doing a sensible number of miles per day and having frequent rest stops. It better warm up by then, it's freezing today.

Saturday, sometime in August

2009-08-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

At least I know it's Saturday...
Haven't had chance to get on a computer this week because I've either been cycling endlessly or we were out and about yesterday. We're now in West Yellowstone, Montana, on day 2 of my 3 days off, and boy did I need it. I cycled just short of 500 miles in 4 days and my knees were complaining. Mum and dad did carry my bags for the majority of those days but I was still battered at the end of it.
So from Walden I went to Rawlings, Rawlings to Lander, Lander to Togwotee Pass and Togwotee Pass to here. There was a bit of self inflicted pressure to get into Yellowstone before the weekend as we discovered that (a) it's a free weekend in the national parks so they'll be packed and (b) Obama is in town today so there's added chaos. Talk about timing.
It's been fun and games with mum and dad of course. Between Rawlings and Lander are miles of nothing and the only town (well, an ex-uranium mining town with a population of 50) is Jeffrey City, which has 1 cafe. Mum and dad got there before me and warned me the woman running the place was a bit hard work. I managed to get in, sit down, order (eventually) and get my food before she had said a word to me. I decided to have an extra sandwhich once my food had arrived as the next stop wasn't for 50 miles to which the reply was 'hmph' and she stropped off. Anyway, mum went to the restroom and a few minutes later I heard the cry of 'help, I'm locked in', so I went to investigate. The handle was spinning round and mum said the light had broken too. Rather than barge the door open I found miserable woman and informed her of the situation which illicited little response. She did go into the gents to do something then wandered off again muttering. I asked her to repeat herself but she didn't. Dad was well pissed off by this point so barged the door at which point Misery turned up...he explained the door was now open, to which she said she'd heard that. He he he. Mum decided to have a couple of words with her when she went to pay. It started off something like 'I was a bit unhappy about the way you handled me being locked in....' and degenerated in mum walking out going 'She is such a miserable cow....' to anyone who was listening, which was about 8 people. It materialised that she has a reputation far and wide for being particularly hard work and another cyclist had walked out that morning before we got there before she'd even ordered.
I've decided that there must be a loyalty card type thing in operation for 'senoir' people (pensioners). They must get points on a special reward card when they pick up their pension when they pull old-people stunts on their children. I set off from Lander at a typical 845am and within 5 minutes dad had pulled up infront of me, flagged me down. 'Do you need these?' he said, clutching a pair of sunglasses...'Er, no' says I, as I had mine on. 'Oh shit', says dad, 'These are mine....' Mmm...that must be an extra 20 points on the reward card.
So, Wyoming did get more interesing. The scenery was good, hills and mountains but the effing wind was tedious. It took me about 6 hours to do 70 miles, with no bags. I had to cycle hard downhill, which wasn't a satisfactory state of affairs. There was a clue in the names of things though...Wind River, Wind Ridge, Wind River Indian reservation...ok, ok, I get the picture!
Got to go...only get 20 minutes a session at this library.

Monday 10th Aug

2009-08-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Wyoming...no great change from northern Colorado but I'm waiting with bated breath.
Took the scenic route from Boulder (what a cool town) via some great canyon. Stopped at some bar with a bit of a festival on, whatched the stoners dancing too fast to some quite chilled music and some annoying hippies hula hooping at the front of the stage. Mum did her ususal interrogation of an unsuspecting American. The poor woman had no escape as she was stood in the river with mum blocking her exit. She could have tried crossing to the other side but she'd have been swept away in the raging torrent. I could see she did consider it though. Dad and me had to rescue her by carrying mum away, still talking....
A bit further on I spotted a moose in a pond about 50 yards from the road. Eventually, after much driving backwards and forwards we were all at the side of the road, watching this distant moose, taking lots of pictures that will show a black spot in the middle of the picture! We got bored of that and turned to head back to the car to discover we were being watched by a young moose about 10ft behind us in the trees. When we saw it, it shot back into the woods only to emerge another 10 metres up the road and wandered across in front of us! It was huge - glad it wasn't full grown. Got some good pictures of it but on the other camera, so can't put them on here. Then it sauntered off towards the pond. So that was Sundays excitement.
When we made it back to Walden we discovered that the motel owner who locked my bike up in her trailer, who promised to be back on SUnday evening, had buggered off again due to some emergency and no-one else has the combination to the lock. And she wasn't answering her phone. Oh joy. I'd already had an extra day off more than planned and could have done without a further day off, particularly in Walden. After much begging and impressing on the stand-in manager the necessity of getting the lock combination, we got a call at about 11 to say it was sorted. Phew...So I set my alarm for 6, slept through it, and got on the road at 8, which is about standard. This time though I have the luxary of mum and dad carrying the bags - that makes such a difference. I'm flying along the roads, although I'll be just as tired as I'm making up for the third day off I had so its 120 miles today. 40 to go I think.
I stopped off at Encampment, to see a pioneer village, that has been reconstructed in a museum setting. I don't know why I stopped, I doubt I would at home. It was ok, not that exciting. I then made my way to Saratoga, where they have hot springs. I thought I could relax in those for a while after nearly 70 miles of biking. Ha. I nearly burned my feet testing the water out. They weren't joking when they called it hot springs. I battled it for half an hour then decided to get a life by getting food. I was going to try and be healthy but they had cookie dough ice cream sundaes with butterscotch sauce...what was I supposed to do?
Finally given up the battle with the phone. I'll now just accept reception when I get it and use wi-fi when I can.
I lost my yellow band that Lysa had done with 'Touched by Ruby' on Thursday sometime, presumably when I took my gloves off at some point, which was rather annoying. I don't particularly belieive in 'signs' or random things having any significance but within half an hour of setting off today I found a yellow band at the side of the road, with 'Livestrong' on it, one of the Lance Armstrong ones, so I got it and it's on now. Ta Rubes.
Not sure what mum and dad are upto today...dad wants to go fishing but it was very expensive in Estes Park so he's having second thoughts. Mum mentioned doing some washing so I left here my underpants and a shirt to do.....
Off to Rawlings now...laters. Hope the scenery gets more exciting.

Sunday 9th (?) August

2009-08-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

One month till Alex gets here...yayyy
Only got 20 minutes on this computer.....It's a hot Sunday In Boulder Colarado. What a cool town. Laid back, civilised, good food, things going on. The things a lot of the other towns so far haven't had.
So...met up with mum and dad on Friday, half way up Current Hill Pass, which was a surprise, especially as they forgot the specific instruction of 'I'll ring you Thursday morning' and they helpfully checked out of the hotel at 630am. On my 3rd phone call at 1000am I was told they had checked out. Great. Anyhow, we met up, just after I'd seen a mother and baby moose (ahhh), which was great, the meeting up that is, not the moose. They had harrassed several other cyclists between Denver and me thinking each one was me, but fortunately the cyclist were ok with that. Eventually met all of them, Mike, Elliot and Elroy who were a good gang of lads. Hopefully bump into them again before the end of the trip.
Spent the first night with parents in Walden, had decent food in town and they stayed in a not too dodgy motel and I camped in the park, along with Mike and co. Friday saw us head along the trail ridge road through the Rocky Mountain National Park - some fantastic views, mountains, scenery, fresh air, butterflies and all that.
9 minutes left...bugger.
Stayed in the slightl decrepit Elkridge lodge in Estes Park on Friday night - how the cabin didn't collapse is beyond me. It was like the one Calamity Jane lived in prior to the arrival of the singer woman before the 'A Woman's Touch' song (sorry - a gay boy and musicals fan reference). That song was going round in my head for ages afterwards.
Yesterday we made it to Boulder, despite mums best afforts to not get here. Wrongs routes, stops here and there...I've only threatened to stab them once or twice so far, which I think is pretty good. It's not that they are geriatric yet, they are just practicing hard. They almost have one complete memory between them, they just take it in turns to use it.
So Boulder is great, a brief bit of civilisation before I'm back on the road tomorrow. I've booked mum and dad into a motel in West Yellowstone on Thurs so I've to try get there for then. It's a bloody long way, about 120 miles a day I think, but with them carrying the bags, I'm hoping that's achievable. And with any luck I'll catch either Mike and the gang or Chris and Chris.
Out of time!!!
Laters

Estes Park

2009-08-08T17:40:00.001-07:00

The rustic, quaint cabin where we stayed last night. Or, an alternative description could be the rickety, slightly smelly, soon to be condemed shack. I pitched my tent on the porch.

Parents over-indulging

2009-08-08T17:35:00.001-07:00

In Boulder, found our first ice cream shop (Ben and Jerrys) and both of them had eyes bigger than their bellies. . As my body is now a temple, i didnt have any. Yeah, as if. .

What YOU looking at?

2009-08-08T17:29:00.005-07:00

New hair, new beard, new glasses. . Cool

We met up!

2009-08-07T11:02:00.003-07:00

Surprisingly we met, halfway up a hill. Now on way to Rocky Mountain National Park. Three days off. . Wa-hey!

We did meet up

2009-08-07T11:02:00.001-07:00

Surprisingly we found each other, halfway up a hill. This is at Grand Lake on the way to Rocky Mountain National Park. Three days off. . Ya-hey

Mum taking a photo

2009-08-07T10:25:00.001-07:00

Another dead car

2009-08-06T19:05:00.001-07:00

I dont think they have scrap yards. . They just leave them to rot

Hoosier Pass

2009-08-06T19:03:00.003-07:00

The highest bit of the ride. . A doddle

Hoosier pass

2009-08-06T19:03:00.001-07:00

The highest bit on the ride. . 11000 ft something

Thursday, day 37 possibly

2009-08-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

All going to plan so far...mum and dad landed and were having a nap, according to the text message I received the last time I had reception on my dear phone. So I called them this morning at their hotel, as arranged, no answer. Again, an hour later. No answer. Called again and spoke to reception who said they had checked out. This could be fun then. They do know where I was last night and where i should be tonight (Walden) so we'll see....
Anyway, I'm currently stopped off in Hot Sulphur Springs although I've yet to see or smell any evidence of any. Just cycled through a narrow but spectacular canyon to get here but had to pay attention as there are quite a lot of timber trucks knocking about. Stayed in Kremmling last night at an RV park, where they had showers and everything. That was great apart from the bit where I realised I'd left my towel hanging from a tree in Fairplay the night before. It was Kremmlings turn for a County Fair this week, so after my light breakfast of fried eggs, toast, coffee, orange, blueberry scone and a large cinnamon roll I went to watch the swine judging (!!). The bit I stayed for was the junior showmanship. This consisted of 6 kids (about 10 years old I think) steering their pigs around a ring with a stick and the one who controlled the pig the best won, it seemed. What actually happened was the pigs were lightly whipped and slapped round the ring for 20 minutes until they were quite annoyed and the kids were tired, and smeared with pig sh*t, until someone won. My favourite kid was a Jane Horrocks lookalike who refused to smile at any point and looked downright bored. I've a feeling she'll be heading for a big city just as soon as she can. It did pay to smile it seemed as the girl with the rictus smile and her arm confidently behind her back did come 2nd and the judge did mention her smile when announcing the winners. What he didn't see was her lack of smile anytime he was talking to someone else and not looking at the contestants. Lol. I'd been chatting to her mum it turned out, asking how it all works and they were overjoyed when she got 2nd. They were dead proud. It really upset me as me and Lysa haven't got that chance now. I was a bit of right off after that for a while.
I'd been for a drink with Chris in Fairplay on Tuesday evening and on the way back to the tents had ridden over some piece of wood which snapped a spoke and bent my panniers. This I'd forgotten till I'd loaded up the bike the following morning. Bugger. After a bit of messing around I decided to head gingerly to Breckinridge, over the Hoosier Pass, where they are several bike shops to get it sorted out. Fortunately it all held together and I made it over the pass and into town. The Pass was a bit of a doddle compared to Virginia and Kentucky. Don't know what the fuss was about. There was some spectacular scenery too, as you might expect. And so into Breckinridge, which is a busy touristy skiing resort in winter. It was a bit too much after the calm of the past few weeks and I made a hasty exit after a haircut, cake and bike repairs. I've now got a trimmed beard as opposed to just being unshaven for several weeks. It's great, shame I can't keep it when i get back. After leaving I realised I hadn't bought any spare spokes so stopped in the next town and messed around for another hour or so getting spares, getting a drink so I didn't leave for Kremmling, which was 40 miles away, till 5pm. Not the best plan, but this has happened numerous times so far. Good job it was downhill nearly all the way, it was a fantastic ride, past hills and reservoirs.
As I've not eaten for at least 2 hours, it's time to replenish the reserves....hopefully meet up with mum and dad later. Who knows....

Distant Rockies

2009-08-04T11:09:00.001-07:00

Just before i got a soaking yesterday

Yes, it is the Rockies

2009-08-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

I know this because I've been climbing for the past 20 miles. I'm now in Guffey about to have a strawberry smoothie and lemon cake...possibly followed by a milkshake and chocolate brownie. I need the energy! There is also a Model-T Ford rally in about half an hour so I might stick around for that.
Left Chris and Chris in Pueblo yesterday and took the scenic route past 2 very large Correctional Facilities (prisons. You'd love it in Colorado Alex, it's prison central). The Rockies loomed larger and larger after each bend. I carefully applied all the varieties of suncream I have before leaving town, and then it promptly clouded over, then I repeated a previous mistake of being the highest thing around during a thunderstorm with lightening make land every few minutes. I wasn't happy. Then the wind nearly blew me off the road and made the rain hurt it was so hard. And then it cleared up. By this time I was in a real town, Florence. It had a main street with actual shops in it, not closed ones made to look occupied. And people. I decided to eat and went to a mexican place, Con-Los I think. It was fab. I knew the woman who ran it lifes story before I left. She took it over from her parents in Jan after they ran it for 40 years, she took a $20000 car loan to finance gastric band surgery as she weighed over 300lbs (I saw the pictures), she works 9am to midnight 6 days a week...it goes on. She was fab. And the food was great too, especially the homemade cheesecake. 2nd piece of the day - I had some at a great deli in Pueblo, along with 2 pints of hot tea. It was about 100 degrees at the time. It was good though.
Decided to try for Royal Gorge campsites, which didn't seem such a good idea when it got dark and I was still on the road. Oops. Put the tent up in the dark. Not the best way of doing things - the woman who ran the site told me off for cycling in the dark.
Decided to be a tourist early this morning and cycled to Royal Gorge to look at the worlds highest suspension bridge - it was quite high I suppose. Just about worth the 8 mile round trip. Got about another 40 miles to do today and will hopefully end up in Fairplay with the Hoosier Pass first thing tomorrow morning. Bring it on.
Smoothie and cake time...bye

Toto...I don't think we're in Kansas anymore....

2009-08-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Well there had to be a reference to the Wizard of Oz somewhere doesn't there, as some of you mentioned.
I'm in bed writing this, eating donuts and drinking coffee, and updating this thanks to the joys of WiFi, having had no means of communication for the past few days. And I'm about to head into the mountains where the reception is worse - how can it be worse? So trying to engineer meeting up with mum and dad could be fun.
So it's goodbye Kansas, hello colourful Colorado (that's what the sign on the State line claimed). Kansas was a bit dull by the time we'd cycled through 500 miles of it. As we were told many times, it's been cool too, not the usual 100 degrees, although it was getting there yesterday. My nose has peeled about 5 times, my lip is split, me left leg is quite burnt...it's a good job it wasn't hot!
I cycled into Leoti, Kansas on Saturday to be told to stay for the parade. It was the Witchita County Annual Show and the parade was starting in 15 minutes. Unusually for almost any town here, there were people around (you rarely see people on the streets in these small towns) and people were setting up their chairs on the main street, getting the best positions for the festivities. I managed to find an open shop, grabbed some drinks and got a spot. Got chatting to a local grandmother, who was telling me that I'd be experiencing the real small-town America. And so it started. With the anticipation, numbers of people, chairs out etc my expectations were high. They needn't have been. It was a bit poor (and I'm being polite). The whole thing seemed to be geared around kids getting as much candy as they can get their hands on. I thought there'd be decorated floats, kids dancing, line dancing perhaps (that's what they do out here isn't it?). The cheerleaders didn't do anything apart from wave (I now know where the not so pretty cheerleaders go), the only float you could describe as decorated was by the local church, no-one did anything apart from wave and throw sweets to the kids. They had shipped in a few classic cars (they passed me earlier on the way in), they were some cowboys and girls on horses, a float by a GM seed producer, big agricultural vehicles, the local emergency services of course but it wasn't very good. I couldn't escape either as my route out of town was on the other side of the road. Bad planning. I started edging up the road to get closer to the departure point and got talking so some guy who was asking what i was up to. When I said, he laughed and said that Colorado had nothing there. I thought that was a laugh as Kansas wasn't exactly heaving. He did turn out to be correct though.
There were several high points on Saturday. One was that there was a bend in the road. You don't realise what excitement this can cause. The wind could be different. The view might change. Anything could happen. I also crossed another time zone. Not a lot happens at this point but it is highlighted on the map so it gives you something to aim for. The best thing was though, you know when you watch a bad film and think'I'll never get those 2 hours of my life back', well, as I crossed the time zone and the clock went back an hour, I got the hour back I'd just lost watching the parade in Leoti. Result!
That was a 100+ mile day and as Pueblo was nearing we decided to do the same again yesterday. It's funny how different 2 states can be, although the terrain is the same and distances not so big. Eastern Colorado was still flat as a pancake but seemingly unfarmed, with fairly wild vegetation, so fairly green and quite pretty, in an empty, desolate way. Until we hit the 15 miles of abandoned rail freight carriages. Very strange. Just mile after mile of old car transporter carriages, sat slowly rusting. Got to Sugar City (population of about 135) where there used to be a sugar beet processing plant, which closed about 30 years ago. I've no idea what they do there now. There's nothing else going on, apart from the cafe we went, which was good. It's run by a deliberately rude and quite entertaining woman who claimed to hate cyclists as they give her grief. But she had pie and sundaes, so we had both plus burgers. My arteries are getting thinner by the hour.
Met up with a group of eastbounders - 2 leaders, aged about 25, herding 4, 16 and 17 year olds. Nightmare. They seemed like they were having a good time though. The kids parents must be laughing their socks off - bet they paid $4000+ and get their 16 year old out of the house for the whole summer!
Also met up with an American guy, Shaun, who cycled with us for the day. He'd run out of time so was calling it quits when he gets to Pueblo. We stopped for a rest at some point and he commented that i set a tough pace but I'd been trying to keep up with him...so we we all battered from cycling too hard in the sun and were just really being a little bit too macho. We slowed down after that.
On the way into town yesterday we stopped for refreshment in a little bar in Boone. Walked in to see a six-month old in a rocker on a table top, chewing beef jerky, being tended to by his gran, who was smoking. She left the kiddie, returned to her very drunk husband and sat talking to us for 20 minutes. Eventually they left, with the very drunk husband almost carrying the kid and rocker under his arm sideways. It was like beingin the bar in Shameless, but real.
I'm picking up the extra, unnessecary stuff I sent myself a few days ago and setting off towards the mountains at some point soon. A shorter day I suspect today and I think our little gang will be splitting up today after 8 days of happy touring...I'm sure we'll be meeting up again as we'll be on the same route and aiming to finish at the same time.
See you laters....
We caught sight of the Rockies finally yesterday - they look high. It's the 11000 ft Hoosier Pass in the next few days. That will be fun after a week or so of flat cycling. Bring it on.

American politics

2009-08-03T06:57:00.001-07:00

One of the pro-life billboards on the route. .wish i had paint with me

Eastern colorado

2009-08-03T06:31:00.001-07:00

When i was told that colorado had less in it than kansas i laughed, thinking 'as if!'. They were right though. There really was nothing going on. At all. For miles. And miles.

The skyscraper of the prairies

2009-08-03T06:29:00.003-07:00

Thats the name of this building. They didnt aim very high in those days

Elaine's cycling oasis

2009-08-03T06:24:00.001-07:00

Elaine and Dan who run a B and B we stayed at. It and they were fantastic.

Never too far from god

2009-08-03T06:18:00.001-07:00

Presumably we were near an airport

Grain silos

2009-08-03T06:16:00.001-07:00

These are our landmarks. . We can see there from about 10 miles away so know that relative civilisation might be coming up. Or there again, the town may have gone, just leaving these remaining

Kansas

2009-08-03T06:12:00.001-07:00

This was the view for 4 days i think. . Highway 96 through kansas. Wasnt sad to see the back of it in the end

Another fine dining experience

2009-08-03T06:06:00.003-07:00

Thats one of the better ones

Old barn

2009-08-03T06:06:00.001-07:00

Not sure if this was storm damage or just old age but thought it looked good

Friday 31st July

2009-07-31T14:46:00.000-07:00

OK, so the love affair with Kansas is over. Bored of it now. We've cycled 40 or so miles today so far with a side wind, not even a head wind, and it's a nightmare. Fortunately the aspirations are low today and we're probably stopping in the next town, Scott City, which is only 24 miles away. The scenery is now how I imagined Kansas to be. Flat, can see nothing for miles, sunny. Last night was great though. After Chris and Chris set off early again yesterday, we met up again about 15 miles from Bazine where there was Elaine's Bicycle Oasis, where we all decided we were staying, mainly becauseof the promise of the hot shower. Got there, home-cooked meal almost ready, finally had the hot shower, which felt soooo good, then stuffed ourselves on chicken, pasta, pesto, home-grown sweetcorn, tomatoes, squash etc etc. It was fantastic. Elaine and Dan were great too. 7th Day Adventists i think (no idea what that means exactly), really generous, happy to feed up weary cyclists. Chris asked her why she decided to start operating the B+B for cyclists and she answered 'Because I saw all these miserable cyclists going past'. I think that's because it's frequently 100 degrees plus here and they were passing out from sunstroke and exhaustion. I did the cheap option and didn't get a bed but got to sleep on the porch in my sleeping bag which was good - kind of under the stars but not quite. Although I was covered in cat hair when I woke up - I must have had the cats bed. Dan brought his mate in to talk to Chris about teaching kids about drugs this morning - he's 6 years clean from meth, coke, weed...it was like a morning at home, all the drugs talk. You're missing out Alex - you should have come! So after last nights very good evening of relaxing and home cooked food, it's back to normal tonight. I think we'll be in the lobby of some athletic club tonight. But it's only $10.
1 more day of Kansas, then it's Colarado...and not far to the 11000 ft Hoosier Pass. That ain't going to be flat.
By the way, I've no credit and no reception on the phone if anyone has attempted to get in touch. Going to try and sort that out next.

Is it Thursday?

2009-07-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Losing track of the days and dates...I'm in Larned, temporarily, recovering from this mornings 50+ mile ride with no gas stations, no grocery stores, no nothing apart from 1 long, straight road, a few cows and Kansas to look at. It was quite dull. I think there is another 2 days of this then the Rockies start to kick in. I have got the opportunity of visiting The Barbed Wire Museum this afternoon, which sounds like something I shouldn't miss. Or the alternative is The Stone Post Museum, which exists because they had to erect stone posts to connect barbed wire to as there were no trees left to use for timber. Spoilt for choice. This all depends on me not fannying around for too long, which I am particularly good at I now realise. I did manage to leave at about 745 this morning though, which is good for me. I was motivated by the fact there is a chance of a hot shower if I cycle about 110 miles today and as I haven't had a hot shower for at least 3 days (I think) that sounds quite appealing. The prospect of yet another Wet-Wipe wash isn't doing anything for me.
I came past some wildlife refuge on the way, salt marshes and wetlands, habitats for birds, deer etc etc according the the information board (which I bet every cyclist reads as there's little else to do). Unfortunately for the birds, this little oasis of natural habitat is also advertised as a spot for shooting. Nice. The blurb was talking about how habitat destruction was having an impact on bird populations and so on - mmm....and possibly being shot out of the sky might play a small part too! And also in this wildlife refuge was some of those little nodding donkey (or is it dog?) things that pump oil out of the ground. They dont cause any pollution at all....I did see a very pretty red headed woodpecker though. And various dead frogs - roadkill.
Chris and Chris haven't managed to shake me off yet...ended up at the same City Park last night and my need for a shower means we'll probably end up in the same place tonight. If they aren't carefull we'll be spending much of the next 4 weeks together.
Better go..need phone credit and the Barbed Wire Museum is calling....

Day 22 in the Big Brother House

2009-07-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

ok, well Kansas actually. Lovely, flat Kansas. Flat, flat, flat , flat , flat. And a bit wet. And not that hot. Which is all good. America is still having unseasonal weather so Portland, where I should be meeting Alex, was 102 degrees yesterday, Denver, where I'm meeting mum and dad was 59 (bring a jumper!! I think it was 72 today though) and it's still in the early 80s in Kansas, which is great as far as I'm concerned. It seems the Americans are as obsessed about the weather as much as the Brits. If you go in a cafe with a TV they nearly always have The Weather Channel on.
I wasn't so happy with the weather when I was crossing a relatively high bit of Kansas yesterday during a thunderstorm. Me on my bike was the highest thing for miles and there was nowhere to take cover, so I just carried on, thinking I was going to get hit by lightening, which obviously i wasn't, which was a relief. I ended up sat on the porch or some church for half an hour then when i set off, discovered a cafe 100 yards up the road.
After that, the sun came out and it was gorgeous. Massive prairie, lots of cows, big, big sky and nothing else. It was fab. I like this end of Kansas. Got to the city park in Cassoday and found Chris and Chris again who had had a late start so hadn't made it any further. Sat around eating pizza with them for a while before we set up camp on a bandstand. They were off by six this morning but we should all be in Nickerson tonight. I couldn't face that early a kick off. I've started listening to the radio so I'm sitting around more and taking longer to do things. I did an hour of a classic country station this morning - quality.
Met 5 or 6 cyclists heading east today, all part of the same gang but spread out. They've met each other along the route and decided to ride together. A couple of them are planning on 200 miles today, aiming to finish around 2am. Seems a little extreme. One of them is a film student so he's filming everything and going to edit it all when he starts back in August. I gave him your address Beth so he might give you a call.
I had to laugh at the white line down the side of the road. They must spray the line on as at one point they had sprayed a white line over a big bit of tyre that was lying in the way and further on, they sprayed some dog or cayote turd that was on the route. They must have been in a rush to finish.
I met a Sheffield guy called Paul Davenport who must be a professional cyclist - he writes for the cycling press, cycled all over the world. He was very chilled, limiting himself to 60 miles a day so he didn't finish early and end up having to wait in Yorktown for a week for his flight home.
I now have money again having come very close to running out - thanks mum and dad. I got one of the Thomson Travel Cards which you load up with currency, then you can use it whereever the mastercard sign is etc. I was told by the Thomson person I could load it up electronically, which you cant. Then when mum went into the Thomson shop with cash, she was told you had to load it up using a credit card, which you don't. They are f***ing idiots. Anyway, it's all sorted now.
Lots more miles to go today, probably in the rain, so better go. I like the way the locals here see you and laughingly say 'you're gonna get wet'. Yeah, great, thanks.

The spring at the mill

2009-07-27T18:45:00.001-07:00

81 million gallons of water a day surface here apparently

Hairy in missouri

2009-07-27T18:36:00.003-07:00

Fire station

2009-07-27T18:36:00.001-07:00

Cant keep away. .

Still smiling

2009-07-27T18:35:00.003-07:00

Watching mamma mia in a cheap motel having cycled 131 miles, half of them in the rain, got a puncture 10 miles from the end. . Surprisingly, i dont want to kill anyone

Chorlton in kentucky

2009-07-27T18:35:00.001-07:00

I'm in Berea. . Nearly killed me getting here. Its cool though. . A bit chorlton, lots of artisans

It's Monday so it must be Kansas

2009-07-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

It's 1.30 here and I've only cycled 15 miles so far today but that's fine as I've washed all my hideously skanky clothes, got new suncream, got a new chain and cassette on my bike, so life is great. And according to the Weather Channel is going to be cool (relatively) and possibly wet so Kansas might not be so much of a nightmare after all. Famous last words....
What's happened since Friday...mmm...Missouri turned from being covered in trees to being Cheshire, without the tea shops or the footballers. Lots of cows, fields, rolling hills (for a change). I've already forgotten where I stayed on Friday night. I can remember Saturday lunchtime but Friday night is a bit of a blank. I met Chris and Chris on Saturday, female Chris is from Vermont and male Chris is from Cheadle Hulme (effectively Manchester) though he's been out here for 7 years. They are sound, spent the last couple of nights camping with them. They headed off at 630 this morning to beat the heat so if I get my act together I'll probably meet up with them again tonight or the next couple of days. So we met up on Saturday lunchtime and were going to cycle together but as I was leaving town I spotted the mobile shop where i bought the SIM card from that isn't letting me access the internet. As this was likely to be the last chance to sort it out for 700 miles, I thought I'd give it a go. An hour and a half later, it still wasn't sorted and I had 45 miles to cycle before it got dark in 3 hours. I managed it but I was knackered. Ah, I've remembered Fridays night stop now...behind a grocery store in the middle of nowhere. Not especially memorable or scenic. The store sold farming supplies but had a cafe of sorts, serving breakfast of sorts, so I had a couple of bad cheese and ham sandwiches for breakfast with the farmers. I don't know where the wives hang out. The men appear too old to have young kids so they aren't likely to be looking after them but all these breakfast places are pretty much women free zones, apart from the staff. Well, they probably dont want to listen to rodeo or fishing stories I suppose. Stetsons have put an appearance in over the past couple of days, mentioning rodeos has reminded me. Didn't see any till Thursday but definately more common now.
So Friday's camp was behind a shop, Saturdays was in a city park in Ash Grove (one for you mum) which was ok. Last night was also in a city park, in Pittsburg, another town who's golden years were about 60 years ago I suspect. On the way in a big sign announced "Pittsburg - A Main Street Town" which I took to mean that the town centre was actually in the town centre. No. The retail parks on the north side of town were called "Pittsburgs Main Street" and the town centre was almost as dead as all the other I've come across. And in the spirit of being in America I've been to Walmart again (for fruit) and also Starbucks (it's the only place to get decent cakes).It's amazingly difficult to not shop in chain stores. And the guy in the bike shop did me a big favour as it was supposed to be his day off but when I rang him on Saturday he agreed to do it - after 2 hours messing about though I think he was regretting it. Mind you, it did cost me 100 quid.
I'm glad to report Kansas is actually flat, which is nice. I've mailed 10lb of my gear to a town 600 miles ahead to reduce the amount of stuff I'm carrying so I might get through Kansas a bit quicker. By all accounts, it's somewhere to get through ASAP so with less gear and new chain it should be a breeze!
We ate at a chinese buffet last night - "Yummees". Classy. It wasn't wholly authentic (not that I suppose English chinese food is) but there was garlic bread, sushi, chips, chicken nuggets...But I was stuffed for $10 so it was ok. I've just remember a salad from Saturday lunchtime. The waitress asked if I wanted a jello salad. Enquiring as to what this was, she brough one out. It was jelly with fruit in, topped with fake cream, that was to go with my hot beef sandwhich. Bizarre. I declined.
I sent 3 photos which aren't on here so God knows where they are. I bet I've been charged for sending them though. Modern technology....
The roadkill hasn't been that exciting. A great moth the other day - big and green, with a swallowtail going on. Must look it up. More armadillos, lots of them, a possum or two. Chris and Chris have been capuring their favourite roadkills on photos...perhaps I should start, with the more intact ones.
Time to go otherwise it's going to be a rush to get to the campsite again. See ya...

It's Friday and I'm melting.....

2009-07-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Oohh, it's hot today. And hilly. My most favourite combination, like ever. Have paused in Summersville, Missouri for some time in an air-conditioned building (the library) and a comfy chair.
Where was I the last time? Going to Farmington Fire Station I think. They were cool, and firefighters and fire stations are the same the world over. If I could get the damn phone to work I'd have posted some pictures - if there's a resaurant in this town perhaps I'll get it sorted there. I've no real aspirations to cover a great many miles today.
I spent the night at the fire station on a camp bed in their control unit, which is very much like ours but has a microwave, TV and cooking area in it, and is a lot bigger. A guy called Sonny turned up, also crossing the States by bike but he's in a recumbent bike and it's powered by his arms as he's in a wheelchair when not on his bike. I have no idea how he made it through Virginia on arm power, that's amazing. And the last couple of days must have been hard work too - it was very difficult by leg power, let alone arm power. He's a cool guy - I'm met other people on the way who'd mentioned him, I'd be wondering if our paths would cross. It's quite easy to miss people as there are a variety of short-cuts to be taken if you get talking to the right people. The firefighters directed us on an alternate route which by-passed a couple of the major hills in this Ozark region. No-one mentioned the Ozarcs when talking about mountains. It's funny (well, it isn't actually)that when I was in Virginia, people said "once you're clear of Virginia, it flattens out then" and when I was in Kentucky people said " Once you're clear of Berea, it flattens out then" etc etc. IT HASN'T GOT FLAT YET. Allegedly, now I'm in Summersville, it should flatten off. And Kansas is next, and that is flat.
For Alex and Sally - I met a guy called Bennet who reminded me of Biz. That was strange. Looks like Biz, and called Bennet....oohhhhh. Spooky.
Road Kill of the Day (for yesterday) was Armadillo. Seen two so far, both squashed. Rescued another turtle or tortoise. Seen a live Racoon finally. Still no bears.
Somehow I managed to 'loose' two screws that hold the rear pannier rack onto the bike yesterday. Well, they weren't there this morning when I was about to set off and I can't imagine I was riding without them yesterday as everything would have fallen off the back of the bike. Very strange. I was camping last night at Owls Bend and someone could have messed about with it but that seems as unlikely as them falling out of their own accord. Very strange. Anyway, it's all held together by the cord from my old Fire Service kit bag that I disposed of at the airport. Fortunately I figured the cord would come in handy at some point so I kept it. Good move. There's a bike shop in Pittsburg, Kansas, which I should get to on Monday so they can sort it out, as wellas my need for a new chain and cartridge that I'm praying (not literally) will not self-destruct before then. The last bike shop didn't have the spares but he warned me it was on it's last legs.
Missouri is full of trees, and hills, so can't see very much from the roads. Climbed up some big observation tower, un-manned, so got a good view of more hills and the tree tops, and eagles. For miles. And miles. It's funny how litigous they are here but you can climb an un-manned observation tower that is easy to fall off. They would have a nervous breakdown in the UK at that prospect. There was a fantastic river at this campsite last night, called Current River, so named I think as it was flowing pretty fast, creating some good currents. I didn't swim but had a wash in there (no showers on the campsite) and even sat on the side you were in danger of getting dragged off. Plenty of kids and families playing around though. It was a great spot.
Another rest spot on the way here was some 18th century mill and pond. It's actually where a spring emerges but it pumps out 81 million gallons of water a day! And its so clear, I was desparate to jump in but you're not allowed as it's also a delicate ecosystem it seems and I would have contaminated it.
Alex - you don't need a special driving license and most if not all cars here are automatics I think.
Mum and dad - have you got the form done that clears you for initial access to the USA? I can't remember what it's called but it's on the US Gov website, it's free and you have to do it. Alex has done it.
Binners. Engaged!!!! Lol.
Thanks Richie(s) for keeping things alive. Or are you telling porkies?
Have a good holiday Louis - let me know what you get up to. Don't let your dad have too many beers!
I'll try and get some pictures up. Bye for now.

Wednesday, day 15

2009-07-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

I'm in the Bike Surgeon in Carbondale, Illinois getting the thing looked at. It's ok but whilst I'm near a bike shop, thought I'd get it checked out.
Well, unsurprisingly, I'm not a card-carrying Baptist just yet. Bob and Violet were very nice though and only gave me a bit of faith stuff - how significant a thing it is in their lives, why and so on. Then we got onto to healthcare and other relatively non-contravertial topics. I left theirs at 715 am and got to the very cheap motel at 830 last night, having cycled 130 miles. By that stage i wasn't that tired, just slightly hysterical. I ended up on highway 13, which is kind of like a bigger A6, with a hard shoulder, which was the bit I cycled on. So at about 3pm it started raining, when i had about 40 miles to go. After about 30 miles I finally resorted to listening to my music, which i hadn't done at all till this point. This road was boring though...long, straight, nothing of interest at all. So whilst negotiating a town called Marion and it's associated highways, intersections, lane changes etc, in the rain, I got a puncture. When i saw the sate of the tire I was only surprised it wasn't sooner - I was nearly through to the inner tube. But was I pissed off - no!!! It must have been the dance music, the very hefty caffeine drink I'd had 10 minutes before and the rain....took me back to walking home from clubbing in the rain. Far from wanting to murder anyone, I was actually in a good mood. I obviously was a bit insane though as whilst pumping the tire up, I had Benny Benassi 'Satisfaction' on in my headphones (look it up on YouTube, it's worth it to get the complete picture) and I was acting out the video whilst doing the pump action, at the side of the road, full lycra, in the rain. I almost had to stop as I was laughing too much. Mmmm...possibly was loosing it just a bit.
Was going to camp at Crab Apple Orchard Wildlife Refuge but as i was totally soaked I went for the cheapo motel option, which was so the best choice. I haven't dried anything out, I'm still wearing wet gear, but at least I didn't spend half the night trying not to touch the sides of the tent and letting the rain in. It was a shame the weather was so crap as the wildlife place looke dfantastic as I cycled through it. A massive lake, all wild vegetation, un-tamed it appeared, looked great.
It appears I can't send pics at the moment - I sent one last night and it's not on here, so who knows where it is. Hopefully will end up at a fire station in Farmington, Missouri tonight, 80 miles off. We'll see how the legs hold up.

Monday 20th

2009-07-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

Just a quick hello...staying at the Christian Cyclist Hostel at the Baptist Church in Sebree, Kentucky. Once again, the people here have proved themselves to be amazingly friendly and hospitable...I can't imagine getting this kind of welcome back in the UK. Bob and Violet, the pastor and his wife have fed me, given me somewhere to kip, and we've spent the evening chatting about religion, healthcare, communities. It's been good. Met a few other cyclists today, most of whom had stayed here too. Violet was saying she has fed 142 cyclists so far this year. Keith and Vernelle are heading in the same direction as me, 2 American ex sergents in the Army I think. They took a video which they are putting on their MySpace site for mum and dad - I'll text you the web address!
One lad had just been bitten by some stupid dog but fortunately that incident obviously satiated it's appetite as it couldn't be bothered chasing me when I went past it an hour or so later. It hadn't bothered with the other 3 American lads who were on their way east too. They were trying to kidnap a cat from a shop in Utica when I left them. It didn't look that impressed.
Kentucky has not been that exciting again today, although it has got noticably flatter which is a bonus. Lots of sweetcorn (although for cattle feed, not human consumption I've just learned), soy and tobacco is been grown round here.
A potentially very long day tomorrow, which may be possible if it stays flat. If it's hilly, it wont be! With any luck I'll be in Carbondale tomorrow night, at Crab Apple State Park or something like that, probably sore and moaning!

Day 12, Sunday 19th

2009-07-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

I'd like to tell you where I am but i don't exactly know...somewhere near the Falls of Rough, still Kentucky (although i have crossed a time zone now). I'm staying with Beth and Garry who found me via facebok and offered me a place to stay for the night - and very cool it is too. Right out in the sticks, 70 acres of fields, woods, a stream, rocks, a couple of horses, dogs and cats. There were chickens but the cayotes got them. They are just finishing off building their new house next to this 'cabin' where they live now. They are cyclists and offer their place for the night to other cyclists in need of a shower and a decent nights kip. The people out here are amazingly friendly. I could quite happily live here. Even the dogs are nice and after the recent experiences, that's saying something. I did resort to having gravel in my handlebar bag to launch at the annoying dogs - it works I was pleased to discover. Ha.
The previous 2 nights have been under canvas but not sadly on campsites where there have been mod cons such as toilets and showers...the first night in...in...erm...forgotten already was in a county park, which basically means like Wythenshawe park, but without the scumbags. I just turned up, phoned the local coppers, told them I was there and that was that. Last night was similar but the park was already locked up so I ended up next to a water tower behind the High School. Glam. It was quiet though...at least i didn't have to listen to some boring biker droning on for ever like a few nights ago, talking about the powder coating company he worked for. Bothered. Hodgenville (Abraham Lincoln's boyhood town) was cool, mainly because there was a classic car rally on in the centre of town so there were lots of superb aged American classics there - big 50s things with fins, all shiny and everything, lots of chrome, it was fab. With the addition of a 1/2 pound burger followed by ice cream, it was a very good night. Everyone in town clocked me of course, taking lots of pictures in my lycra, and loads of them chatted to me, very friendly.
Todays cycling wasn't particular exciting. Managed to go the wrong way for about 5 miles, which was quite annoying, especially as it involved a reasonable amount of hills. I'm blaming Alex for that as we were texting at that point and I must have been distracted. And been thinking about Ruby lots the past few days, with anniversaries and everything.
Staying in some Baptist Church tomorrow (I know, if I get through the door without being struck down) , if I get my act together. It's a long ride I think, although after tonights luxury that should be fine! Laters...

Opps, I forgot

2009-07-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

More childish stuff...

I cycled past Gay's Creek, KY yesterday and also Knobs Lick Baptist Church. He he he....

Day 10, Friday 17th, Berea, KY (that's Kentucky)

2009-07-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

Had a morning off!! Yaayy...Managed to get my cycling gear washed and dried, after cycling round for an hour looking for the laundromat. This place is cool, a cross between Hebden Bridge and Chorlton, a bit smarter, and without the homoshexules - there is still a lot of God here. I've actually eaten real food - cookies that have recently come out of an oven and not a packet and ice cream that was home made. I've been trying to find some fruit and veg to eat but didn't see anywhere whilst i was cycling round so asked at the tourist office. Literally, the only place that sells fruit in the whole town (a college town with a population of 10000+) is Walmart (AKA Asda). That's what happens I suppose when supermarkets rule the world. Scumbags.
Berea is the craft and folk capital of Kentucky and is in the top 25 small art towns in the US (can you tell I'm using the computer in the tourist office?). I'm staying at the Morning Glory B+B (!!!) (well, I had to look) which is so-named after the Morning Glory flowering plant (Bindweed in the UK I think). It's cool - the people who run it are weavers so there is all handmade stuff all over, and as I type they are making stuff on the looms in the shop downstairs.
Opposite the shop is a village green type place where there was a jam session last night with about 15 people playing bluegrass and country music, which was great whilst i was eating the ice cream. It's gospel tonight which I'll miss unfortunately.
I suppose I'd better be making tracks soon. I'm having an easy day cycling today and am not sure where tonights destination will be yet, but it will be back to camping after the last 2 nights extravagence in motel and B+B. And i won't be doing a repeat performance of the long long day I did yesterday. I was really rather tired at the end of it. I did see a real snake, alive and everything yesterday, basking in the sun. It was about 4 foot long and black. And I found a turtle (or was it a tortoise?) in the middle of the road, which was also alive. I'd seen some very squashed roadkill the day before that i thought could have been turtle-like but didn't know if they had them here. Anyway, having found an intact, alive one, I can conclude they do.
Oh, and I've read Ben Goldacre's book (he's the Guardian science writer), Bad Science, which was very good. All about the reasons why and how scientific research is twisted by the media etc, homeopathy, nutritionists and so on. I'd recommend it.
Time to go...laters

Booneville, Kentucky

2009-07-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

Still alive, despite the best attempts by the dogs and the coal trucks. To be fair, the truck drivers do generally give a very wide berth, but its still hair-raising when the 60 tonne wagons hurtle past at 55mph a few feet away. I haven't bought the pepper spray yet as there hasn't been anywhere to buy it from. There are a fair few garages, grocery stores a few cafe type places but as for anything else, there's not much. Found a Dairy Queen yesterday. Sadly it was another fast food burger joint. And if I had had to do a blind food-testing on what I was eating I wouldn't have known what it was. It wasn't hideous, just unidentifiable.
Stayed in a very dismal looking motel last night, as the camp sites have dried up and I haven't yet tried the knocking on either church or random strangers doors. Two lads I met yesterday, Matt and Zack going east, had only done that and had been pretty successful. Apparently the further west you get the more hospitable the locals. One thing about the hotels and motels is they let me take my bike in the room. Perhaps it reflects the standard of premise I'm staying at. Although as hideous as the motel looked, it had a bath!!! A bath!!!!! Bliss. It wasn't particularly big but it was good and I managed to wash my very minging gear too. Thee's no way this clothing is going to last to Oregon without disintegrating. It's wet with sweat for about 10 hours a day before it gets a rinse through, dries on the back of the bike for the next day, then the cycle goes on again. And it's rank now. I dread to think what I'll be like in 2,3, 6 weeks time.
I think I might have run out of hills...at last! Well, until the Rockies, but they aren't as bad as the Appalacians I'm told. I'd be very unhappy if I was cycling east and had Virginia at the end of my trip, when I'd just cycled 3700 miles then I had to go up and down these endless hills. At least they are out of the way for me. Famous last words.
I can't say I've noticed much difference between Virginia and Kentucky, apart for the reducing hills. It's still very green and forested, less money around I think. Lots of cars just rusting into the ground. The gene pool might be slightly smaller here.
I still haven't got my mobile working properly. I need to be next to a landline so the equivalent to Orange can phone me back then conduct some tests on my phone. Sounds easy. It's just getting next to a phone that works at the same time as my mobile having reception. Ha. Not happened yet. And this is the side of the country with good reception.
Tonights stop will hopefully be Berea, which is artistic according to Matt and Zack from yesterday. I might have to have the morning off tomorrow so I can get my clothes washed in a real washing machine and actually look around one of these towns as opposed to just eating the crappy food and zooming off.
Still not seen a bear. Not even a dead one. Lots of dead raccoons, possums (I think - or are they Australian?), a few more snakes, deer...seem to have run out of groundhogs. Perhaps they are just faster runners in Kentucky. And not one advert for Kentucky Bourbon (yes Janet, the drink not the biscuit...lol).

Day 8. . 1st time lucky?

2009-07-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

4th Time Lucky

2009-07-14T05:46:00.000-07:00

If this doesn't work this time I'm sacking it off. I spent over an hour yesterday doing 3 attempts at updating this. Twice in the morning on my mobile, didn't publish, then about half an hour on a computer in a little town, and just when I went to publish the essay I'd written, the stupid thing crashed.
Anyway, it's another gorgeous morning in sunny Virginia, which means it'll be baking by 1pm. Hopefully I'll be back in the forests again by then. Spent last night in the Grindstone Campsite (not Grindhouse as I kept calling it) in the Jefferson National Forest. More beautiful forest. There must be more forest here than there is England. It's cool during the day but I nearly froze when I set off this morning - I actually had to put extra layers on - and I even slept IN my sleeping bag last night, not just on it. They make you pitch your tent on gravel in these State Park campsites, which doesn't make sense to me. It is small gravel but I'd still rather be on the grass. I was particularly unimpressed the night before last at Claytor Lake State Park when I turned up half an hour before dark, pitched my tent on a nice soft bit of grass, went for a shower, by which time it was dark. I'd been on the road 11 hours that day. I was tired. Then the police turned up and told me I had to re-pitch my tent on the gravel. But I didn't swear, well, not out loud.
I'm surviving quite well so far. The sore bits are only short-term sore, ie once I've had a rest or a nights kip, I'm ok again. My poor thighs have taken a battering with all these hills. If I'd spent 2 months cycling around the Lakes I might have been better prepared. The muscle just on the inside of your thigh, behing your knee has been really sore. I've barely been able to touch it at night, when attempting to massage it back to normality. Some of the hills have been seemingly endless...lot sof swearing and rest stops involved. And I'm working my way through the massive variety of drinks on sale here. There are hundreds. I can only drink so much water before I'm bored. There are sodas, caffeine free, sugar free, only natural, elecrolyte only, electrolyte with sugar, with juice, without juice, isotonic.....too much choce. And not enough recycling!
As you may be aware, I'm not a particular fan of dogs. This isn't likely to change whilst I'm here. The stupid f**king things. I've spent a reasonable amount of time trying to decide if I could launch one of them with a single kick, without falling off my bike, as they chase me down the road. I figure if it's a jack russell or smaller I'll be ok. Most of the big ones just get to the edge of their property and lose interest, it's the little yappy things with something to prove that chase you forever. Which is ok if its early, or you've just had a break, or your going downhill, but whn its hot, you're going uphill and you're knackered I want to get off and stamp on them. Rant over. For now. A retired couple I met yesterday discussed tactics with me. They had set off from San Francisco, cycling, on 11th May so had had the experience. The recommended course of attack is to scream at the offending dog, then apply airhorn followed by pepper spray. The airhorns are available from Walmart, the pepper spray from bike shops (where else?). Pepper spray is about to be bought as I should be in Kentucky in the next couple of days, where the problem is worse it seems.
I met 3 American lads yesterday, who are going the same way as me but to San Francisco. All just finished architecture degrees and cant get work so decided to travel instead. Two of them were physically fit, the 3rd isn't, yet. I gathered from the conversation with the unfit one (June)that this was proving to be an issue as the others wanted to press on and he was holding them back. And they are only 5 days into the trip...That's partly why are only half-heartedly tried to convince anyone to join me on this ride. I didn't want to negotiate on rest stops, distances to night stops etc etc. I wanted the freedom to do what I wanted, when I felt like it, without a discussion...lol...no different from ususal really. (sorry love x)
I can't remember where I'm heading for tonight and the map is outside, which is too far to locate. I think it's Breaks. I do know there is a major hill between me and it. Then into Kentucky tomorrow...perhaps I'll have to try some Bourbons.

Childish, me?

2009-07-13T04:17:00.001-07:00

Was she a pushy lesbian?

I've died and gone to hell

2009-07-11T17:06:00.001-07:00

I'm kamping tonight. . You'd love it Alex. Its full of huge RVs, bigger than my house, and guess what? Tonight it's Christmas in July! Santa is here apparently, there was an ice cream social and now its kareoke, with only country songs by the sound of it. I might do Kylie 'Your Disco Needs You'

The Cookie Lady

2009-07-11T17:05:00.005-07:00

Almost on the Blue ridge mountains but staying at The Cookie Ladys place. . A cross beween a museum and a backpackers. June is lovely, been feeding cyclists for 33 years. Early start tomorrow, along the ridge. Might manage to get the US sim to work properly with any look, as its cost me about sixty bucks so far. .

Uh oh, the mountains are coming. .

2009-07-10T15:58:00.001-07:00

Somewhere under the clouds are the appalacians

Camping at last

2009-07-10T06:59:00.001-07:00

Last night was the first night under canvas, which was good, and cheap! Had a swim in the river, watched the groundhogs and bats and fell asleep at about 9. . There are black bears around here but they are more scared of than we are of them. . Apparently.

Wednesday night...sunburnt, fat and tired

2009-07-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

It didn't quite go according to plan today....I'm esconced (?) in the Holiday Inn Express, Mechanicsville...I'm supposed to be in my tent about 20 miles up the road but it was either have food and get a room or get to the campsite before it gets dark and miss the food. The food option won. Mmm, and good food, unlike all the hideous junk I've had today. I even had a burger that had probably been cooked about an hour (optimistically) before I got there from a bad grocery store. At the time though, it did taste great. I can't believe how much I've had to drink...I must have had 10 litres of nice and not-so-nice fluids today. The worst was a banana, non-dairy protein drink. The best was a Long Island Iced tea.....

Virginia is very nice indeed. I had to cycle 13 miles from last nights hotel in Williamsburg to Yorktown, then back again as Williamsburg is inland and I hadn't located a hotel in Yorktown. Some of Yorktown was a bit like Colonial themed area in an amusement park but Williamsburg was the genuine article if now full of tourist shops, but quite tastefully done. Very Georgian. On the noticeboard in Yorktown was an invitation to go 'Shagging on the Waterfront' every weekend. As it is very genteel I presume that means something different over here. I cycled through miles of forest today - really big trees, lots of eagles and birds of prey, butterflies, drogonflies etc etc. It was great. And flat fortunately. I'm breaking myself in for the hills - 2 days away I think.

I almost had sausage gravy (and that's not a euphemism,although perhaps it should become one) for breakfast. WTF. It looked like porridge with stuff in it. Thank the Lord I asked first. Who thought of that?? I know the idea is to try new things but no. There are limits.

Getting lost several times didn't help the planning. The maps are good so long as you stay on the road. Move off it and there's no chance. Fortunately the people I've met have been very helpful, with the exception of the guy who I made jump as he couldn't hear me saying 'hello' as his lawnmower was too loud. He really did want to punch me when he'd climbed back down off the kennel. And generally they are very friendly - loads of people wave, one guy was applauding me from his car as I went past. Not quite sure what that was about.

Not managed to get an American SIM card for my phone yet - it appears they don't give them away over here like they do at home. I dread to think what it costs to send the pics over - someone ring Orange and find out!

Aiming for Mineral tomorrow or possibly Charlottesville if it's not too hot.

Day 1, the start

2009-07-08T05:19:00.001-07:00

There is no-one around to take there pics for me. . Anyway, this is the Atlantic Ocean. . I'm not putting my wheels in the water as i'll get sand in my SPDs. . I'll take a matching one on the west coast in a couple of months

This is it. . The start

2009-07-08T05:14:00.001-07:00

This rather attractive pic is at the Yorktown Victory Monument, celebrating where the French and Americans say off the British in 1781. This is the official start of the TransAmerica bike ride. . Better get going. . Got to get back to the hotel for breakfast. .

Newark airport

2009-07-07T10:41:00.001-07:00

Waiting for the connecting flight to Norfolk, Virginia and this aptly named diner is right next to my gate. Cheers Rubes! First burger of the trip. .

SETTING UP THE BLOG

2009-06-25T02:57:00.000-07:00

This is really doing my tits in. Apparently I can't text from my phone to add to the blog, but I can send text if attached to a pic. Whatever