Rob's Cycle Across America

Your sponsorship provided 28 Shelterboxes. Find out where they have been deployed.

2012-02-07T05:07:00.000-08:00

Well the final total raised was an amazing £5788 and this excludes Gift Aid which takes the total amount to well over £7000.

This has helped towards providing 28 Shelterboxes and already 13 of these have been depolyed to help displaced people throughout the world.

Click on the following link to find out where all the boxes have been deployed.

http://www.shelterbox.org/trackbox.php?ClientName=Robert+Waterhouse+5000+Mile+Cycle+Across+America&Country=United+Kingdom

Farewell North America

2011-08-25T19:43:00.001-07:00

Well the day has finally come. This time tomorrow I will be back home in Harrogate working through the half a ton of mail that is apparently waiting for me, fighting the 8 hour jetlag. As I am sat in Starbucks at Vancouver Airport reflecting on all the amazing people I have met, tbings I have seen and new friendsbips that I have made over the past four months I know that I will just have to come back to North America again, maybe as part of a round the world cycling tour. . . who knows.

This has been an amazing experience. Challenging and difficult at times but personally very fulfilling. I do feel that I have achieved something to be proud of. The cycling never seemed to get easier. It was hills and headwinds all the way right down to the last half mile crossing the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco.

Many people have asked me which was the best day. And my answer is there was no best day, there were too many to single out. Riding the Colonial Parkway out of Yorktown on the first day,the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, the Ozarks, crossing the Mississippi and riding the Levees, seeing the Rockies looming in the distance from Kansas, crossing the Hoosier, Mckenzie and Teton passes, Yellowstone Park, chocolate cream pie, the plains of Montana, first sight of the Pacific Ocean, the Redwoods in Oregon. Helping the relief efforts at Joplin, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco. The list is endless. I can count the bad days on one hand and they were usually cooking days :)

I've even enjoyed writing the blog despite the amount of Mcdonalds I have had to eat to get a decent wifi signal so I hope it entertained you all and didn't get too repetative towards the end when I started to flag a little. I guess when I get home I need to read it myself and correct all the typos :)

I'm quite flattered that it had over 15000 hits and of course that all your donations made it possible to raise over £6000 for Shelterbox. And the donations are still coming in so it may get even higher.

So that's it. I shall look forward to getting home, catching up with evetyone and planning my next trip.

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

Rob.

4AM start for the Amtrak to Vancouver

2011-08-24T21:11:00.001-07:00

Greg dropped me off at the station in Seattle on his way to work via the ferry across Puget Sound, a journey he has been making for the last 30 years!.

It was a relief to find that my two items of checked luggage were still at Seattle Amtrak. The procedure if you want to leave luggage is simply not to collect it from the airport style conveyor belt. It did occur to me that anybody just walking by in the station could have just picked it up and walked off. It would have been a tragedy to loose my treasured Transam cycling shirt!

Great views coming out of Seattle but was seated next to an odd Irish woman who was obviously a bit of a fruitcake. Conversation was bizarre so I retreatef to the restaurant carriage where I stayed for the duration.
Another spectacular train journey up the coast, finally arriving in Vancouver about midday. After a few suggestions from Ellen ( ex Vancouver resident now riding around Calgary on the back of motorbikes) I opted for the 10k hike around Stanley Park and the waterfront. And glad I did because it was a great way to say farewell to Canada and North America.

I decided to venture out after dark in search of beer to find that this part of Vancouver has been invaded by hordes of Irish. Have they started playing baseball or has Canada started playing rugby or something. I already feel that I have one foot back home. And is it my imagination but does every othet person here appear to be of Oriental extraction.

And finally to publish this post I had to go seek out a Mcdonalds. What would I have done without them!

Seattle, Woodstock and I HAVE REACHED MY TARGET OF £5000

2011-08-24T07:42:00.001-07:00

Today I spent a day with Sally in her beautiful waterside home overlooking Puget Sound. The actual Pacific cycle route passes by her home so we spent some time driving along part of the route I would have cycled had I headed north instead of south at Florence. I don't think I would have been disappointed had I gone that way. We stopped for 'a spot of lunch' at a trendy little organic cafe in one of the coastal towns where after a healthy hummus and bean soup and vegetarian wrap niethet of us could resist a piece of Grandma's chocolate cake. It is of course essential now that I restore my body back to it's 'pre cycling 5300 miles across America' shape. On the way back we then called in at the local supermarket and picked up a couple of live crabs for dinner.

Normally Sally would just step into Puget sound and pick one out of her crab pot but alas it has been stolen.

I also met Barbara, a friend of Sally's snd the first person I have ever met that actually went to WOODSTOCK in 1969. At the time she was working as a chambetmaid in Connecticut and drove over there with some friends only because it was the thing to do at the time, and not especially because she had a burning desire to see Jimi Hendrix live.

They arrived a day late so couldn't get close enougjh to the stage to see the bands and her most abidiing memory was all the trash everywhere and everyone being high.

Like most of us at the time she wore the clothes and had the hair but confessed to only really being 'a weekend hippie'

And leaving a day early meant she missed the legendary Hendrix rendition of tbe 'Star Spangled Banner' just as I missed all but the last ten minutes of his perfotmance at the Isle of Wight in 1970 because I fell asleep!

The day ended eating the delicious 'now passed away' crab and lively conversation with Sally's husband Greg who had strong opinions about the state of the American economy, nuclear powet, global warming, and indeed the world in general I think I could best describe Greg as a 'US' equivalent of my cycling buddy Ken back home. I must get them around the same dinner table sometime :)

And finally I have now raised over £5000 for Sheltetbox which including Gift Aid is well over £6000.. Thank you very much everybody for helping me reach my target. I will eventually be able to post on this blog which countries benefited from your donations.

Up the Pacific Coast

2011-08-23T19:42:00.001-07:00

Managed to get an amazing amount of sleep despite being on a reclining seat. This is a classic raiil journey with great scenery and a commentary in the viewing coach where I have sat all day. Currently in Portland departing at 4 20PM which gives a bit of time to look around the old station. Finally arrived in Seattle at 8 15PM after 22 hours on the train. Sally was duly waiting for me in het amazing technicolor jacket making it impossible for me to miss her. Tonight I get to sleep in a proper bed for the first time since July 25th.

Views of San Francisco Bay area from the top of Mount Diablo

2011-08-23T19:40:00.001-07:00

Taking the Amtrak from Emeryville to Seattle on the Coast Starlight

2011-08-23T19:39:00.001-07:00

I'm travelling in the cheap seats but it's better than 1st class back home. The amount of legroom is huge. The train leaves at 10 07 PM and arrives in Seattle at 8 45PM tomorrow night.
Sally our tour leader is picking me up and I will be spending a couple of nights with her and her husband Greg at their house on the other side of Puget Sound before heading on to Vancouver.

Very sad to be leaving San Francisco after a great few days with Greg. Yesterday we went for a spin on his roadbikes and ended up at the Arlon Ness motorcycle dealership where we spent a couple of houts being persuaded to buy Victory motorcycles by two very charming young ladies.

Today we met up with Dara and walked 4/5 miles around the reservoir above Lafayette, followed by huge ice cream.

Baseball Oakland A's v Toronto Blue Jays

2011-08-19T07:51:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately tha A's got hammered 7 0.

Alcatraz and Fishermans Wharfe

2011-08-19T07:50:00.001-07:00

San Francisco

2011-08-17T19:38:00.001-07:00

Made my way to Golden Gate Park today to pay homage to one of tbe iconic places of my youth. This is where the original Summer of Love started with the birth of the hippie culture back in the sixties. Was it 67 or 68. I cant remember.

The Haight/Ashbury corner is where the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin all hung out at the time. Just had to visit Amoeba Records and buy some Dead and Airplane CD's.

This city is amazing. I want to live here!

Day 102 Samuel Taylor State Park to San Francisco THE END

2011-08-16T00:19:00.001-07:00

What can I say. San Francisco Bay WOW! Cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge WOW! Does anybody remember Lets Go to San Francisco by the Flowetpot men. I cant seem to get this song out of my head. I am on a total high today. Glad to finish cycling but sad that this amazing adventure has finally come to an end.

After getting Dolo to her hostel I cycled atound the bay to the Embarcadero and caught the BART ( Bay Area Rapid Transport ) to Berkeley and met up with Greg to find that he actually does own a Ski shop. And a little red Mazda MX5 that I can have the use of over the next few days.

So I plan to enjoy San Fransisco and surrounding area for the next few days before I take the Amtrak to Vancouver and finally fly home on the 26th.

Miles Today 30
Total 5340

Day 101 Bodega Bay to Samuel Taylor State Park, Marin County

2011-08-15T08:21:00.001-07:00

You can tell that you are getting closer to San Fransisco when:

The oyster bars on the side of the road have free valet parking.

A latte costs $5

Every othet car on the road is a convertible

You're sat in a cafe surrounded by lycra clad cyclists and they are not interesred in talking to you.

The map says 27 miles to go.

However another great days cycling finished offf with an excellent Indian meal. Passed another couple of around the world cyclists today. The global mobile family, with 4 children the oldest of which was 8 and the youngest 8 MONTHS. Amazing.

Miles Tofay 50
Total 5300

Day 100 Manchester KOA to Bodega Bay State Park

2011-08-15T08:19:00.001-07:00

Despite being described as medium in the route book today's ride was ridiculously difficult. It was also ridiculously amzing with Coastal scenery par excellence all the way. This is the California that I had envisaged. I think the northern end of California should perhaps be called something else.

The day ended with an excellent mexican seafood meal in Bodega Bay after a 2 mile supposed walking shortcut that was anything but. We ended up back on the campsite and cycling. Just what we didn't need after a tiring day.

We also bumped into a new bunch of people on the campsite doing the Pacific route. Jeremy and Jen from New Orleons and Christine from Los Angeles.

Miles Today 69
Total 5250

Day 99 Fort Bragg to Manchester KOA

2011-08-13T08:52:00.001-07:00

After waking up to temperatures in the low forties todays ride was one of outstanding coastal scenery, once we had got out of the built up area around the pleasant town of Fort Bragg. As the book said it was quite strenuous going into and out of all the coves and inlets along the route,

To get a hot shower tonight we are staying on the private KOA at 9$. The campsites over here are amazing value for hikers and bikers. Pity that due to the recession California is closing down over 70 State Parks.

I'm definately counting down the days now. Not attacking the hills with my usual gusto. Will be glad to reach San Francisco now and get the cycling over and done with.

Miles Today 44
Total 5179

Day 98 Leggett to Fort Bragg

2011-08-12T08:12:00.001-07:00

Our introduction to US Highway 1 was a long steep climb out of Leggett through wooded forest and then a long gradual descent back to the Pacific Coast. Glorious riding under the Californian sun and certainly as challenging as some of the climbs on the Transam.

From then onwards US1 hugged the coast plying us with lots of short sharp hills and descents into and out of the many coves that we passed. Not bad but not quite as good as the road between Whitby and Scarborough.

And considering that we are now only about 180 miles north of San Francisco I cant believe how cold it is. In camp tonight I am having to wear 2 T shirts, fleece, long cycling pants, gloves and a hat to keep warm.

Miles Today 53
Total 5135

p.s Thanks Ken for offering to pick me up at Manchester. I will let you have the flight number nearer the time.

Day 97 Burlington State Park to Standish Hickey State Park. Leggett

2011-08-11T19:03:00.001-07:00

After celebrating with a small glass of red wine last night, courtesy of John ( Man Utd and Beckham fan!) and Richard from Philadelphia, our neighbours on the campsite, the journey continued for a further 20 miles through the Valley of tbe Giants (Redwood Trees) and then back onto US101.

From that point onwards the ride deteriorated. Just a 20 mile slog up a busy dual carriageway with tbe temperature back up in the nineties. Lots of hippies, homeless people and hobo cyclists in this part of California too, although I am not getting a good vibe so far. The locals I have spoken to so far have been pretty unfriendly compared to what I have experienced in the rest of the USA. I read in another blog about a cafe owner that doesn't like cyclists in this part of the world and I think I came acoss him this morning.

Bumped into Jill this afternoon on US101 on her way to Sacramento (as you do). Looks like she wont have the time to cycle with us but she is hoping to meet up for a meal with us all when we meet Greg in San Francisco.

Tomorrow we hit the infamous US1.

Miles Today 50
Total 5082

Day 96 Eureka to Burlington State Park - Mission Accomplished

2011-08-10T12:22:00.001-07:00

Today at 12 20 PM United States Pacific time just north of the Victorian town of Ferndale my cyclometet showed 5000 miles precisely. I know that the photo in the blog looks very suspiciously as though it could be anywhere near Harrogate but I can assure you that this whole thing has been for real. I really have grafted my way for 5000 miles across this very big, hilly and windy country ( including writing this blog every day) It is very tempting to just chuck my bike into the Pacific Ocean now but I guess I had better do the whole thing keep blogging and cycle the few hundred miles more to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

So far I have raised £4600 plus Gift Aid so I would like to offer a big thank you to all of you that have sponsored me including those that intend to but have not quite got round to it yet :)

My blog has attracted nearly 15000 hits so I hope you have all found it entertaining and another big thank you for all your comments ( despite Google's attempts to make it as difficult as possible)

I shudder to think how much Mcdonalds junk food I have consumed in order to use their free wi fi.

And this afternoon as I was cycling through the Avenue of the Giants in the Redwoods National Park the Californian Sun finally came out.

p.s Would anybody like to pick me up at Manchester Airport. I fly in at 10 00 AM on 26th August.

Miles Today 63
Total 5032

Day 95 Redwoods State Park to Eureka

2011-08-08T21:32:00.001-07:00

After 2 days in Caifornia I have still not had the opportunity to wear my super cool new shades replacing my third lost pair. It is quite cold, damp and misty at tbis end of California.

Following the magnificent Redwoods the ride this morning was pretty dull with nothing of any consequence to photograph. Things can only get better.

And they did. After a nice lunch at the trendy Beachcomber cafe in Trinidad ( also appeared to be a meeting place for Mums and toddlers) we picked up a cycle path that took us closer to the sea and the 'not quite as good as Oregon' coastal scenery.

The final 5 miles of the day were on the very busy US101 to Eureka only to find that the Eureka KOA campsite was actually 3 miles behind us in Arcata. That will teach me to read the guide book properly. Still it gave us the opportunity to feast at Mcdonalds and get the blog done. But still no sunshine!

Miles Today 48
Total 4969

Day 94 Harris View State Park to Redwoods State Park

2011-08-08T09:40:00.001-07:00

Today we entered the sunshine state of California but with one essential ingredient missing - the sunshine. This is not the image of California that I had in my head from the music of the Beach Boys, the Grateful Dead, the Eagles and all the other west coast icons of the sixties and seventies. And of course Pamela Andetson.

Quite a long hard today as we needed to get to the Redwoods to keep on schedule. I think Dolores feels that she is in Rob's boot camp now after I hassle her to get up at 6AM.

The redwoods were awesome of course but we had the bonus of seeing a 40' gtey whale that had found it's way into the estuary of the Klamath river in the Hoopa Valley Indian Resetvation.

Hopefully it will find it's way back out to sea and hopefully the sun will shine tomorrow. It is quite cold and damp on the campsite tonight.

Miles Today 67
Total 4912

Day 93 Humbug Mountain State Park to Harris Beach State Park

2011-08-07T07:04:00.001-07:00

I thought I was doing a big trip until I met Judy leaving the campsite this morning. She left England 15 months ago and is on the last leg of a round the world trip with Only South America left to do.

Anyway today was absolutely amazing with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and Oregon coast all the way down. And we still have the tailwind.

For the last 3 nights we have had tbe company of Rick and bis son Scott from Portland, Steve from England, a Dutch couple Eric and Colette who cycled the Transam a ccuple of days ahead of us, a mysterious French girl with a German name Marlene and a German couple on a Tandem. We all seem to be ending up on the same campsite every night and it is very sociable, with campfires lit and people actually going to bed AFTER 8 30PM.

Tomorrow we cross the border into California.

Miles Today 53
Total 4842

Day 92 Sunset Bay to Humbug Mtn State Park

2011-08-05T16:27:00.001-07:00

I woke up today in the beautiful surroundings of Sunset Bay where I finally managed to perform the wheel dipping ceremony, but without any sunshine. After cycling back to Charleston to grab some breakfast junk food, we were warned by the locals of the toil ahead up the notorious seven devils road. In the words of Dolores you might be able to describe it as a 'significant' climb Pah! Compared to some of the stuff on the Transam I tbought tbe 7 hills were small potatoes.

We then breezed into Bandon where we had an early brunch/lunch at the Bandon Coffee Cafe. The blueberry sour cream coffee cake was delicious.

After lunch we had magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean as we hugged the coast. This is what I had been waiting for. Yesterday's tailwind was still in evidence and even stronger. Are we going to be blown all the way to San Francisco?

Aftet a late afternoon teastop we stocked up on a few provisions and then headed for camp, hopefully arriving a little earlier than yrsterday.

Distance Today 60
Total 4785

Day 91 Florence to Sunset Bay

2011-08-05T11:48:00.001-07:00

After a final farewell breakfast with Sally,Ellen Don and Hubert we finally started our journey south. The Pacific Ocean, supposedly on our right, was nowhere to be seen for the first ten miles and in it's place we had traffic, lots of it. But we were warned and it is high season.

Most of today we passed thtough the Oregon Dunes but unfortunately you don't see much of them on the bike with US101 being some distance from the ocean in this part of Oregon. We did though have the benefit of an all day tailwind, which helped to flatten out some of the coastal undulation.

We had decided to head for the strongly recommended hiket biket campsite at Sunset Bay State Park and it was an excrellent choice, located in a beautiful spot by the sea. And only 5$. A bit out of the way so we had dinner before arriving at a great little seafood restaurant in Charleston. So despite only cycling 57 miles we still managed to arrive in camp at the rather late hour of 7 30PM.

We met lots of friendly people today including six other cyclists all heading south. And it is a great feeling being able to tell people that we have just cycled over 4500 miles across America!

We also had a very late map meeting at 9PM.

Miles Today 57
Total 4723

First View of the Pacific Coast

2011-08-04T11:31:00.001-07:00

Day 90 Florence Layover

2011-08-03T13:48:00.001-07:00

Woken up by seagulls at 6AM this morning so the planned sleep in didn't happen. This forced me into an early morning shower and breakfast followed by laundry, and a trip to Safeway to pick up a few ptovisions for the journey ahead.. Bteakfast will now be porridge cooked on the mini Trangia in the absence of anything better. I have also put my bike in to the excellent 101 cycles for a new chain and brake pads. Have to say that the bike has been excellent so far with no issues other than my well documented punctures.

Dolo and I are now lounging around coffee bars in the picturesque seaside town of Floremce waiting for the wheel dippers to arrive. It's a bit like a 'posh Whitby' here.

It has also been really good to see Jill who has driven up to join us all for the farewell dinner tonight. She is planning to do a car, cycle, camping trip down to San Francisco with her partnet so she may cycle with Dolo and I some of the way.

Understanderbly the group are on a massive high after completing the Transam and fiinishing the trip. For me it's a bit of a strange feeling as I dont feel that I have finished. It will be passing 5000 miles, cycling over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and reaching my sponsorship target of £5000 that does it for me.

I have now exceeded my target including Gift Aid but I am hoping that I will be able to raise £5000 in actual donations so that the Gift Aid is a bonus on top.

So we all assembled tonight and had our farewell dinner. Speeches were made, awards were presented and tears were shed. The food was pretty good too. Would I do a long trip like this again? Definately. In a group? Possibly. On this I have mixed feelings and will no doubt elucidate on this subject at the many dinner party invitations ( or any kind of eating invitation)
that I am bound to receive when I get home:)

Donations      £4168.00
Gift Aid          £ 832.18
Total              £5000.18

Day 89 Cobourg to Florence

2011-08-02T17:00:00.001-07:00

Well this is it. The last day for some but not me of course as I have contractual obligations with my sponsors. Dolo and I followed the official route today and did the 85 miles to Florence. The rest of the group took a 2 day detour so that they could dip their wheels in the Pacific. The problem is that it isn't 'Florence by the Sea' it's 'Florence on an Estuary' a few miles inland.

So I will be in Florence one day before the main group which gives me a layover day and the time to prepare for the next bit. Instead of turning right and hrading up the coast to Vancouver I am turning left and finishing in San Francisco where I will be spending a few days with Greg. This adds a couple of hundred more miles but hopefully Greg will be there waiting at the Golden Gate Bridge with champagne on ice.

I then intend to take the Amtrak up to Vancouver with a stopover in Seattle. A 26 hour journey but all part of the fun. I will also get a day in Vancouvet before flying home on 26th August and rejoining the real world.

So back to today's ride. What better way to start than a tried and tested Mcdonalds breakfast, where surprise surprise we found Ellen and Kelly. And Cathy too. Cathy and Kelly had also decided to go direct to Florence but at their usual warp speed pace.

After negotiating our way through the city centre traffic we picked up a cycle path taking us out of town and then had a glorious day cycling down ( with a few ups ) a river valley that took us all the way to Florence. We arrived at the campsite about 6 30 after a long day and then had celebratory 'British Style' fish and chips at a waterfront restaurant washed down with a couple of large beers. Tonight we will be having our farewelll meal with the rest of the group.

San Fransisco is about 12 days and 600 miles away. Dolo will be riding with me some of the way and we intend to take a somewhat leisurely 50 mile a day pace.

Miles Today 88
Total 4663

Day 88 Mckenzie Btidge to Cobourg

2011-08-01T20:00:00.001-07:00

Today was a day of two halves. First 30 miles were as dull as ditchwater on a horrible road with fast cars, trucks and a not very wide shoulder. Second 25 miles were on a nice quite road thtough idyllic countryside not dissimilar to Yorkshire. Last 10 miles involved a detour into the very large city of Eugene to visit the REI Adventure store to buy fuel and bottles for my Trangia Stove.

I also visited the AMTRAK station and booked tickets for the final part of the trip. This is due to a slight change of plan which will add even more miles to the trip and which I will reveal in a subsequent post.

Tomorrow is an 80 mile + day to Florence and is THE FINAL LEG OF THE TRANSAMERICA TRAIL.

Miles Today 65
Total 4576

Day 87 Sisters to Mckenzie Bridge

2011-07-31T15:02:00.001-07:00

I have to say that today has been up there with the best rides of the tour. After leaving the ranch early and riding the few miles into the 'boutique' trendy town of Sisters I could not resist calling in at the Sisters Coffee House for a latte and wholemeal apple muffin. On the eay out I bumped into Sally so I went back in and had another.

When the cycling finally started we had the small matter of the 10 mile ascent up to the volcanic lava fields of the Mckenzie Pass below Mount Washington. And it was glorious. No wind, good gradient, no RV's or trucks as road too narrow, and shade all the way up thanks to the tall trees on each side. And then at the top friendly tourists handi.g out ice cool water. The descent down the other side was even better. Ten miles of steep tree lined switchbacks all the way down, with a nice little deli at the end for lunch. Very civilised, only 46 miles, without doubt my kind of cycling.

And the icing on the cake. We are eating out tonight and only 2 more days before we get to Florence the official end of the route.

Miles Today 46
Total 4501

Day 86 Prineville to Sisters

2011-07-31T08:10:00.001-07:00

Today has been gloriously easy so far, no wind, little hills and only 38 miles. The snow capped peaks in the pboto are the Cascades and are the last geographical barrier before we hit the Pacific Coast. We cross via the Mckenzie Pass which has only been open for two weeks. I can tell that we are getting closer to Seattle as the taste of the coffee is definately getting better, although I cant smell the ocean yet.

Tonight we are being hosted by Patti and Annrka on their ranch just outside Sisters. A beautiful house in an idyllic location with stunning views of the Cascades. And the added bonus of a natural freshwatet pool for swimming in the back garden. It had to be done.

Miles Today 46
Total 4455

Day 85 Mitchell to Prineville

2011-07-29T12:43:00.001-07:00

Todays 'easy day' started with a testing 10 mile ascent up on to the Ochaca Pass followed by a 'flat' 30 mile dezcent with headwind into Prineville where I am now sat having a latte in Starbucks. Once again the cafe designated for lunch on the Q sheets was closed down. It's not just the UK in recession.

Today was also my final day in the camp kitchen so with the help of my sous-chef Jack ( pictured below) I treated the group to my speciality wan kai thai red fish curry with petit pois followed by a desert of tri berry parfait topped with yoghurt a.d drizzled with honey. Had to substitute red snapper for cod but it seemed to work as they all came back for more.

Tomorrow we are staying on a ranch and as it is a short day and they dont want us there too early we are actually having a 7AM breakfast. And about time too!

Miles Today 54
Total 4406

Day 84 Prarie City to Mitchell

2011-07-29T12:34:00.001-07:00

Todays ride was the wrong way round for me. 50 mile descent followed by 30 mile ascent followed by 5 mile descent into town. Only to find no showets and all the restaurants closed. So instead of the scheduled eating out night Terry and Jason saved the day by servi.g up an improvised meal of hot dogs, Jasons 'pasta like momma makes' and fruit salad.
The ride today was pretty tough and very hot in the afternoon as we were climbing up an amazingly scenic canyon. I feel on this trip that I have been on the set of every Cowboy and Indian film that I have ever seen.
Also met a couple of bikers Greg and Chuck ( who was on the inaugural 1976 Transam ride and sporting a rather fine Bianchi cycling shirt) and who were good company on the hill. They ended up staying on our campsite and our chefs very kindly offered them our leftovers and we even let them cool their warm beer in our ice bag.
Very generous us Transamers.

Miles today: 84
Total miles: 4,350

Day 83 Baker City to Prairie City

2011-07-28T08:47:00.001-07:00

A very tiring ride today as we had 3 major climbs over 5000' as well as a warm up climb at the start. Why is it that after a rest day I always feel lethargic on the bike. Can someone please explain. And it is nothing to do with beer.

I started late today after a small lay in ( has to be done wben you have the luxury of a motel bed ) so I fully expected everybody else to be in front. I was therefore quite surprised to hear Ellen's bell behind me and then Kelly mid morning. Should have realised they had been loitering in Mcdonalds. I usually catch up Jack mid afternoon which I did today. Jack likes to take his time ( which I like) and usually departs between 5 and 6AM. He is also one of the special few in the group who can actually say that they have cycled the wbole route so far. Good on yer Jack. He also has aspirations to become a fully fledged member of the Stop and Stare team.

It goes without saying that the scenery today as we followed the Oregon scenic byeway was resplendent.

Miles Today 68
Total 4267

Total Sponsorship £3965.00
Gift Aid £807.06

Day 82 Layover Day in Baker City

2011-07-26T17:13:00.001-07:00

Our final rest day before we arrive in Florence at the official end of the Trans America cycle route. Most of the group are looking forwatd to the end now whereas I am looking forward to a new adventure cycling up the Pacific coast by myself. I am hoping that I will have enough time at the end to rent a motorbike and spend a few days exploring Canada.
As I suspected the last week of the tour is not going to be a gentle descent to the Pacific coast. We have at least 6 setious climbs to get through.

Day 81 Halfway to Baker City

2011-07-25T17:47:00.001-07:00

Today was billed as a tough day and it was. Breakfast at 5 30AM followed by a stiff climb and descent into the town of Richland where I fortified myself for the next ascent up onto the Oregon high desert with a double pancake stack and obligatory maple syrup. Delicious. At this point even earlier birds Kelly and Ellen departed, They are always hyperactive when we are due to stay over at a town with a Mcdonalds.

The problem with the really hot days is that watet bottles get hot making the contents taste even more disgusting than usual. (American water does not taste good). So today I tried a new tactic. A peppermint tea bag in the bottle. And it worked up to a point.

Cant say the same about the wind though. It just blows and blows. The last five miles today were downhill on the route profile but just as I reached the summit of the last climb of the day
out it came with a vengeance.

And so into historical Baker City where I found a very nice ice cream parlour. So I parked up the bike, sat down and ordered the biggest sundae on the menu with all the trimmings and was about to enjoy the first mouthful when I suddenly noticed that my bike was not where I left it.

No panic, somebody must have moved it. But it really wasn't there. For a few seconds I had that totally sinking feeling and then Jason popped his grinning face around the corner. Luckily he didn't steal the ice cream as well.

Finally I am able to announce that my sponsorship target is back on track thanks to an incredibly generous donation from Joel and Marla relatives of Cathy who joined us for a few days back in Yellowstone Park.

Miles Today 54
Total 4193

Total Raised £3765.00
Gift Aid £ 757.06

Day 80 Cambridge to Halfway

2011-07-24T18:00:00.001-07:00

Very very hot today with temperatures over 100F. It was also the day that we entered our final state of the TransAmerica trail - Oregon. Hell's Canyon was spectacular and seems to attract a nice class of people . . . particularly the motorist who pulled up alongside and offered me a beer (which I am now drinking as I blog) and refilled my water bottles with ice cool water.

Tonight we are staying at an upmarket hotel where we have use of all the facilities including the adjoining cow field where we are camping.

I cycled mainly on the middle ring today and changed gear 246 times with tyres inflated to 80 psi. If this additional information proves popular I am prepared to add it to the blog for the remainder of the ride. Time for Guest Blogger Hadley to make a reappearance perhaps?

Miles Today 58
Total 4137

Day 79 Riggans to Cambridge 4000 miles up!

2011-07-23T18:17:00.001-07:00

Today we crossed the 45th parallel and for those who do not know it's significance including myself who passed GCE O Level in Geography there is a big clue in the photo below.

We are also doing extra miles today to convert a short day to a long day so that the long day tomorrow will be a short day.

This is because we are ascending Hells Canyon which is notoriously HOT and will be even HOTTER tomorrow as we are on the edge of the heatwave currently lying over North America. Apparently it has claimed a few lives in the past so our leader Sally is determined that she is not going to lose anybody else for whatever reason at this late stage of the tour.

However, just in case Jason has bought himself a coffin ovet a few beers in the bar tonight. I joke not! Well it might have been more than a few (beers not coffins that is)

So twas a tough long ride today with 35 miles of up, then more up and then the bit that was supposed to be down was made flat by the headwind.

In a couple of days we will be out of the Rockies and IN THEORY it should get easier. Yeah right!

Finally rather worryingly, miles cycled have overtaken sponsorship pounds raised. So come on Guys. Help me out!

Miles Today 84
Total 4076

Day 78 Grangeville to Riggans

2011-07-22T16:12:00.001-07:00

After a prompt start today to continue the hill from yesterday and a superb latte in the cafe bya the town park I realised 4 miles down the road that I had forgotten to pay for it. So as the State line was still some way off I thought I had better go back and pay to avoid the possibility of arrest by the Highway Patrol and possible deportation.

Then somehow managed to miss the turn off to the scenic bit and ended up staying on US95 for the first half of the ride. However this had its compensations as the route was full of historical interest on the Nez Pearce Indians combined with a superb 10 mile descent. Bad news for Cathy and Ellen though as they were waiting for me at the top of the hill on the scenic bit.

Eventually they caught me up and found me eating Hucleberry pie and Ice cream in a delightful little roadside emporium just before Riggans. Great campsite by the river today.

Miles Today 49
Total 3993

Day 77 Lowell to Grangeville

2011-07-21T17:21:00.001-07:00

I popped my head out of the tent at 6AM to find that nearly everyone had gone. However
Ellen and Kelly were still atound so we all, including Dolo took a leisurely breakfast at 6 30AM in the cafe across the road from the campsite. Today's ride was only 48 miles with a tough climb back up into the clouds at the end but we saw no good reason to rush.

As we passed through the Nez Pearce Indian reservation we called into the library in the town of Kooksie. On the wall was this amazing 3D plasticised poster (taken with a lentiltastic lens according to Art expert Ellen) for recruitment to the National Guard. Somehow I managed to generate sufficient charm to persuade the very nice (but camera shy) lady behind the desk to try and get me a copy. After sevetal telephone calls without success she decided that even though she liked it herself she would let me have the offiice copy, for wbich I am very grateful. Thank you, it's now posted to the UK.

Thereaftet we bumped into Zac and West, did the hill ( Ellen did it twice for fun ) and I was also overtaken by Zac at a very high speed and then West at a slightly less high speed, but I dont care cos I am a RECREATIONAL CYCLIST and speed sucks.

Tonight we are back to the delights of camp food.

Miles Today 50
Total 3942

Day 76 Powell to Lowell (Guest Blogger Hadley)

2011-07-21T10:50:00.001-07:00

Today's ride looked like this: ~~~~~~ (top view - twisty road paralleling the Lochse river).

Rob got a flat. This was especially crappy since he only just bought new tires a couple of days ago - grrr! But the crappy situation was made much less crappy because Rob allowed me, while he put a new tube in, to use his brand new and cherished MINI TRANGIA STOVE to boil up water to make us a cup of hot peppermint tea. The TRANGIA STOVE works like a charm... and a midday, roadside cup of tea is a very fine thing indeed.

I polled a number of group members on some of the thoughts they were thinking as they rode today. Several said they were admiring the colours and sound of the river, and the pleasant sensation of a slow but steady downhill ride. Dolores was hatching plans to seek out a guidebook to help her identify the "botanical gems" that line the road. Kelly was thinking back to one particular epic and challenging 80+ mile ride in Kentucky. David was focusing on riding as safely as possible, after a scary encounter with an aggressive truck. And Rob revealed that he was thinking 90% mischevious thoughts and 10% thoughts about the trees. I asked him if there was any mixing of the two kinds of thoughts (leading to mischevious thoughts about trees) but he firmly responded that NO, he keeps the two very separate in his mind.

Now Rob is using his TRANGIA STOVE to boil up water once again, providing bedtime tea and coffee for a number of us.

*** special and non-biking-related note! *** Congratulations to Mr. Vince Johnson for placing third in the super-challenging 16km "Seek the Peak" run up Grouse Mountain in Vancouver!!! Rah!!!

Miles Today 66
Total 3891

Day 75 Missoula to Powell

2011-07-19T17:57:00.001-07:00

There was a mysterious incident in the motel room last night. For some reason in the early hours of the morning Jack appeared to be playing the Trumpet Voluntaty through his nostrils, or was he playing his harmonica, or was he just snoring!. Most unusual as he normally sleeps like a baby.

So after scrambling for the ear plugs I woke up at 6AM to find that Jack was already on his way despite his strange nocturnal activities. So I crawled out of bed shortly afterwards for a 7 30AM
rendez-vous with the girls at Mcdonalds, where we filled our bellies with their fine breakfast fayre before we headed out west towards the Lolo pass on the final leg of the Transam ride.We now have only 833 miles before we hit the Pacific Coast.

The ride was a steady 46 mile ascent into the wind up to the Lolo pass at 5235' small beer compared to our previous accomplishments. Then a rapid 12 mile descent into camp at which point the heavens opened.

But the main story of the day is that Ellen is back. With her usual grace and poise she stormed up the Lolo pass in her psychedelic dress and new shiny black pants without any vehicular assistance to reclaim her position as Queen of the mountains.

Qurstioned about the othet day Hadley said "I dont know what happened. It was a big mistake and it will never happen again"

Miles Today 58
Total 3810

Day 74 Rest day in Missoula

2011-07-18T19:33:00.001-07:00

Ah the luxury of a lie in and not having to cycle. If only my leg muscles could remembet how to walk . . . You think I am joking?

Today we were hosted by the Adventure Cycling Association at their HQ in Missoula and after a tour around the building looking at all the memorabilia since the first Transam ride in 1976 they laid on a barbeque in the very pleasant 98F sunshine. We also met Ellen's mum who dtove all the way down from Calgary on crutches to see her daughtet brfore she jets off to Korea for a teaching post at the end of the tour. Tough ladies, the Hadleys!

I could not resist indulging in some retail thetapy and purchased a Ttansam cycling shirt ( 79$ ouch), a pair of transam 76 socks and 2 new Continental Contact Sport slick tyres. After 2 more punctures I have binned the Schwalbe XR's.

Had my first ever haircut in the USA and rounded off the day with a Japanesr meal with Ellen, her Mum and a few of the crowd. We also enjoyed the company of Zac and West who we keep bumping into en route. Two good guys that we like.

But the most exciting news of the day has to be the return of KELLY so we are back up to 14.

Oh and I had ice cream and coffee at Mcdonalds as my nightcap.

Miles Today 0

Day 73 Darby to Missoula

2011-07-17T17:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we arrived in Darby on Loggers Day. Basically this means that really hard looking men that usually chop down trees do thinks like log rolling and the lumbetjack equivelant of boules. That is chopping down trees and making them land within inches of a can of WD40. Enough said I think.

So today after nine very tough days on the road we had a straigbtforward seventy miles through the breathtakingly beautiful landscape of Montana into Missoula where we have a much appreciated layover day, before we turn left and head for the Pacific.

As the campsite was miles out of town I have opted to share a motel room in the centre with Jack for a couple of nights. It is supposed to be a rest day aftet all and as the temperature forecast for tomorrow is 98F I didn't fancy all the cycling backwards and forwards.

On the subject of Greg's butt I have had a bid of ten pounds NOT to publish. A good starting point but clearly not enough!

Miles Today 72
Total 3752

Day 72 Jackson to Darby . . . A day of mourning

2011-07-16T15:53:00.001-07:00

Today July 16th 2011 is a black day in the history of the Trans America cycle ride.

Ellen 'Iron Woman' Hadley, Queen of the Appalacians, First lady of the Ozarks, Conqueror of the Rockies, Eater of peach rings and Friend of the turtle has sadly lost her way.

She has now become Ellen ' I prefer to ride up hills in a nice car' Hadley.

As a mark of respect to her former glory no pictures of today's ride will be published other than the most recent picture of the Ellen that we know and love, may she come back to us soon.

Ellen 'the unstoppable hill climbing machine' Hadley

1979 - 2011 Lest we forget.

Friends have rrquested that flowers should not be sent but donations can be made to Shelterbox, the Disaster Relief charity through this blog.

Miles Today 75
Total 3680

Day 71 - Dillon to Jackson (guest blogger Hadley)

2011-07-15T15:55:00.001-07:00

Today's ride looked like this: ^^

Although the above seems to be a clear & succinct way of describing today's ride, Rob has instructed me to write more details about the ride and to do more 'gushing'. So here I go:

Today's ride took us over two small mountains, through lovely, wide-open Montana countryside. The roads we were on were small and had very little traffic, so it was easy to relax and enjoy the views. There were no towns or services along the way - just rural Big Sky Beauty. I rode with Joel and Marla (who were riding their tandem), just ahead of Rob (close enough that we were tantalizingly in sight, but far enough away that there was no way he could catch us). Or so he claims. At the top of the first pass, Joel and Marla and I apparently blasted off down the hill, just when Rob was about to reach the summit!

This incident caused Rob to have a minor temper tantrum. I am writing today's blog post in the hopes that he will be so appreciative that he'll forgive me for my cycling faux pas.

(ok. I was losing steam on writing this blog post, but I've been recharged by Rob's praise of what I've written so far...)

We reached the tiny town of Jackson (population 30) after a mere 48 miles of riding. For some reason we all seem to be unusually knackered and are now lying oh-so-slothfully in the animal-head-festooned Jackson Lodge, where we will be eating dinner in 9 short minutes.

That wasn't quite as gushy a post as Rob was hoping for, I think, but it'll have to do because I'm only half conscious at the moment.

Miles Today 48
Total 3605

A bunch of knackered Trans American cyclists after a hard day in the saddle

2011-07-15T15:08:00.001-07:00

From left to right. Marla,Joel,Ellen,Sjef,Terry,Cathy (rear head view)

David

2011-07-15T15:02:00.001-07:00

Holding a bullitt which he believes may date back to Custers last stand at Little Bighorn.

Day 70 Ennis to Dillon

2011-07-14T14:30:00.001-07:00

Today we started with the hill known locally as the ten mile hill, average 7 percent gradient all tbe way up. Fandabidosa. I knew there would be a price to be paid for yesterday.
A short descent into Virginia city checked by real cowboys driving real cows up the road, gave me the opportunity to feast on a tri stack of hotcakes laced with butter and maple syrup, my new favourite cycling food. Alas the third stack defeated me.
Along this part of Montana there are lots of old mining towns which have been restored quite authentically to attract the tourist. Thereafter the day was a long gradual tiring climb with headwinds and the threat of a storm that somehow I managed to avoid. On arrival at camp I was greeted by Joel who immediately thrust a beer from his local micro brewery into my hand. What a fine fellow!
Dinner table conversation revolved mainly around the topic of Greg's butt and whether I should publish on the blog the photo of it that Dara sent me.

Miles Today 72
Total 3555

Day 69 West Yellowstone to Ennis

2011-07-13T14:50:00.001-07:00

Last night we had a close encounter with a Grizzly bear. About 3AM Joel heard a noise by the garbage, looked out of bis tent and there it was. The reaction of the campsite staff the next morni.g was a rather unconcerned 'Oh not again'. Joel by the way is Cathy's nephew who lives locally and will be ridiing with us for a few days. I am beginning to wonder if he is really an Englishman in disguise as unlike most Americans he understands me first take most of the time and has a pretty dry sense of bumour which I like. In fact he would make a good Greg replacement especially if he were to grow a beard.

The ride today was a cinch. Downhill all the way with a tailwind through the big open spaces and beautiful scenery of Montana. I averaged 15.2 mph which for me is not bad loaded up. Elsewhere Ellen has become a Tour De France addict and has a girlie crush on one of the Schleck brothers even though they are without facial growth. Rumour has it that she has a poster on the wall of her tent.

After our little detour in Yellowstone it was good to be back on the route proper today.

Miles Today 71
Total 3483

Day 68 Yellowstone Loop Part 2

2011-07-12T18:27:00.001-07:00

After a very heavy thunderstorm last night we woke up to a very soggy campsite. We started the day with two modest ascents up to the Great Divide then a massive ten mile descent to Old Faithful.

It fires off roughly every 96 minutes and I luckily arrived to join the crowds ten minutes before lift off. The heavens then opened and the last 30 miles of the day on a very busy road were unpleasant to say the least. It was so cold that I could not turn on my Dell to take photographs as it operates by a heat sensitive screen.

Great thing about the weather here though is that when it strikes it tends to be ferocious but when it stops the sun comes out and you dry off very quickly.

Unfortunately Dolo had a spot of bother with the weather today. She was badly affected by the cold, fell off her bike, got disorientated and was delivered to the campsite by ambulance.

However she swiftly recovered and didn't miss her regular Mcdonalds ice cream fix, after a telling off from our leader about the importance of wearing watetproofs when it's cold and raining.

Miles Today 51
Total 3407

Day 67 Yellowstone Park Loop Part 1

2011-07-12T14:11:00.001-07:00

As I suspected this park is something special. Hot springs, geysers, elk, moose, bison, bears, snow capped peaks, it's got the blooming lot, apart from PIE! From a cycling perspective it was a long hard day and no wonder as it was all between 7500' and 8000'.

Hope the photos bring it over. Tomorrow we pass by Old Faithful.

Miles Today 71
Total 3353

Day 66 Warm River to Madison, Yellowstone Park

2011-07-12T14:03:00.001-07:00

I had a long stretch cycling alone this morning on a quite road and all I could think about was bears. Should I buy some bear spray at 50$. What would I do if I confronted a bear. Would I have the bottle to follow the advice a.d stand my ground if it charged or run or cycle like hell. I really dont know but there is a real danger here so I feel that I must stay vigilant.

By midday I hooked up with Don and Ellen and we rode into West Yellowstone town at a brisk pace, where due to no showets again tonight, we all took showers at the launderette, as we dont like to smell too badly.

After meeting up with the rest of the group we sbopped, ate pizza and then cycled into the park to begin our 2 day loop. I have to say that after the Tetons I was somewhat underwhelmed and may ride back to West Yellowstone, take a rest day and do the tourist bus tour to Old Faithful.

However I am sure that we have entered the park by the tradesman's entrance so I am POSITIVE things will get better.

Miles Today 71
Total 3282

Day 65 Jackson to Warm River

2011-07-10T10:28:00.001-07:00

Today is my birthday a.d what better way to start than a Mcdonalds breakfast and a 10 mile ascent over the very STEEP Teton Pass, on a bike decorated with blue birthday ribbon. We are going this way because cycling groups are not allowed to enter Yellowstone Park by the South entrance so we have to take a 140 mile detour to get in by the west entrance. Cars rule over here!

The day was not without incident. Hubert had a puncture at the start of the climb. Always diffiicult to repair with his Rohloff hub. The coupling on Dolores' Bike Friday trailer broke AGAIN halfway up the hill. Between us Greg and I managed to make a temporary repair. At the top of the hill Greg announced that for personal reasons he was quitti.g the tour. Sad to see you go mate, have really enjoyed your company and if I dont see you in San Francisco at the end of the tour then somewhere on the slopes next season.

Ten miles from the end our Q sheets diverted us onto 5 miles of gravel track that was supposed to be a shortcut. Unfortunately we got totally lost due to errors in the instructions and ended up in camp very late at 8PM. No showers also meant that I finished the day bathing in the very COLD inappropriately named 'Warm River'

I alzo got some birthday presents. All in all a good day with some great riding.

Miles Today 75
Total

Day 64 Rest day in Jackson

2011-07-08T16:07:00.001-07:00

Not my favourite place for a layover. Too big, too much traffic and too many tourists. We are all pleased that Greg is rejoining us today but sadly Kelly is leavi.g us tomorrow. She is having severe knee problems and has been suffering in silence for most of the trip. We will all miss her and hopefully a weeks rest will enable her to rejoin us. She is also our computer expert so an essential part of the team!

The next 3 days though are going to be awesome as we tour around Yellowstone National Park.

Day 63 Tetons National Park to Jackson

2011-07-07T21:35:00.001-07:00

This is absolute cycling paradise, without doubt the highspot of the ride so far. The bear attack in Yellowstone is a bit worrying but on the road we should be ok. We have been advised though to ring our bells when going round blind corners just in case there is a bear on the road. Apparently the only time they are likely to attack is when they are taken by surprise, especially if it is a mother with cubs.

We now have yet another layover day in Jackson, before we start heading up to Yellowstone Park. This is our last motel of the trip and as Jason and I are sipping a fine bottle of wine slowly getting sloshed we are aware that you lot in the UK are getting up for work. Jason says hi to Mrs Jason and he'll speak to you later.

Miles Today 45
Total 3133

Day 62 Dubois to Tetons National Park

2011-07-06T19:29:00.001-07:00

Today was brilliant riding. I skipped the 6AM breakfast, slept in for an hour a.d had a sumptious breakfast in town. This put me miles behind everybody else but I managed to reel in four of the tail enders before reaching the 9560' summit of Togwotee pass 29 miles down the road. I like the days when all the hard wotk is do.e in the morning. It makes the afternoon headwind more bearable.

The last 10 miles of the day were in the Tetons National Park whi,h is breathtaki.gly beautiful. By this time I had caught up with Don Ellen and Kelly and we saw our first grizzly bear with its cubs chasi.g elk. Appare.tly it was bear number 311!

To.ight we had a special treat. Friends of Terry dating back to his days in the 1972 U.S Sapporo Olympic team came to camp and cooked us buffalo burger with all the trimmings. Thanks for organising that Terry.

Miles Today 64
Total 3086

P.S Thanks very much Ellen's Mum for your very kind and generous donation. It is really appreciated. I promise I will keep your daughter in peach rings until the e.d of the trip :)

Day 61 Lander to Dubois 3000 miles up!

2011-07-06T06:34:00.001-07:00

Well today was pretty much deja vu of day 58. Ridiculously early start, high mileage, headwinds . . . you know by now the sort of thing that I mean.
One difference, just as I was all set to go, I decided to check tyre pressures and somehow broke the valve on the rear wheel. So after much stomping around the campsite I unloaded, and eventually fixed the damn thing. As I was now miles behind everybody I thought what the hell and took refuge in Mcdonalds and had a second breakfast, which of course by now was at a more civilised time. Ok strop over.

Today was going to be interesting as for 58 miles we were cycling through the Wind River Indian Reservation, home of the Shoshone tribe.

Typically when cycling througb the USA you pick up the sense of national pride by virtue of the stars and stripes hoisted above just about every home. Here there was not one single flag displayed, other than above the Missionary church in Fort Washakie. And I did not see a single Indian. My overriding feeling was that of poverty,deprivation and a tough place to live

Quite a contrast to the tourist information boards describring the reservation in the more upmarket town of Dubois where we stayed tonight.

Miles Today 76
Total 3022

Day 60 4th July in Lander, Wyoming

2011-07-04T14:37:00.001-07:00

This is a massive day over here clebrating the day in 1776 that independence was gained from the British.

Consequently it was a carnival atmosphere in town with a parade of over 75 floats. Notmally alcohol cannot be drunk on the street but today the Police turn a blind eye.

Tonight there will be a huge firework display and as our campsite ovetlooks the town we will have the best seats. Unfortunately we will not be able to join in the revelry as we have another tough 74 mile ascent tomorrow in the direction of Yellowstone Park . . . Serious bear country ahead!

Day 59 Sweetwater to Lander

2011-07-04T06:45:00.002-07:00

We couldn't get out of the campsite quick enough this morning. The mosquitos were so bad even at 5AM that we skipped breakfast and cycled straight through to Lander.

Only 40 miles and with an amazing 10 mile descent most of us were in camp by 10 30AM. As there were no services again on the route I cannot tell you the pleasure generated by the Mcdonalds sign just before we got to Lander. Junk food is an essential ingredient for long distance cycling.

Mcdonalds also has reliable wifi unlike the AT & T signal which has gone walkabout in this part of America.

We now have a rest day in Lander where we will be joining in the 4th July celebrations and watching a Rodeo before we begin our ascent to Yellowstone Park and the Tetons.

Miles Today 39
Total 2945

The Lander Rodeo

2011-07-04T06:45:00.001-07:00

Last night we met up with Greg and Dara ( imagine a Baywatch Babe on roller skates ) who is over from California for a few days and we all went to the Rodeo and ate popcorn. We were treated to calf roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, bull riding, indian bareback racing and I have to say it was a thorouvhly entertaining 8$ night out. With my limited knowledge of matters horse I could see that a considerable amount of skill was involved. There was also something for the children where all the under 10's chased 2 calfs around the rodeo field with the objective of removing a ribbon from the calf's tail. They start them young here.

TBC

Day 58 Rawlins to Sweetwater

2011-07-03T12:24:00.001-07:00

I didn't think it was possible to have a harder cycling day than some we have already had but today proved me wrong. 87 miles. 5 30AM breakfast. No services for the last 45 miles. And a campsite in the middle of nowhere with no showers and no grocery store or restaurants nearby. This meant that we had to carry food all day and the gourmet eveni.g meal on the menu was powdered taco soup supplemented with packets of something that looked like chicken. Actually Kelly and I were masquerading as chefs today and it didn't taste that bad.

Having said that the first 40 miles were very pleasant. We are in the wide open spaces of Wyoming and it really does feel like Indian country. Probably because it is.

All was well until we turned left at 40 miles straight into a headwind that got stronger and stronger as the day went on. And it was all uphill and a dead straight road making it barely possible to achieve 5 mph.

I arrived in camp at 6PM totally exhausted. And to make matters worse the campsite was swarming with giant size mosquitos that bite through your clothing.

As I am sat in the safe haven of the toilet blogging I still haven't worked out how to get in my tent and keep the mossies out.

Just one of those days you have to put up with when you are cycling across America.

Miles Today 87
Total 2906

Day 57 - Saratoga to Rawlins (guest blogger Hadley)

2011-07-02T13:21:00.001-07:00

One great thing about bike touring is the feeling of dropping into a deeep looong sleep after a day of riding. While an 8pm bedtime might not usually sound so appealing, sometimes this biking leaves us pretty darned exhausted and ready to drop into unconsciousness at a surprisingly early hour. Many of us (Rob included) ended up having about 10 hours of sweet restorative sleep last night! When we woke up, the sun was shining, we felt well-rested, and we knew that today's ride would be just 42 miles. A fine sort of morning!

The landscapes we've been riding through in Wyoming consist of slow, gently rolling hills. Assuming the wind behaves itself (staying away or at our backs) this terrain is DREAMY to ride... the first 20 miles today were lovely. But then the wind came out in front and we were forced to work a lot harder to get ourselves the rest of the way to Rawlin.

Noteworthy tidbits from today:

- Today is Canada Day! Jack pulled a harmonica out of his handlebar bag and played "O Canada" for me as I rode past! Very cool!

- The truckstop on the I-80 featured several animal heads (stuffed) mounted on the walls, including an antelope's head. I was impressed with the care the taxidermist had apparently put into making the animal's tongue curl like this: ~ . If only Rob had a photo of the beast! (I fear that my description doesn't properly convey how striking its tongue really was).

- We saw lots of live antelope in the fields next to the road. Viewed in profile it sometimes looks as though the antelope have a single horn... this is what made Don start referring to them as the "Wyoming Unicorn".

Day 56 Walden to Saragota

2011-07-01T12:16:00.001-07:00

Today we said goodbye to Colorado and hello to Wyoming. We really are in the 'Wild West' now with services few and far between. The campsite tonight has no showers and no drinking water so we have to take it with us. As if we dont have enough to carry!

Greg called in at the campsite this morning and will be rejoining the group at Lander on 4th July. Unfortunately he has had problems with the altitude and has been medically advised to stay below 5000'.

Some of the group had mechanical failures today including Kelly and Ellen who ended up hitching a ride to camp. I agreed to sweep at the back and wait for Dolores at the 50 mile rest stop. I was starting to get concerned as she had not showed up by 3 30PM. Amazingly a guy sat at the bar in the cafe handed me his truck keys to go and look for her. Another example of the hospitality we keep receiving from ordinary American people on this trip. Just as I fired up the engine looking forward to a spin down the road she turned up, looking very dishevelled and battered by the strong winds that Wyoming had greeted us with.
She was however soon revitalised by a huge half pound burger and we powered the last 20 miles to camp with the help of a very welcome tailwind.
I now have over 50 mosquito bites!

Miles Today 70
Total 2773

Day 55 Hot Sulphur Springs to Walden

2011-07-01T12:15:00.001-07:00

Today was fairly straight forward. 30 miles uphill to cross the Co.tinental Divide again. Then 30 miles downhill. It goes without saying that the scenery a.d riding were awesome. On the way down I came across Ellen and Kelly who seem to find ridi.g downhill more tiring on this side of the Continental Divide! There is also a distinct lack of pie stops in Colorado. Perhaps things will improve in Wyoming.

Miles Today 63
Total 2703

Day 54 Breckenridge to Hot Sulphur Springs

2011-06-28T19:31:00.001-07:00

We are now going to be heading north through the Rockies crossing the Continental Divide many times. Today's ride started with a delightful descent to Frisco on a dedicated cycle path. We then followed the Blue and Colorado rivers before finishing the day cycli.g the Byers canyon up to Hot Sulphur Springs. We arrived to find our campsite by the Colorado river completely under water so we've ended up camping in the front garden of a local bed and breakfast. We also have mosquitos, great big things.
The scenery today was amazing, probably the best day so far, and it's good to be a couple of thousand feet lower.

Miles Today 76

Day 53 Rest day in Breckenridge

2011-06-27T13:09:00.001-07:00

Today is going to be a lazy day. I had the bike serviced a few days ago but think perhaps it was me that needed the service! So far today I have been to the Post Office, lounged around at Starbucks and bought some stuff at the Patagonia shop to replace the cheap Walmart stuff that I will now use for bike cleaning.

On going stomach issues but some of the group have been affected by the Altitude. Greg has had to drop down to Denver for a couple of days, Luckily he had a family visit that made this possible. Some of the others have gone cycling! Are they Mad?. As I write AJA by Steely Dan is playing. One of my favourite Dan tracks.

This is very much a tourist town with far too much retail therapy temptation. Also very expensive compared to the America that we've passed through. Need to move on soon.

I shall probably spend the rest of the afternoon in the Health Spa where there is a hot tub, sauna, steam room and some excetcise equipment that I will NOT be using.

Day 52 Fairplay to Breckenridge

2011-06-26T17:20:00.001-07:00

Today was a short day to give us a day and a half layover in Breckenridge but first we had to get over the Hoosier Pass, the highest point of our trip at 11,542'. We were also joined by Frank, a big advocate of the Transam route and the author of our exceedingly good Q sheets, who drove up from Denver and treated us all to breakfast. Wally, another ACA leader known by some of the group from previous tours also cycled with us.
Once we had all made it to the top we took the group photograph and then enjoyed a magnificent 11 mile descent into Breckenridge.
Breckenridge is of course a world famous ski resort , where I skied some 15 years ago on my only previous visit to the USA.

Miles Today 23
Total 2563

Day 51 Royal Gorge to Fairplay 2500 Miles Up !

2011-06-25T21:10:00.001-07:00

There are very few easy days on tbis ride and today was going to be no exception. We are ascending from 6000' up to 9933' over a distance of 66 miles and most of it will be uphill. For a change the elements have been kind to us, moderate temperature, blue skies, and best of all a tailwind for most of the steeper first half of the ascent. Once we had hauled ourselves up onto the plateau at 9000' the riding was exhilerating with panoramic vistas all round. Sweeping plains, hanging valleys and snow capped peaks . I am on the set of 'High Plains Drifter'. Clint must have rode in tbese parts.

Of course the fun couldn't last and the wind kicked in to try and spoil our fun. But today we were the masters and we kicked it's ass. (see picture of Greg and Don below ) At 9.8 miles we lost Ellen tthe unstoppable hill climbing machine so she's either laying in a ditch somewhere or having a hot bubble bath at the hotel.

After a day without any services we were deliriously happy to find a newly opened cafe at the 50 mile point not mentioned in our q sheets. After spendiing far too much time eating and drinking when we should have been riding we finally hit the road and within a few hundred yards Greg and Don decided they could ride no more and hitched a lift. Of course I cannot do such things so I was left to slug out the last 20 miles. The increasingly strong headwind meant that I finally arrived in Fairplay at the rather unrespectable time of 7 35 PM.

It was a tough day.

Miles Today 70
Total 2539

Royal Gorge

2011-06-24T20:34:00.001-07:00

Not the Grand Canyon but nevertheless quite impressive at about 1000 ft deep.

Day 50 Rest day in Royal Gorge

2011-06-24T13:20:00.001-07:00

It's strange suddenly being in a Tourist Area after riding over 2000 miles through small town America. I dont feel that we quite fit in but yes we did the tourist thing and went rafting down the Arkansaw river through level 2/3 rapids.

Sufficiently scary for most of us as the snow melt is still causing high water. Only Jason, possibly the all round fittest guy in the group managed to fall out of the boat. I think hr just wanted the photograph :)

Afternoon temperature was close to 100F today so that made for not doing very much other than sitting on the verandah drinking beer. Had a change of mind later on and visited the tourist attraction that is Royal Gorge.

And my bike is now sporting new 1.25" Pasela Panaracer Tourguard tyres so in theory I should be faster.

Day 49 Pueblo to Royal Gorge

2011-06-23T20:22:00.001-07:00

After racing to Pueblo yesterday and getting there at 10 15 AM to have the bike serviced I had a forced late start due to lower bowel issues . Once these were sorted out with the help of Imodium there was the small matter of the days 60 mile ride into the Rockies. A few miles of flat to get us off the plain and then we started climbing again. And if today's gradients are anything to go by the Rockies will be a lot easier than the hills in the east. Greg was also out of sorts today with the same problems so it was an easy paced day rolling into camp about 5 PM.
As it is a rest day tomorrow Jason, my motel room mate took the initiative to book a cabin on a classic retro catavan site. Photographs will be available for my caravan enthusiast friends.
So thats about it for today. Tomorrow is a white water rafting day.

Miles today 62
Total 2469

First glimpse of the Rockies

2011-06-22T16:06:00.001-07:00

Day 48 The Race to Pueblo

2011-06-22T09:44:00.001-07:00

Warp Speed                  ENGAGED
Bike to Bike Phasers     ENGAGED
Wind Deflector Shield ENGAGED
Brain                             DISENGAGED

Catch me at yout own risk !!!
GRRR :) :) :) :)

Miles Today 50
Total 2406

Two Canadien Hot Pots

2011-06-21T20:56:00.001-07:00

Or Ellen and Cathy

Day 48 Eads to Ordway

2011-06-21T20:55:00.001-07:00

Only 5 miles down the road and I'm already demoralized. No storms but the headwind is still there relentlessy ripping into the body. It's barely possible to make 6 mph just mile after mile of straight line nothingness. This is the toughest part of the trip for me but I must keep motivated. Today is the first time I have asked myself 'Am I really Crazy for doing this' ?

And then up ahead I see a sweeping left hand bend. Does this mean a tailwind. I can barely control my excitement. My cadence increases. My leg muscles are pumping. 7 mph 9 mph 11 mph. My heart is pounding. I'm sprinting down the Champs D'Elysees to win the Tour de France, I've served an ace to win the final at Wimbledon. I'm about to score the winning goal for Leeds in the Champions League Final. I'm at Woodstock llistening to Jimi Hendrix play the 'Star Spangled Banner'. And I get to the bend. And the bloody wind changes direction!!!.

But tbings are going to get better. After lunch the wind stops, the sun shines and it appears to be downhill making for a pleasant 38 miles to our destination, a very agreable family hotel in Ordway with a restaurant next door.

And at my last coffee stop of the day an American I chatted to paid for my afternoon tea.

I am re motivated.

Miles Today 60
Total 2356

Day 47 Tribune to Eads

2011-06-21T17:31:00.001-07:00

Well wbat a 24 hours since tbe last post. Yrstetday afternoon life was pretty good. Cycling done for the day, sipping a beer by the pool in the afternoon sun followed by a very good Indian meal served up by Cathy and Ellen our cooks for the day.

It all changed at approximately 9 PM. The Goats Head Thorn has but one purpose in life which is to make the life of a cyclist miserable unless you like repairing punctures. And my time for misery had come. A cursory check of my tyres revealed three of these nasty little buggers embedded in both front and rear tyres. Took the first one out PSSS puncture. Took the second and third out of the back wheel PSSS puncture. Then discovered that lots more tiny little offshoot thorns were embedded randomly all over both tyres. So out came the nosehair tweezers and the next hour was spent catefully removing each and every one of them.
So next job - fit both spare tubes. Wheel 1 no problem. Wheel 2 HUGE BANG halfway through inflation as I hadn't seated the tube on the rim properly. Count to 10 then proceed to repair two punctures in the dark. Finally after much frustration and cursing I got to bed about midnight, wondering whether my repairs would hold up, or would I wake up to a flat tyre.

No sooner was I snuggled up in my tent and the wind came. And it blew all night and when it finally stopped the birds started. So after coming to the conclusion that no further sleep was possible I jumped out of bed at 5 30 AM determined to get everything packed so that I could make an eatly start for a change. The rest of the Stop and Stare team would catch me somewhere down the road. And the puncture repair had held up.

So off I went pedalling into a delightful but slightly breezy morning planning to do a very leisurely 58 mile ride to Eads. Or so I thought. 15 minutes down the road it all changed.

The skies darkened, the heavens opened, thunder and lightning for good measure and a ferocious side wind buffetiing tbe bike towards the centre of tbe road. Pretty scary. 17 miles down the road just before the Colorado State line I came across the fast group taking shelter in a cow shed. I joined them for a while before taking the decision that things would not improve so I pressed on to Sheridan lake, the 29 mile point where hot coffee, food and shelter would be available. With the weather still not improving I holed up for a wbile as a few of the others appeared in dribs and drabs. News came through that the State Police had taken the rear group back to Tribune as the conditions were deemed unsafe for cycling. To cut a long story short, Greg and Ellen turned up about 4 PM and as the weather had improved we decided to press on and do the final 29 miles to Eads. The rest of the group decided to stay over at the church in Sheridan Lake.

Those last 29 miles were straight into another monster headwind but we took it on the chin and finally rolled up in Eads at 9 PM. Across the road we found a bar where we drunk beer ate pizza and exchanged banter with David, a very well spoken young Englishman and his American cousin Elliot who were cycling East to West.

Miles today 60
Total 2296

Dons 70th Birthday

2011-06-19T18:00:00.001-07:00

With a few candles missing.

Day 46 Scott city to Tribune

2011-06-19T14:52:00.001-07:00

Having survived last nights storm Greg and I were up at the crack of dawn to prepare the 6 30AM breakfast. With a short day, tail winds, and an hour gained as we crossed another time zone we reached our destination just before midday. Today we are camping in the city park so for the first time on this trip I have spent the afternoon lazing around the pool. The city parks here are amazing. They nearly all have a great swimming pool, showers (free for cyclists) and full sport facilities including a baseball pitch. As long as we contact the local sheriff we can camp for free. But the main difference between here and home is that all the facilities are immaculately maintained and respected by the locals.

And finally after 46 attempts I now have a perfectly erected tent capable of handling anything that nature can throw at it. We have tornado warnings again tonight so we will see.

Miles today 49
Total 2236

Life on the road

2011-06-19T08:12:00.001-07:00

Day 45 Ness City to Scott City

2011-06-18T19:07:00.001-07:00

We seem to be having thunderstorms every night at the moment. Tonight we are staying at a Sports club with the option to sleep indoors. As I write a massive storm is brewing with thunder and lightning the like of which you nevet see back home. Quite exciting really. At the moment I am still in the tent listening to Bob Dylan.
The ride today was fairly uneventful but I spoke too soon about the wind. We ascended very gradually with a heafwind all the way. Tomorrow is our last day in Kansas before we enter Colorado. Bring on the Rockies !

Miles Today 57
Total 2187

Do you remember this Stuart?

2011-06-17T20:08:00.001-07:00

The Mustard Seed restaurant in Buhlen, zomewhere in the middle of Kansas.

Day 44 Lahned to Ness City

2011-06-17T20:01:00.001-07:00

Last night we had stormy weather with winds gusting up to 50mph and tbunder and ligbtning so most of us were tucked up in our tents at 8 30 just before the fun started. The local police phoned and told us that we could take refuge in tbe nearby scout hut but I was keen to find out just how good my new tent stood up to the conditions. And it performed admirably with no leaks anywhere. So the MSR Hubba Hubba Green gets my vote. A great versatile tent.
The notorious Kansas wind has been kind to us so far with tail and side winds and today was no exception. Its flat as far as the eye can see but there is a certain tranquility about riding across the plains, disturbed only when the huge trucks come thundering past, which they do on a fairly regular basis.
Early morning we stopped by the historical site of Fort Lahned, famous for its Santa Fe trail connections and for lunch I had the best hamburger yet but sadly no pie today.

Miles Today 67
Total 2129

Day 42 - Newton to Sterling (guest blogger Hadley)

2011-06-17T17:36:00.001-07:00

After dinner, Rob, Greg and I biked into town and settled in at the local pizza joint. Rob

whipped out his dorkulator and we started in on a very focused collaborative blog post composition session. We wrote. We laughed. We cried (well, I did anyway - from laughter). Greg drank at least 5 jumbo refills of pop. Three hours later, we emerged from the restaurant... the blog post had been written! It was epic, hilarous and touching.

The next day, Rob woke up and turned on his dorkulator (in order to post our blog entry) and was dismayed to find that THE BLOG POST HAD MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED!!! Yes... it was gone.

It's taken us two days to recover from the loss. Only now am I able to muster up the energy to write a summary of the post. What follows is a sadly abbreviated version of our masterpiece. Read it and imagine something much longer and thousands of times wittier & more touching and you will get a sense of what we originally wrote.

1. Rob slept in.
2. Rob caught up with me & Greg 12 miles out of Newton.
3. We sat around ate chips and talked about aliens. For approximately two hours.
4. We sat around and ate donuts and made plans for a scavenger hunt. For about one hour.
5. We rode our bikes.
6. We met a really charming and sweet young girl (Paige) who introduced us to her dog Baxter, took me for a bike ride around her neighborhood, and gave us big hugs when we said bye.
7. We met Paige's grandpa, who showed us his red Model A Ford with a chevy 327 small block, aspirated 620 horsepower. It was a chopped & channeled hot rod that he'd built. It was a thing of beauty.
8. We rode our bikes some more. Rob's cycle computer showed that he had pedalled 2000 miles so far on this trip.

And that is that.

Miles Today 59
Total 2008

Day 43 Sterling to Lahned

2011-06-16T13:49:00.001-07:00

Today it was back to the 6 AM breakfast routine after a night of disrupted sleep in Sterling city park. They take a pride in their parks over here and like to keep the grass green. So they have sprinkler systems programmed to activate at night and usually they are turned off when people are camping. Last night they forgot and about 11 PM my flyless tent was right in the spray line. So I jumped out of the tent at lightning speed (but not quick enough) and moved it to what I thought was a safe position only to find that another bank of sprinklers activated to drench my tent again. Eventually a sprinkler safe pitch was found and I drpped off to sleep only to be woken at at 4AM by the noisiest and longest train this side of Clapham Junction. So the last thing I needed today was the 6AM bugle call.

Once on the road today was brilliant. Not too hot, a little bit of rain, only 50 miles but most of all a tail wind that just about blew us all the way to Lahned. Rounded off with a nice piece of pecan pie and ice cream.

Miles today 52
Total 2062

Day 41 Rest day in Newton

2011-06-14T20:31:00.001-07:00

On this occasion we had the luxury of 2 nights in a motel. It's so nice to sleep in a proper bed in an air conditioned room. Unfortunately woke up with a slight hangover as a result of 2 margeritas and a beer in a texmex restaurant last night. We get so dehydrated that even a little alcohol takes it's toll. Or I am just a lightweight.
We now have nine days slog across Kansas with no more rest days until Royal Gorge in Colorado. We also hit the half way point of the tour at Pueblo where there is a very good bike shop so I have very lazily booked the bike in for a clean up and service. I am also swopping my Marathon XR tyres for a pair of 1.25 Pasela Panaracer Tourguards. Desparation measures maybe. They wont be as puncture proof but the better rolling resistance will hopefully make life a little easier.

Relaxation Stop and Stare style

2011-06-13T16:03:00.001-07:00

Cbiiling out on the side of the prairie to the Grateful Dead

2011-06-13T16:02:00.001-07:00

Day 40 Eureka to Newton

2011-06-13T15:59:00.001-07:00

On the road at 6 15AM to tackle the gruelling straigbt line 73 miles we had to do today. I do hate getting up in the dark. It reminds me of work.
The first 30 miles were pleasant in the cooler morning air at least until I missed a turn and added another 5 miles to my day which also caused me to miss my rendez vous with Greg and Ellen. Eventually we all found eacb other and joinex up with Don, another in-betweener, to tackle the lasr 40 milez. By this time the temperature was up in the high nineties and for good meazure we were battered by a good old Kansas side/head wind.
But the real bummer of the day was that both refreshment stops in our cue sheets were closed down so we cycled all day with absolutely no pie options. So todayz consumption was :

2 cheese and jam sandwiches
2 packets crisps
4 fig newtons
1 packet M& M's
1 packet peach rings
6 litres water
2 bananaz and 2 oranges

We really are eating a load of junk. BUT WE CAN BECAUSE WE ARE ADVENTURE CYCLISTS.

Miles today 77
Total 1941

Day 39 Chanute to Eureka

2011-06-13T07:48:00.001-07:00

Many exciting things happened today in Kansas. It rained. There was one hill. Ellen took a wrong turn and lost her sunglasses in a creek. I nearly fell off my bike on a railway ctossing as well as nearly hitting a turtle. Greg rescued 3 turtles. We had a pie free Sunday lunch. The faster end of the group decided to do a 100 mile day today to maintain their testosterone levels ( said David )
We are passing through the Flint Hills which is the largest area of open grazing cattle land in the USA. We have a long 73 mile day tomorrow and the temperature will be in the high nineties with a headwind. So its early to bed with a 6AM start to try get az much done before the hottest paft of the day.
Miles Today 62
Total 1864

Hey Tom It's your Birthday Dude Have an awesome day!

2011-06-13T05:54:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthay to you.
Happy birthday Dear Tom
Happy birthday to you.

Sung by the ACA Transam Tour group 2011.

Day 38 Pittsburgh to Chanute

2011-06-11T19:57:00.001-07:00

The first flat day of riding and after massive thunderstorms last night the morning temperature was nice and cool. Bliss. Not much to see today apart from corn and wheat and that's the way it's going to be for the next couple of weeks. The town of Girard that we pazzed througn today had an interesting Vietnam war memorial with an original 'Huey' helicopter.

Miles today 64
Total 1802

Chanute, Kansas

2011-06-11T18:24:00.001-07:00

Named after Octave Chanute who was involved in the first manned flight by the Orville brothers in 1903, a history project of mine that I recall from school days.

Day 37 Rest day in Pittsburgh

2011-06-10T21:14:00.001-07:00

As you may know a couple of weeks ago there was a devastating tornado in Joplin Missouri that took over 150 lives and totally destroyed a huge part of the city. Today we are only 20 miles north of the disaster area and a couple of days ago Greg, Ellen, Kelly and myself responded to an advert for volunteers at the United Way Catholic relief centre in Joplin.

We received a positive response to do a 3 hour session at their emergency supply centre so we hired a car and drove down this morning. We were a little apprehensive az the consensus of other opinion was that Joplin had been inundated with volunteers and that we would be more of a hindrance than a help. Neverthelless we decided to go and assess the situation as we felt that the charity would have declined our applications had this been the case.

It turned out that our fears were unfounded, we were warmly received and each of us did 3 hours of useful work helping with the distribution of supplies to families who had lost their homes.

It was a very humbling experience but at the same time after seeing the devaztation here it made me feel very proud to be raising money for Shelterbox and even more determined to achieve my sponsorship target.

Day 36 Ashgrove to Pittsburgh

2011-06-09T19:01:00.001-07:00

Today was our last day in Missouri and our last day in the hills for a couple of weeks before we hit tbe Rockies. Kansas, tbe breadbasket of America, with its endless flat plains awaits us, where buffalo used to roam, but now where the closest tbing to a buffalo is a John Deer tractor.
The day was a long 69 miles, temperatures back over 100F and an immediate wrong turn adding 7 miles to our day. Hivhlight of the day was lunch at Cookies pie shop in Golden City . We all had at least one piece of pie and some of us had rwo.Tomorrow is a rest day in Pittsburgh. Nothinv more needs to be said.
Total miles 76
Total 1738

We liked this

2011-06-08T18:13:00.001-07:00

The adornments relate to the fact that my North american friends think that I have a posh English accent despite my telling them that it's actually 'Soft Northern' !

The home of Mr Hubble, the Telescope man

2011-06-08T18:08:00.001-07:00

Day 35 Marshfield to Ashgrove

2011-06-08T18:07:00.001-07:00

Breakfast was moved to the more civilised time of 6 30AM today allowing the opportunity of a 1 hour lie in for those that appreciate the beneficial effect of sleep. Our daily weatherman Jack also promised us the comfort of lower tempetatures in the higb eigbties to ease our day. Alas the hills would still be in evidence.
So off we went with Kelly back in the fold , first stop being Mcdonalds 2 minutes down the road where we picked up Cathy, one of the in-betweeners who had chosen to ride with us today.
I cbose to give McD's a miss and had a cunning plan to ride ahead to the 14.6 mile stop and enjoy a longer first break. Unfortunately my slow early morning speed allowed the group to catch me up, thus thwarting my plan.

Today we did not save any turtles, we just rode our bikes in a neat and tidy formation to arrive at our campsite on time. We did however talk to the Amish, and to a local man who showed us a photograph tbat had been blown into his garden by the tornado that devastated Joplin a couple of weeks back. There is also the remote possibility that we may be able to help witb the relief effort at Joplin on our next layover day. We have put our names forward and are waitinv to hear if we can be of any use.

At the end of the day Greg and I took a detour onto the Frisco Highline trail. A 5 mile add on to our daily mileage but well worth it as being an old railway line it was flat and in the shade.
For this we were deemed to be a superior kind of Adventure Cyclist and presented with a special badge by Ellen.

Miles today 55
Total 1661

Day 34 Houston to Marshfield

2011-06-07T17:54:00.001-07:00

Today I succumbed to the 5 30AM breakfast which meant that we were on our way by 6 30AMq and still last off the campsite.

So we set off in a loose Stop & Stare format, without Kelly, who was on cook duty today. Kelly may be a young olympic hopeful, but her navigational skills need some attention, as we heard that she managed to add at least 15 miles to today's already challenging distance of 63 miles by taking several wrong turns. The Three H's were present in full force, but otherwise we were looking forward to a day of riding on quiet roads through idyllic and lush green pastures, with staring cows (who satisfied Greg's fetish for having mooed conversation with mooing cows) and gently rolling hills. We were only a few hundred yards down the road before Greg leapt into action to rescue yet another turtle (bringing his Rescued Turtles Count up to 7, matching the number of punctures he has incurred so far on this triP). Sadly, we have seen many hideously squished dead turtles in Missouri. Today we also saw several dead armadillos on the road. Greg felt moved to sing the Armadillo Song (to the tune of "Desperado").

And we all ate pie today, except Ellen who is pied out.

SIDE NOTE OF IMPORTANCE: I have several entertaining videos (including footage of the Fig Newton Shuffle, Greg's rendition of American Pie whilst cycling the Mississippi levees, and Ellen discussing slugs), but due to technical problems/ineptitude, I am unable to publish these at the moment.

Miles Today 66
Total 1606

Day 33 Eminence to Houston

2011-06-06T19:14:00.001-07:00

This trip is definately not for the faint hearted. The truck drivers today have been horrendousf.Too fast and too close. I have fitted a third eye to my helmet and I am closely watching every truck that comes up behind me. I am beginning to wonder if this Trans America route is safe for cyclists given the totally inconsiderate and aggressive driving of far too many vehicle users over here.
I passed an Amish family in tbeir horse and cart and wondered how it must be for them having to put up with this every day of their lives.
Anyway enough of that. Today's ride through the Ozark mountains was superb with incredible scenery. Dare I say it but even the headwind was refreshing. Everybody chose to take breakfast at 5 30AM (Aaagh) except me who chose to spend an extra hour in the very comfortable double bed that came with the cabins we stayed in last night.
Understandably there is concern about the heat and most of the group do not want to get caught in the afternoon sun and that includes my stop and stare companions. However it doesn't seem to bother me. I tend to ride well within my comfort zone (slow!) ezpecially uphill, drink loads, and have plenty of stops and it works for me.
Strangely I caught up Ellen and Kelly at 19 miles but instead of chasing them at higb speed down the road I chose to supplement my early one banana breakfast with omelette, hash browns pie and coffee. These are no ordinary women by the way. Kelly was on the American Olympic pursuit cycling development team and Ellen must have come from tbe planet 'Krypton'.
We will shortly be entering Kansas which is going to be even hotter so unless my riding companions come round to my way of thinking I suspect I will be riding 'tout seule' until we get through this hot spell.

Miles today 53
Total 1520

Day 32 Rest day in Eminence

2011-06-06T07:36:00.001-07:00

Tbis little town is serious riding country anx a big watersports centre. Most of thr group have gone tubing for the day (floating down river in an inflated tyre tube) but I decided to give it a miss and indulge in some retail therapy, once the usual chores of long diztance cycle touring were out of the way. After a leisurely stroll into town up a steep gravely path, down a steep gravely path, up an even steeper gravely path all under the blistering heat of the sun I found myself enjoying a Reuben sandwich at Margies place in the company of Marlane, Vivian and Emily, three lovely ladies who are all members of Eastern Star, a Christian fellowship group with some connection to the Freemasons. Once we'd established that I didn't know our Royal Family in person (much to their disappointment) they illuminated my day telling me all about their life stories, current boyfriends and how much they all loved our Royal family apart from the White Witch Camilla ( their words not mine . . . I did try and explain that she had been harshly treated by the media and that she was quite a nice person really but they were having none of it )
After a brief circumnavigation of Eminence it was apparent tbat retail opportunities were limited and on my way back to the campsite (well about 5 yards dlown the road ) I bumped into Dolo who persuaded me to join her for an ice cream where we also found my three new lady friends. Marlane insizted that we should come back to ber house for tea and that we did. Unfortunately she had lost her key so it ended up that I had to squeeze my newly slimmed down torso into a small rear window to reach the latch which to relief all round I managed to accomplsh with some style. Despite her huge collection of teapots from around the world we didn't actually get any tea but nevertheless were treated to a tour of her house which was like a museum of her life.
After giving us a much appreciated lift to the campsite the day was rounded off by a bbq with the group followed by a stroll down the Ozak river with Greg Ellen and Kelly. I also manaved to swap the spices for 2 fuel bottles with Jack and althoigh it's more weight I AM NOW RELIEVED OF THE BURDON OF HAVING TO RIDE LIKE A LUNATIC TO GET INTO CAMP FOR 4 30PM.

YIPPEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 31 Lesterville to Eminence

2011-06-06T07:34:00.001-07:00

Despite the promise of a brilliantly entertaining post today don't build your hopes up. I am after all a Yorkshireman and suffering from a mild dose of bloggers block. I think that all my creative juices evaporated in the torrid heat today. As you may have already gathered today was a difficult day. Apart from the seemingly routine issues of the three H's The main problem was the lack of any stopping places for the last 25 miles and VERY STEEP hills all the way. 25 miles may not seem far but iin these conditions it's no joke.
After an early 6AM breakfast most of the group were on the road by 7AM (including the female half of stop and stare) in an attempt to get to camp before the intensity of the afternoon sun and we are talking well in excess of 100F here !
Greg and I saw no reason to change our well established riding plan. So that was that . I had a nice piece of pie at lunchtime and apart from the occasional obnoxious Missouri motorist nothing else to report except that we proudly rode into camp in our usual position of last. Oh not quite correct. Greg bailed 10 miles from the end and rode into town in the back of a pick up truck sipping an ice cool beer. No further comment necessary :)

Miles today 53
Total 1467

Day 30 - Farmington to Lesterville (guest blogger Hadley)

2011-06-04T09:22:00.001-07:00

Our ride today started out on a really rough highway - the shoulders were wide, but were also covered with gravel and debris and were dangerously pothole-ridden. The traffic was heavy (lots of giant trucks) and we had one unpleasant encounter with a driver who barked aggressively out his window, telling us to get off the road.

When we got to the first major turn of the day, we met several of the faster riders who told us the news that Jill (who had been riding ahead of us) had been in an accident and had been taken to hospital. When we arrived at camp this evening we found out that a combination of a truck driving too close to her and the rough shoulder had caused her to fall, breaking her scapula. She may need surgery and won't be able to ride on with us, at least for some time. This is really unfortunate news... we know that she (like each of us) has a lot invested in this tour and must be really disappointed that she won't be riding on. And Jill is a wonderful, positive, supportive member of our group and we wish she could be riding with us still!

Cyclists are so vulnerable on the road... we're so small relative to the cars and trucks that whip by us, and we put a ton of trust in the drivers of those cars & trucks. We have to be ready to make snap decisions and handle the bike the best we can in unexpected situations. I'm sure we'll all be riding on tomorrow with strong awareness of this and with extra caution.

Rob has pledged to compose a brilliantly entertaining blog post for you tomorrow, telling tales of our stinking hot ride (it reached 104 degrees today!) into the town of Eminence, where we'll stay for a rest day before tackling the Ozark Mountains.
Miles Today 49
Total 1410