Day 7 - The only limitation is in my mind.

Just before I set off from my posh hotel, the general manager introduced himself and then gave me one of the hotels team jerseys... in good spirits I set off through Springfield with the wind behind me, singing along to wonderful world... And it was. The miles flew past and the countryside began to subtly change... the hills were not as steep, there were less trees and life felt good.
You would think after 6 full days of biking I would know enough not to voice it out loud, or even whisper it....
So as I turned out of Springfield to once again head westwards... it started. Not headwinds this time, well at this point anyway, but sidewinds. Now if you have never cycled in a sidewind, just watch the tour of belgium. Basically all the guys behind the one infront cycle slightly to the side for protection. I obviously couldnt do that, so instead I had to lean slightly into the wind to stop it blowing me off the side of the road... which worked well until I hit a road that had just been tarmacked... only they hadnt done the shoulder
So picture this if you will... im hugging the white line, unable to go too far right as I will hit the gravel, and going any further left was out of the question.
This is tiring enough in itself... then factor in the lorries.
So lorries passing me, normally not a huge problem, they have generally given me plenty of room, butwhen they pass you when you are leaning into a sidewind and the sidewind suddenly disappears... well you get the idea, you get sucked in slightly, whilst trying to compensate, which then stops cos the lorry is past and then you get pulled forwards a little too... its like what I imagine being in a whirlpool is like.. before being spat out the other side..
So now you understand sidewinds and lorries and hopefully you get the picture of how much concentration is therefore required. And that was only 30 miles into a long long day.
This battling lasted for quite a while until the roadworks had finally finished and I got back my hard shoulder (yes I have become quite possesive of them). The sidewinds contined but at least I was managing a decent pace.
My other concern, was that in my joy of good wind in Springfield I had neglected to get any food for the day. Now although it wasn't critical, because I had a stretch of about 30 miles of nothingness only, it might well be cruicial later on and better to get into good provision habits sooner rather than later.
Fortunately I hit a gas station reasonably quickly and loaded up on protein bars and the like. The road continued onwards, still battling against the sidewinds and 2 things occured.
1. I saw a snake... yes it was dead :(.
  2. I discovered that I actually HATE dogs. They seem to think it fun to chase me along the road, darting in close before trying to commit suicide under my front wheel. Now if you are not the one on the bike, you might find it quite funny... picture this.... always when the cyclist is at their slowest do the dogs strike, often in pairs, sneaking up behind them, as they cannot hear the warning barking cos of the wind whistling.  Then its divide and conquer. While one distract the other darts in, narrowly avoiding the pedals. Meanwhile the cyclist is trying not to swerve into oncoming traffic, or be bitten by the one on the blind side.  The cyclist shouts at the dogs whilst pedaling bloody fast to get out of their range. The dogs take absolutely no notice whatsoever, just missing the front wheel by inches.
If the owner is about they might decide to step in at this point, which is when the cyclist apologises profusely for swearing at the dogs.
If there is no owner, the dogs will continue the chase until well beyond the boundary of their territory before stopping, giving one last parting bark or growl and then trotting back for a nap.
The cyclist meanwhile is on the verge of collapse from trying to outrun the pack uphill and stops, possibly shaking slightly, not from fear, more from anger at the stupid dog owners who think it is acceptable to let their doberman, spaniel, husky (delete as appropriate) run around free.
Then muktiply this incident by 3 for today and you see why I HATE dogs.

So where was I.... sidewinds yes... continued for much of the day, zapping me of all will to live, never mind continue. Then I hit webb city. This was one of the most run down, desolate, horrible places I have seen so far. It has clearly suffered from degradation since I44 has been built and I was glad to get through it. Joplin quickly followed and with it the headwinds returned. Bit of relief from aching arm muscles but slow slow progress. I tried the trick of convincing myself that the 40 ish miles to go was just a short jaunt out for me, which back home it is, but every 10 miles had started to feel like 20. On top of that, I was determined not to add miles on to tomorrows ride by stopping short of my planned destination unless I absolurly had to and so I just kept going. Didn't feel hungry so didn't eat. Drank some but prob not enough. But conscious that I was just going to scrape in before it got dark.
Once through joplin, the roads became more deserted and the dogs surfaced again. But then I hit kansas. Now by this point I was soooo knackered I didn't actually care about any sights but thought I ought totake a few pics inside kansas just for the record. An old bridge and a pretty mural were the choices and both pictured below.
I would say I went so fast through kansas I didn't notice it, bit actually it was painfully slow, dogged by the headwind again. And so it continued into oklahoma... headwind, sidewind, headwind as I zigzagged south to miami.
Just before miami was my back up staying place, but as previously said, I was determined to get the miles done and still had an hour of daylight. I passed by the motel with an inward groan, knowing I was going to regret not stopping. And soon did...
The last 15 miles were tough. Not just tough but I think I had pushed my limits of endurance up to that point and then continued past them, so determined was I to get to miami. 6, 3 2 miles to go. Everything hurt. Felt battered, broken, but was somehow still going. Not sure how.
Arrived in miami just as sun going down, and then had to endure another 2 or 3 miles to find a motel.  That was torture, to be so close to bed, shower etc and then have to go just a bit further...
Still les miles to do tomorrow...

The first motel I came to, I stopped at, looked so bad that they gave me a senior discount lol and then bought washing powder to do my laundry.. finally.
So there is no way around it, my clothes reeked, to the point that I coulnt stand myself. The bonus being that no one else had to stand it as well. But there are limits, even when doing this sort of thing, so did the laundry, whilst feeling a bit tired, crap, faint etc then ran (well limped) all of 20 feet to the sports bar for food... too tired to really eat and fed up of fast food, once again didnt finish the food. But then hobbled to my room, sat on the bed and started this blog.
Worried I pushed myself too far and will be broken for tomorrow. Have 2 more days to get through before that much needed rest day.
Wish I could say the day ended the same way it began, but today, the wind blew away my words and it is all I can do to whisper.... im so tired, take me now, come on and rescue me!
Nite all x
LHS

Day 6 - Embracing the randomness

So day 6... having stopped earlier yesterday, my short day turned out to be another 90 ish miles.  However I now have got leaving down to a fine art and managed to set off just as the sun was coming up. It was a bit chilly and as glad of my layers. Today started off where yesterday finished with up and down roads. The first  30 miles saw my legs quietly screaming at me and no amount of shuffling around on my saddle could make that any better either. So settled in for a long day.
At 30 ish miles I came across yet another route 66 gift shop and against my better judgement stopped. I say against better judgement cos I knew id walk out with something and anything I buy jow has to be carried a few more miles. The other reason that it was a bad idea was the signposts

These signs were somewhat demoralising... yes i knew i had a ways to go but seeing the exact distance left to pedal, somehow made it more daunting. Up till now i hadnt considered really the next few weeks. My plan was always to get through the day that i was on. If i did that for 28 days, i would get there.

After this stop I vowed to keep going for another 30 before stopping again, and although the scenery was pretty, and In many places reminded me of home, it was hard to appreciate when you are struggling uphill, or trying to make use of the 'free miles'.  which is what my entire day consisted of, up or down, no inbetween. All this time i was looking longingly at the interstate, which cut through the hills i was climbing. No wonder people think route 66 is flat!

So because my day was just long and not hugely interesting, to amuse myself i devised a few informative lists:

list 1: Animals i have seen

Groundhog

Eagle (dead)

Armadillo x2 (both dead)

Tortoises x4 (flat and dead)

Skunk (I think, but dead)

Racoon (dead)

Lizards (barely seen but alive, they move quickly)

Some kind of vole  (also briefly)

Dogs x3 (as they are chasing me)

That's about it so far, would be nice to see something alive

List 2: Rules I have set myself for stopping

1. Never ever stop at the bottom of a hill

2. Don't stop in the middle either

3. When stopping unclip the foot nearest the pavement first

4. Don't forget to unclip the other foot as well

5. Try and stand over your bike, getting your leg back over following a stop is tricky

6. Try and combine stops with picture taking, eating, drinking whilst obeying rule number 5.

7. When leaving from your stop, do not leave your SPOT tracker lying on the top of the panniers (I forgot to mention THAT error yesterday)

8. Dont stop anywhere you hear dogs barking

9. One stop per hour or 10 miles, whichever comes 1st

10, never ever sit down! The muscles will have difficulty getting u back up again.

So anyway, i finally reached Springfield, missouri to a warm welcome by a friend of a friend, whose company had kindly sorted out a place to stay... and not just any place. This hotel is somewhat different to the super 8 motels that i have been in so far and aside from feeling slightky out of place, its lovely so thank u very very much to kelley d c, shelley and the austen dooley company.

Having seen my bike safely in my room, i wondered over to the bbq place to eat. Forgettingabout differences in portion size, i ordered a starter and some chips, only to struggle to eat a third of either. Whilst i ate i read a bit more of the book i downloaded, Extreme South about an attemp to the south pole and back. Aside from making me feel better about the struggles i faces today, there were a few things that struck a cord with me.

Advice to them of ' eat before you get hungry, drink before you get thirsty, take off your jacket before you sweat and stop before you burn up 80 % of your energy' Good advice for any challenge. I agree with their query though. because of changing factors in any journey, how do you know whether you are too far short of your limits or whether by pushing a bit harder you will discover new limits and break personal boundaries.  Interesting huh. I guess i might well find out over the next few weeks!

So that is about it for today. Hopefully tomorrow will bring similar sucess.

One day, one pedal turn at a time and i will make the next 1700 odd miles.

Day 5 - I'm not going backwards, I'm only facing forwards...

So I woke up earlier this morning, dusted myself off and with the help of all my friends and family stood back up, ready to face another day. A surprise phone call made the day already bright and managing to get myself together quicker, I was out and on the bike by 07:15 - apologies for the length of the blog today, ive got so much time to think and want to share every step of this journey.

The morning chill was fended off with several layers and as I set off a beautiful sight of mist and sunshine and trees seemed to be a pretty good omen for today.

The legs were given a rude awakening by the rolling terrain but it didn't matter cos I was in a good frame of mind and the view was lovely. 
I had originally planned to aim for lebanon at 118 miles butgiven yesterdays events I had researched places to stay and decided that I would go for slightly less today, and add it on to the originally planned 60 miles on day 6.  So with this in mind , I was keen to get to rolla by lunchtime and other than a few photos, kept on, through sullivan and bourbon.  All was going well with no distractions when I rolled into cuba, saw a sign for rt 66 fudge and squealed to a halt!  Fudge aside, cuba is a very pretty town, with an old rt 66 feel to it and I enjoyed spinning through. After cuba, fresh determination not to stop until I reached rolla would have gone well if it were not for the worlds biggest rockin chair.  Once again my brakes issued smoke as I pulled in to admire. Whilst I was there I met a lovely couple who showed great interest in the ride and in chatting to them I was reminded that it is not just the destination, but how you get there that makes it a journey, and a big part of that for me is spreading the word about love hope strength foundation and the great work that mike, jules, james, shannon, rob and all the volunteers do to help others.  

Part of my rejuvenation today was reading Mike's blog from israel, which if you are not already aware of lhs,, were you to read, you would perhaps umderstand why i became involved  with the charity and why I am proud to be part of the lhs family (www.lovehopestrength.co.uk) . Reading it this morning helped find a renewed determination, that took a bit of a battering yesterday :)

So finally I left the rocking chair  and continued westwards. I kept going until I hit the outskirts of rolla, where just as third light ( a mike peters song about loss in war), hit my ipod, I came upon a veteran cemetary. It seemed appropriate to stop for a few minutes reflection before caving into the inevitable... yup.... macdonalds.  The free wifi made it worth while tho and I kept myself content with a small portion!

So time lost, but still feeling good about the day, as I followed the sat nav through rolla obeying every instruction to the letter. I knew that the frontage roads did not go along all the way so a circuitous route was needed, however once again, a few miles later, I looked at the sun and got that sinking feeling.  Another detour - prob 5 miles in total and using my offline maps and gps decided to chance going back towards the interstate and frontage roads, whilst ignoring the sat nav pleading with me to do a u turn! So the detour obviously consisted of going back up that hill which I had merrily whizzed down but eventually I found myself back at the interstate and took a chance with the frontage roads, at least in the knowledge that navigation would be easier.

And so it proved to be, right up to the point where the frontage roads ran out both sides of the interstate, so I went to the gas station to ask what they thought best. The reply was not the best news I have ever had. There is a long way round.... prob a 30 mile detour, either that or the interstate.  Cant I cross that river, I ask, with thought of wading up to my neck in cold stream water just to get to the next frontage road. Nope cant do that. Other people kindly weighed in with their thoughts... is it legal to ride on the interstate if there is no other way... apparently legal but not recommended came the reply,

Fair enough....interstate it is... deep breath.... and I neednt have worried... lovely road, generous hard shoulder, lorries gave me a wide berth, but dragged me along and I found myself grinnjng with the adrenaline rush of a 30mph jog along.  Then back to the frontage road and a bloody great hill or 2 or 3. Shoulda stayed on the interstate!

That said, clearly this was an old part of route 66 and crappy road surface maybe, but I was back in the tucked position, and took to saying free miles whenever the downhill was good (gotta amuse myself somehow!). That said I started to enjoy the rythm of the uphill too and  with the evening sun to boot, and little lizards running about everywhere life felt great.  The worries of yesterday were eased, I had made good miles today, about 100 and arrived at junction with motels and daylight to spare.

I managed to talk the receptionist into giving me a discount and get to stay tonight in a proper american motel! Pretty cool.

Dinner was grilled bacon, egg and cheese and a cup of coffee... tasted pretty gd and I don't need to worry bout the calorie count today, but starting to crave fresh fruit!.

So time to check tomorrows route and motel placement, shower and pack for the morning,
And as I quoted this morning with breakfast.... this is life, its alright, its ok! X

Day 4 - no one said it would be easy

So I have had to do a lot of thought about what to write today... I feel like I have let myself and others down. But I figured that the best thing to do on this day of 3 parts was to start at the end and then go back to the beginning and let you make your minds up as to whether you agree.

Experience is merely the name men give to their mistakes...(oscar wilde) well I guess I gained a lot of experience then

Part 3- the end of the day
So I had shaken hands with 2 strangers as they handed me my bike from the back of their car. Relieved to be safe, tired but also wishing today hadnt happened. I crawled into a really nice room, ordered dominos, plugged in all electricals and then set about catching up with facebook and emails whilst mentally bashing my head against a brick wall over and over. One voice in my head said... it was only 20 miles and you probably covered that in the detour anyway, and on a rest day you can go out and do the 20 miles... the other voice was the one doing the bashing! So I sat down to tell all, no hold barred, and hope that disappointment isn't your main feeling.....and here I am, hoping that having read that you will continue to read to discover how and why.

Part 1- The beginning of the day
I woke, at 4am, as seems to be the pattern, dozed a little, but then got it together to aim for an 8am departure. Breakfast was handmade waffles, which was pretty cool and a reasonable cup of coffee.  Packing up my stuff took a lot longer than expected so approx 8:15 I was on the road. Sun was shining, birds and ctickets were singing, music in my ear and a good wind to guide me along at 15-16mph.  I settled into a rythm and no sooner than I had I saw an open route66 museum with the famous buried cars outside... I had to stop. Got some stuff as memorabilia and chatted with the owner who seemed to know about me (lol). Took lots of photos (see below) and chatted away. Time flew pasr and id lost a good chunk of time, but it didn't matter cos the weather was good and I was feeling good. Back on the road and the towns whizzed by until my sat nav got slightly confused due to the fact that I was completing one planned day and starting the next. How did I find out that I was heading in the wrong direction? Not using technology that's for sure. In a moment of .. somethings not right, I looked at the sun and realised it was to my right and I was heading back north. Fortunately I realised before I had gone too far and it didn't take me long to get back on track.
The miles whizzed by and at the same time as cautioning myself against it, I was feeling on top of the world!

I reached the outskirts of st louis at around midday, in good time ... and stopped for a while to admire the view (pic below).
The bridge was lovely, I ciuld see for miles and I felt that I had bridged one hurdle.. this was the end of illinois, shortly I would be in missouri.  This was also a symbolic place cos it is at this point that route 66 turns westwards.
I felt quite reflective as I stood on this piece of history and marvelled at all the chains of events that had led me to this point, good and bad in my life that meant I was nearly 300 miles in to a journey of a lifetime.

Part 2 - welcome to missouri
St louis itself, a city, generally i dont like them much anyway. I entered the city in what was probably a less afluent area. Stories of drive by shootings fleeted through my head, but only for an instsant, cos actually I felt pretty safe
The roads were wide and there were signs everywhere saying share the road with bikes, a good omen I thought. The university area was pretty and due to traffic and lights, it was taking a while to get through the city. So I continued on and stopped briefly at a very nice pub wher I ordered a very very good sandwich!
The road out of st louis on rt 66 is highway 100. Im not going to say much or dwell on highway 100, but even for a very confident cyclist, it was not a pleasant road and I don't think I would drive it again. That said, I got out of st louis safely and continued on. 
Im not sure where things went wrong but they must of at some point beacause although I was on a good, what seemed like a main road, in fact it wasn't, and a very hilly one at that too. It went up and down very steep sections, so much so that I had to walk up 2 hills cos the lowest gears werent low enough. That didn't  matter so much. What did matter was that due to the hell of st louis and highway 100 it was getting late, and the hills werent helping.   Then I found a better road which took me back to the main road but at a price of more miles, hills and time.  I wasn't worried or scared though. I had all lights blazing and was managing to freewheel fast enough down the hills to get most the way up the next (33 mph seems to have been my top speed) and I was doing it like the pros, head to the handlebars, bum in the air etc. I was even starting to enjoy myself again.
I got to a gas station on the main road and stopped to see how far away from st clair I was. 20 miles was the estimate, followed by ... you are not doing that in the dark are you? I replied thay I thought I had to as there wasn't amywhere to stay around there. But actually I had made peace with the fact that I was going to be cycling in the dark, I would just be extra careful. Then someone else came up and said that he thought it was too dangerous as there wasn't really any hard shoulder, then a third gentleman came over and said pretty much the same thing and offered me a lift with my bike to st clair. 
Now I know that I have been joking about plaques in the lifts at work, but having felt that I had dodged one bullet today (highway 100) and all these local people telling me it wasn't safe but there was no where to stay I made a decision that I do in many ways regret.
However it was that point that the words of a very wise person came to mind, who told me not to cross the line between broken and unmendable. I chose the hardest but probably the most sensible. I felt like I was 100 ft from the summit  of everest and had to turn back to ensure I made it down.

So that's the story of the day and I leave it up to you to make of it what you will.
the kind gentleman in the car said ' when you get to LA you won't care about the 20 miles' . I see what he is saying, however I think I will, so with that in mind I plan to, at some point do an extra 20 miles to complete the distance.

So now I m going to eat my pizza, shower, and prepare for a much much earlier start tomorrow, with no early distractions.
I am making use of my experience.

Day 3, what a difference a day makes

Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you strong,.... yesterday did not break me and so I awoke with fresh optimism and I would like to say full of bounding energy, but I still hurt all over so there was much less bounding.
Once again, woke up a bit later than planned after my what is now becoming my usual 4am sleep break but managed to get out by half 8, escorted once again by my host, who very kindly rode the first 12 with me.
It had been really nice to chat with people who understood the challenges of bike tours and they made me feel very welcome in their home.
Weather... started off with a jild headwind and overcast and I desperately tried to mentally prepare myself for 100 miles of hell. But actually, the sun came out and the headwind dropped and mixed it up between that, a sidewind and even occasionally a tailwind. So I managed to start enjoying the days ride, trogging along nicely at 14 mph until 20 orcso miles later I reached springfield... no I didn't meet bart or homer. Instead I found a lovely little town.

Springfield is one of the few places ehere I made a slight detour to sightsee. Lincolns tomb is quite a magnifiscent thing and I stopped and did the tourist photos... in the process asked a lady to take a photo and turns out she was originally from farnborough and will visit again next year. Had to happen at some point this trip right...
Following the tomb visit I was quite aware that I had used up valuable time and needed to motor somewhat. So put the metal to the pedal and aided by lack of wind, glorious sunshine, and warmth in my very weary bones I set off at a good crack and I reckon managed an average of 14 to 15mph if not higher, which is good going, especially when you have rolling roads. Traffic was kind to me and passed well to the side. Got a few waves and head nods to brighten my day and managed to enjoy the scenery, fiels and fields of golden corn with the white silos adding to the perfect picture.
I motored on down, stopoed at a gas station to check the route and was stopped by a lovely lady who asked me what I was doing and even asked for a picture.  More nice strangers!
I eventually came to another town and prepared to go straight through when I was stopped in my track by a very pituresque, old sqare. A courthouse wher abe had practiced used to stand there and I really got a sense of the history of the road I had been riding all day.
This was my last real stop before my destination. So the last 25 ish miles went by.. not without a sting or 2 in the tail. Almost got too friendly with a 4 x 4 whose driver didn't obey the stop sign on her side of the road as she was turning, seems arsehole car drivers do the same things the world over... got chased by dogs, not a first for me but always a little disconcerting... and the last few miles to the town were all up a reasonably steep incline. That said I stopped at thegeneral store and asked where the motel was and they directed me the 2 or so miles to where I found a bed, shower, wifi and a dairy queen.
Now I have been here 3 days and haven't set foot in a macd, but succumed to a calorific cheeseburger which I am heartily regretting and a very nice, low calorie, fruit smoothy.
So I am tucked up, nice and warm reflecting on how hardship makes the most simple things great.
Finalky, I don't want everyone to think today was a breeze so I thought id list the catalogue of aches  and pains
My knee is very stiff and hurt with every pedal turn for the first 50 miles
My back and shoulders hurt like hell
Sunburnt face, leg and neck... I did use sunscreen just not enough
Sitting down hurts
My left finger won't straighten, not sure whats wrong with it
My left foot is still possibly mildly broken

Is that enough....
So goodnight all. All is well on route 66 for another day!

Day 2 Every turn of the pedals is one step closer to LA

So my aim this morning was to set off about 8am. This plan was ruined by being awake at 4am so annoyed with myself I ended up leaving around 9am to blue skies.  Nature must have seen my thoughts cos no sooner than I turned into the main road, I got hit, not by a rainstorm today but by the most dreaded thing of all, a strong headwind!
Let me explain what I discovered today. U hit a headwind here, not only is it strong but you are guaranteed to be headed into it for the WHOLE day.
If there is anything that can reduce a cyclists morale, its the knowledge that the next 80 miles are going to be tough ones, battling agaist the wind all the way. It can be so energy sapping that when the wind drops for a second or two, you are too knackered to take any advantage.

So my day consisted of this for all 80ish miles, with a few highlights thrown in.
And it is these highlights that must be dwelt on, otherwise I woulda been in pieces at the side of the road for sure. Before I go into detail about those, roy asked me how I set my mind on a tough day.
Here is a list of strategies, some work better than others at any given moment
1. Music: always at the top of my list, especially when I can sing whilst going along. Hit the ground running, swansong, breathe and 1983/84 were at the top of my playlist today
2. Distractions: trying to look at the view instead of the speedometer
3. Ticking off the towns as I pass them
4. Remember why I am doing this in the first place
5. Thinking about the suport from friends and family (this should be higher up the list)
6.Planning the next trip
7. Trying to remember that the pain is only temporary and in 10 hours it will have stopped
8. Thinking how good it will be when I get to the end
9. Detrmination not to let anyone down or let this beat me

So that's just a few and the emotions when on a bike ride can be so up and down, its like life has been squished to experience all emotions in as short a space of time.

Highlights of today include , seeing a woodchuck, or groundhog. Pretty cool
The young man who asked me where I was from and where going to, who was so amazed, that he bought me a coke and wished me luck. Its people like this that give u faith in humanity.
Seeing an original r66 bridge and reading the history behind it. Very cool.
Feeling reslly crap half way through, when breaking point came on my ipod and made me smile, cos I wasn't there, yet!

So my day got slightly worse when my sat nav ran out of battery. My back up was too but my solar charger did a grand job of keeping it up and running long enough to get out of bloomin normal, as I have decided to call it.
The last 40 miles were made even worse when my ipod died and due to my late start and the horrendous headwind, (so bad that if I stopped pedaling whilst going downhill, it blew me to a standstill), I was crawling along and it was getting dark. I had phoned my hosts for the night when I got to bloomin normal to let them know I was behind schedule and just as darkness started to fall, about 15 miles away from a bed, I saw coming along the road, 2 cyclists asking if I was lydia. To my absolute joy and delight, these 2 people, who not only gave me a bed and food and hot shower use tonight had come to meet me to escort me to their home.
It was a lovely gesture, just when I had started pedaling squares, they provided companionship, shared stories of similar days on a bike and cheered me up no end.
So that was my day. Not as good as yesterday, possibly better than 1 further down the line, but at the end of the day, the pedals kept turning, I am still smiling and I am one step closer to La and challenge completion! :)

Day 1, its alright to dream..., chicago to dwight

?What im gonna try and do is take you on a virtual journey, so that you get what living life for a month on a cycle tour is like.
The day really started at half 6, and following a much needed shower I bagan to get my kit together. Water bottles were filled, my new phone checked and panniers attatched. Prayer flags on the back etc. It all took a lot longer than planned so didn't set off till 8am ish. Now cycled along the lakefront a few miles, just to get to the start of the ride, the Buckingham fountain.
I stood by the fountain for photos, taken by my cousin's husband matt, who was seeing me safely out of chicago, and as I stood there, still not quite believing that this was it, I felt deleriously happy with life and everything in it. In bike riding you need to recognise and cherish these moments cos 10 mins later you might be feeling the worst you have ever felt in your life. If this was how I felt at the beginning, imagine how its gonna feel in la!
So the first few miles were punctuated with stops for photos but in general good roads, not too much traffic and feeling ok. Got through the south side without getting shot at and then that moment came where I was on my own.
It wasn't long before I got into the swing of things and soon had stuck my music in an ear and was merrily singing to myself.
Having had a banana for breakfast, the first hunger pangs didn't hit till later. It was fluid I needed. It was hot and humid and I had a base layer on and no way to decently take it off, so the sweat was soon pouring.
About 40 miles in I hit the proverbial wall and stopped at a 7 eleven to stock up on lunch
The chocolate was a , istake as it soon melted but the roll hit the spot and I was soon on my way.
It took a while to get on the right road but eventualky got there and set myself up for the straight shot down to joliet and then dwight.
It was a straight shot but oroved to anything but easy.
It was about 3 that the thunderstorm complete with lightening started. Now illinois Is pretty flat and at points I was the tallest thing around, wearing shoes with metal cleats and on a metal bike. I did wonder how likely I was to be struck by lightening and although the rain was at first welcome, the fear mademepedal faster. It was just as eell I did cos just as I arrived at a gas station, the heavens opened, and im talking about a flood the road in a minute flat kinda shower, so I stayed put and waited for it to pass. Cue nice lady who offered me shelter in her car! I didn't take her up cos even getting in a car seemed like cheating! But it was a lovely thought.
The road from then on was reasonable with a good hard shoulder and the lorry drivers have been, so far, far more considerate of the space they give to cyclists than most lorries back home. It gave me a sense of 2 things, firstly how its going to be for a lot of this journey , road stretching out before me with peace and solitude and the odd car, and just howdistances on maps can be deceiving. I hot to joliet and thought not farto go, when actuallyanother 30 miles was there to be suffered. And suffer I did. The legs felt ok at this point, it was the arms, the back, the bum, and the foot, which I thought I had broken last week that hurt.
UNTIL 4 MILES TO GO.Those 4 miles were amongst the worst I had cycled ever. But strangely I gained a kinda masochistic pleasure outta it. Endurance is meant to hurt, right?
Some lovely views were passed inc a lot of route 66 stuff and photos were taken but it took a long time till I reached my bedfor the night.
I was born to burn4 down the road, its just going to beburning slowly at the end!
So highlight of the day... the start of the ride
Weight on starting , 68 kg (aftercarb loading last week
Food eaten, banaba, rol, 2 xprotein bars an dchopread  dinner, home coojed chicken
Time crashed out........ err hello!

Arrival in the windy city

Well, the plane didn't crash so that is one less thing for everyone at home to cross of their worry list. I hsd arrived safely in Chicago. Its actually the 3rd time this year that I have been to the us so imagine my relief when they didn't invite me into the interview room at the border to explain that I wasn't running drugs from europe, although a certain person did tell me that the picture of my bike in the box had some suspicious packages in it.

Because of my previous 2 visits I was quite familiar with the security process to enter the us, and my fingerprints are now on record for the 3rd time, but this time I didn't get the surly, don't smile or I will lock you up, border guard, instead I had a nice chat about my bike ride, including the by now familiar look of horror accompanied by the words "by yourself".

But this time it was followed by "awesome!". Yup, I was really in the usa.

So next I went over to baggage claim, fingers and toes crossed that my bike had been put on the right flight and it was in one piece, both wishes came true and in no time at all, I was in the arrivals hall, putting my bike back together again.

Frankly this was a lot easier than getting it in the box and in no time at all I was outside the terminal, looking at the traffic coming from the wrong direction and working up enough courage to bite the bullet and go for it. Deep breath and off I pedaled, talking to myself as I went... keep to the right, left lane on the right, can turn right at a red light, oops need to change lanes. ....  making sure I looked over my lt shoulder instead of my right one took a bit of getting used to but I discovered that it all fell into place pretty quickly, my confidence grew and I found myself grinning from ear to ear as I started to enjoy.

I was making gd speed 14 to 16 mph, there was wierdly no wind in the windy city, which suited me fine and it was if anything slightly too warm!
So merrily I biked along, remembered to look lt and eventually came to where the gps said I had arrived at my cousins, only to find out that there was no number 2222 and that my phone didnt want to call anyone here. But more of that later.

So thanks to the garmin edge I borrowed (big big thanks to matt d) I realised after about 30 mins of panic that I could just programmein the address and use like a sat nav. I do know that it took me a l8ng time to do this but I was quite tired by this point.

So another few miles of good speed and I actually arrived.

Brilliant to see my cousin and her family who I hadnt met before and hadnt seen her for over 10 years I reckon.

so the phone, well my plan was to buy a sim card and fit into my phone, but a visit to a slightly dodgy repair shop told me that it wasnt unlocked and i couldnt so we went to a wallgreens (pretty cool shops these, they sell pretty much everything, and bought a cheap phone. The saga continued when at the house, after a quick trip to the very cool local brewery, (where f the second time in the 30 min shopping trip i got told my hair was cool btw) and also took the opportunity to drop off some of my cards advertising my ride thee., (just realised this is a very long sentence) , and it then took an hour to set up the phone, as i coulnt find the phone number on the sim like in the uk but had to register online first. 

But that got sorted and i am now the proud owner of an american mobile number ! 

So that was my day. 24 hours of being up and travelling and still making sense when speaking. 

Just about..........

The time for talk is done

So sitting at heathrow waiting for baggage drop to open to get my bike safely on it's way to Chicago and I thought I'd update about the last minute stuff.
Yesterday was a whirlwind... started off my dropping into work to say bye to my friends and those who are as close to being family as you can get without actually being.
Coulda been a mistake. The number of times I said 'I will be fine' cannot be counted on 2 hands and actually I didn't feel fine. If you know me you know I have energy to spare, now picture inside my head .... 10 thoughts rattling round every second... did I pack that.... do I need that.... what if.... help... am I really crazy... will I complete this.... will I let myself down.... cant wait to see the sign on the pier.... etc etc etc. Managed to keep this well hidden, to reassure all the people worried about me but it exploded the moment I got home.

The pacing started. Even as I made phone calls to some people who have been legends in their support for me I was pacing the floor... wound up as tight as a coiled spring. If I could have got in the car then and there I would have.

Even going climbing didn't help, my head wasn't in the game, or this planet which makes climbing difficult to say the least.

The afternoon passed in a haze of caffeine... another mistake. As if the nervous energy and adrenaline werent enough, try adding lots of coffee to the mix... recipie for disaster.
By the time I got to my parents, I felt physically sick. Food didn't appeal in the slightest. And so the evening passed. Home, fed the snakes and a couple of hours kip later... emma arrived to take me to heathrow. 
And so now, sitting at heathrow, a year after sandra watson sowed the seed of this crazy plan at ben nevis rocks, I find myself completely calm.

Maybe its the fact that I'm sleep deprived, or maybe it's the knowledge that I cant do anything now if I have forgotten anything, there is no turning back....
The time for talk is done.... Santa Monica here I come!

Now for the last minute things....

So the week of the bike ride is upon me. My last day of work for a month is done and I have 2 days in which to panic efficiently and get everything done.
What is left to do you ask.... surely everything is sorted by now? And yes most things are done. 9.6kg of kit however and I am still not happy. Surely I could do without that extra pair of socks. Do I really need 5 packets of ibruprofen.... or if I took out the 'just in case' 2nd adaptor... or cut the end off the toothbrush (yes touring cyclists do do that to save 1 g)
So tomorrow one of my first tasks will be to go through the kit again and justify every single kg of weight.

Next up will be packing my bike in the box, ensuring that all remotely breakable parts are encased in bubble wrap and the box is secure.

Then I think double checking my passport, money, travel insurance and paperwork comes high up the to do list.

The other advantage of keeping myself busy over the next 2 days will be less time to dwell on what if's. I haveplanned for as much as I can and the rest will be a case of reacting and dealing with issues as they come up. There is an endless list of things that could happen but I cannot, as in life, prepare for every eventuality. If we had no surprises in life, it would be boring, and with travelling it is much the same.

Sometimes the unexpected happenings are where we find the most enjoyment, learn the most about ourselves or experience something that changes us forever.

The only real worry I have is whether I will be up to the task. But whatever happens you can be sure I will break myself before I give up and try to be worthy of all the kind and generous people who have shown their support by donating, sharing my page and blog and in some cases going the extra mile to keep me positive!

So now that is said I thought I would share a funny, well according to everyone else anyway, story. The background to this is begins with a course at work which involved me coming up with a plan to implement a change. Mine involved getting my long suffering colleagues to walk up the stairs (all 6 flights) to work for 6 weeks. I wasn't very popular I can tell you. This was all part of my long running, formerly unofficial campaign to get everyone fitter. 
So with this in mind imagine my upset, dismay, and general feeling of a dagger to my very soul, when it was suggested that should I die on this trip (I'm not planning to btw) they would dedicate, with a plaque, in my honour.... A LIFT!    cue huge amounts of laughter from everyone, except myself!

So watch out for my daily blogs, photos and snippets of life on the long dudty road called Route 66!

The road to Route 66: Gale Force winds and Love Hope Strength

I wanted to blog about the weekend I have just had for several reasons.  Firstly to try and give people an idea of why I have become so involved with Love Hope Strength Foundation, to show you some of the things the charity does to raise money and to continue with my tale of fitness preparation for Route 66.

Ben Nevis Rocks - one of the events where people who support the charity, Love Hope Strength Foundation, come together, walk a mountain, and raise money and awareness for the charity.
What the above doesn't tell you is how I have made lifelong friends along the way and shared an experience that is difficult to put into words.

So the weekend began after a night shift - racing home and getting there just in time to find Steve Webster ready to shove all the swabbing kit into his car to start the journey up to Scotland.  On the way we swung by to pick up my step-daughter Anna, who was about to experience not only the mountain for the first time but also her first Rocks event.  Then onwards and upward - eventually getting  through the traffic - to Glasgow to pick up Brian finnie.  Steve is a dedicated volunteer abumbed into each other a lot of  Alarm/Big Country/Rocks events over the last few years. Brian i met on Ben Nevis last year and it seems like we have been friends for a long time.  With such good company, the journey flies by, but we do arrive late to the pre-rocks gathering of walkers.  However the scenery of the A82 made it all ok!

We headed off to our campsite, set up the tents and prepared for an early start!
03:30 to be exact and by 04:30 we were starting to gather at the base of the climb.
It was at this point that Mickey Collins arrived.  I shared the walk down Ben Nevis last year with Mickey and I think it is safe to say that we have become firm friends.  so much so that the madness has rubbed off on him and he cycled from his home in Lochmaben to Ben Nevis - a distance of over 250 miles - to raise money for Love Hope Strength Foundation in memory of his brother Stevie. As they say in Cycling - Chapeau Mickey! He and his family raised a grand total of around £5000.  Mickey is a good example of the kind of people that I was lucky enough to share the weekend with.

We then got treated to a song from Mike Peters, the founder of the charity and inspiration to many of us - before setting off in the dark, headtorches on - up the mountain.  It was cold and wet and the wind was such that the chill of the night air reached the bones pretty quickly but we all had smiles on our faces and before we knew it the daylight arrived.  Anna set off at quite a pace, although not as fast as Mickey who practically ran up!

The walk provides us all with an opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones and if you have the tendency to think philisophically like i do sometimes - it is one of the few times when I can say that everyone present was there to do a good thing which is one of the reasons why I find it life - affirming in a way. It confirms that there are a lot of genuine;y good people out there who will give up time and effort to do something for others.

However this year the mountain decided to throw all it had at us.  It got so cold near the top that people's hands were swelling up (my knuckles have only just been found), extremities were numb, and if you took your hat off - brain freeze (as my step daughter so aptly put it) followed.  then the wind made itself known - lets just say that if the wind can blow an adult off their feet - it's gotta be gale force.

This meant that time at the top was curtailed but am proud to say that Anna made it up there and didn't give up when it got tough. We managed a few lines of a song and a photo with Mike Peters before setting off at a reasonable pace - with the knowledge that the quicker we descended the quicker we would warm up.  NB - tying up shoelaces with numb hands is an interesting exercise!!

Post the climb, when we all got back, we headed to the campsite to dry clothes, and get ready for the post-climb gathering!

This is where the swabbing comes in...

So we set up a stall and signed people up to the bone marrow donor list, it's easy and takes just 5 minutes of your time and you could help save a life!
Once again Anna made me proud by learning how to GET PEOPLE ON THE LIST and jumped in to lend a hand along with the other volunteers.  23 people signed up to the list, which was a great result.

Then the music - Mike was fantastic as people shouted out songs that he hadn't played for years in some cases but after a few seconds of thought off he went and entertained us with his guitar that people had signed on the way. The Deceiver, True Life, The Message, 68 Guns to name but a few.  Mike was kind enough to get me up to tell people about the bike ride - and following that I was blown away by the support of people who I had just met who were kind enough to donate and offer their support in this crazy challenge.

All good things must come to an end however and too soon it had all wound down.  The stall was packed up and we are all left to reflect on how a group of people, many of whom didn't know each other before can all get on so well, and create a 'magical thing' ( for want of a better way to describe it).

So I probably speak for all of us when I say to Mike and Jules, thank you very much for a wonderful weekend. Let's do it all again sometime soon!!

(SNOWDON ROCKS takes place next weekend!)

Planning progress report

So time is ticking by quicker and quicker and october the 4th will soon be upon me.  The other day I made a list of everything I had left to plan and managedto sort a fair bit of it.
With the time getting ever closer the nerves are well and truly setting in and Im happy to say that it has certainly prompted me to get out on my bike more frequently and get some miles in. I went to wales the other day to cycle with Chris Summerill, a talented guitarist and occasional tri athlete, which meant the drive down was filled with a bit of trepidation about the ride to come, knowing as I did how hilly wales is and how badly I tend to go up hills. Still, it was a beautiful sunny day and we completed 55 miles at a reasonable pace, with chris kindly going slower than he normally would up the hills.
My good mood about how the ride had gone was increased further when I compared the hills with those that I will becoming up against on Route 66.  The climbs on Route 66 are long climbs and get up to a fair height, however most are long meaning that the average gradient is 2 or 3% compared to the 5 6 and 7 % that the welsh hills are made up of.
Socthats the training ongoing. As you might have seen, I also activated my SPOT tracker and set up my Spot adventures page details of which can be found on facebook or  click the following link  

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0PBZg8BR0J8drQqS5CnRjkBdWWyRlokiN

This enables me to send a check in/ok message to 10 friends and family every day and allows others to follow my progress on the online map on the adventures page, which is pretty cool.
I also notified the airlimes of my need to bring a bike with me which induced a mini heart attack when brussels airline mistakenly told me that united airlines would not allow my bike on board from brussels to chicago!
Following a suggestion from a friend I am also organising a quiz to raise more money and have had a good response from a local pub with help hosting it. Further details will be available on my facebook page.

Fundraising has got off to a good start with £1000 already generously already raised and names going on the prayer flags.  I hope to reach a target of my £2000 but am feeling the pressure of completing this challenge and not letting all those people down.

I have most of my kit sorted but am debating buying either a small solar charging panel or something like power monkey but time is running our to get this stuff sorted.

The gig at the end of the ride is pretty much there as regards to planning and I will be making an announcement soon about that.

So hopefully the final planning stages will go to plan (lol) and I will be setting out in october with everything in place.
So all that remains is to keep the legs going round and get some miles under my belt.

Regards the above: a few bits and pieces to discuss. I tried out hydro tabs (Mickey,  I think you should get some btw) as an alternative to the powdered electrolytes. And why I am singing their praises, hopefully if you picture the following scenario, you will understand the benefits.

Somewhere in the middle of the lake district, a lady with a touring bike is crouching by the roadside, as she is crouching she pulls out several bags from her panniers, each one filled with a measured amount of white granules.
Now transfer that story to the middle of , lets say, arizona, only this time the cops stop by.
So white powder not the best thing to be carrying about your person, especially in measured amounts in plastic bags, which I did for weight saving purposes.
So 9 months on and I have switched to hydro tabs, do the same thing, 20 tabs to a tube, which even at 2 a day means only 3 small tubes to carry, and no risk of being detained by the local law enforcement!

2nd thing to share is about connectivity. I am worried about relying on my tab to connect to back home, formapping etc but have found a reliable ish means of wi fi internationally. So fingers crossed it works or internet cafes will become my second home whilst away.

So about 5 weeks to go and the nerves have well and truly set in.
But I guess if this were easy, what would be the point.!

Gadget overload

So after my disasterous ride of the other day, I needed to get back on my bike for a short, feelgood ride, you know the sort where you fly along and feel as if you could go on for days pedaling at the same cadence (rate of pedaling).  I decided to go wherever the wind blew me so to speak but also to combine it with picking up my new gadget from my mum's house.

So with an unloaded bike (no panniers) I set off and was going at a reasonable rate. The roads were good, reasonably quiet, but with enough traffic so I didn't freak out and think somehow the world had ended whilst I was merrily going along.  Some nice coutryside with the odd slope to stretch my legs and the miles flew by.

Being tested on this ride was my new baselayer, as it wasn't too hot, and my cheap version camelback.  The good think about the camelback is , being able to drink while continuing on, meaning no frequent stops, scrabling for your water bottle whilst trying to balance yur loaded bike, or worse reaching down to your frame, whilst trying to keep an eye on the road for traffic, bumps and suicidal animals (see south to north wales bike ride blog to explain that one).

That's not to say that the camelback comes without it's own challenges.  Occasionally the water tube comes loose from its holder, threatening to disturb bike equilibrium, then have you ever tried to unfasten a drinking tube, open the catch, and bike and suck at the same time whilst pedaling along? Let me tell you it takes practice. I now like to think I have this down to a fine art, at least I no longer wobble furiously, scaring oncoming traffic, pedestrians and myself.

Thebaselayer did its job, I never got cold, I didn't overheat, tho this might be a different matter in the mojave desert and if I did feel more on the warm side (unusual for me), I just rolled up the sleeves, perfect.
Believe it or not, I havent yet had the chance to test out my new rain jacket.  Lightweight and hopefully waterproof, it will also be another layer and serve as windproofing if necessary. However I haven't felt the need to unfurl it as yet, but when I do, you guys wil be the first to know about it!

So this brings me to my final gadget. I stopped at my mums to oick up a device that will allow me to put my tablet on my bike therfore allowing easy access to maps, enabling me to navigate from the saddle without stopping to check the route every 10 mins.  Immediately fixed it to my bike and in due course set off the 2 or so miles back home.  Now english roads being what they are, it wasn't too long before I hit my first bump, not pothole you understand, this wouldnt have qualified or got anywhere close to that description.  This was a small bump in the road. My tabket promptly flew off its mounting and landed face down in the middle of the road. Dont think I've ever stoped so fast, dismounted and barely checking for oncoming traffic, dashed into the road to retrieve my surely broken tablet.
Pausing for effect. ..........

miracles clearly do happen cos not only did no car run over my expensive item, the screen was barely scratched, and it stil worked! Well done samsung, you have made a good product in my opinon.  Ok so the edges are dented but apart from being slightly miffed that my squeaky clean toy is no longer such, im very happy I havent got to fork out another 200 quid to buy another one. 
So what did I learn from this.?
Well ....
1. You can go one gadget too far
2. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
3. Its not the end of the world if I have to stop to check the map, it will provide an excuse to take a photo, take a breather and possibly eat something. 

So that's my ride for today. More lessons learned, more miles on the legs and one happier lid

Finally, just to take the time to plug my justgiving page.  Www.justgiving.com/Route66LHS.

I am cycling Route 66 to raise money for Love Hope Strength Foundation.  This challenge is by no means going to be easy for me.  I have no doubt that I am going to suffer  on a daily basis for 4 weeks. And you get to enjoy the suffering every day of the ride with this blog.
So please could you share this blog, share my just giving page, tell your friends about the nutter on a bike and if you can, sponsor me to help raise money for this great cause.  Thankyou and LHS.

VAIL ROCKED,

So yup its true, I went to Colorado for the weekend. So what does that have to do with Route 66 cycle ride you may ask. Colorado isnt anywhere near Route 66 right? Okay it kinda doesn't and was really just an excuse for going to see Big Country play, twice as luck would have it, and to walk up the spectacular vail mountain trail.

However there are several good excuses I have come up with which will reveal themselves if you want to read on.

I was lucky enough to have a voucher for delta airlines and it seemed rude not to use it.  So Colorado bound I was on Thursday.  I arrived, via detroit and a particularly horrible security and customs ordeal (apparently when there are loads of people waiting to get into your country its a good idea to remove some of the people behind the counters), at a reasonable hour and found myself once again in a car, on the 'passenger' side, with no clutch and saying out loud to myself at every junction "drive on the right"! REASON NUMBER 1: Driving practice!
Oh and as a footnote to the airport ordeal, they have signs greeting you and signs directing you to the tornado shelters. Well it struck me as a bit unusual....

I crawled (and I'm not joking) to my hotel, conveniently situated at the airport, and promptly got texted with an offer of a drink at the hotel by beki hemmingway, a person  have only met once, at the Gathering (Alarm fans will know what I mean). How nice is that! Fortunately I didn't have to drive anywhere as we went to a real American diner, with a neon 'diner' sign above the door. How cool!

Then collapsed in my bed, slept for what felt like 10 mins, woke up at 5am and trying to make the most of my day got ready sharpish and set off for the zoo, yup I know it was early but didnt have long as beki and kelley dooley creek were going to take me to Red Rocks park, and I refer back to the previous paragraph re my snail's pace driving!

The zoo, well I wanted to go to the zoo mainly because I knew they had a polar bear and we don't have any in the zoos in the uk.  I wasn't disappointed because they did have one, but it was kinda, "wow that's cool" , followed by unease because this lovely animal was in captivity and not in the wild.  I did get some lovely pictures of it tho ( found on my facebook photos.) A quick whizz round the rest of the zoo and then off to meet beki and kelly for a walk around the stunning Red Rocks and the amphitheatre there. You will have to look at my pics on facebook ( when I finally get home and post them) to fully appreciate how cool this place is. Highlight of the walk. .... me : "if you see a rattlesnake let me know! Kelly: don't worry, you will know about it from my screaming! Lol!
oh and I RAN up all the steps at the amphitheatre!

So then a brief pause, and off to the Big Country gig and a quick drink beforehand.  Mike Peters popped in for a quick chat, got to watch soundcheck and met up with the ever cool Rob Rushing, who was patient with me in explaining the differences in the swabbing process between the usa and the uk . REASON NO 2: 'helping' to swab people at the gig for Love Hope Strength Foundation. I met some real cool people who were doing the swabbing that night (yes im deliberately sounding american) who have it down to a fine art and didn't need my hinderance!

Then Big Country were on the stage, nuff said, and a cracking gig it was too! Mike and the boys did a fine job but (and maybe I do the americans an injustice) people were more sedate here, no jumping in the mosh pit for me, here wasn't really one.  Nonetheless once again the lyrics of The Journey, Hurt, broken promised land et al were blaring out into my eardrums making me one happy person.

Gigs in the us start later, well this one did, and as a consequence, I didn't start the drive to vail till gone midnight! Well I say I , but actually the very nice Rick/Rich drove me up there, following Rob in his car to arrive safely in time to get a whole 2 hours of sleep before we were up, ready to face the day, and a hike up Vail mountain, at altitude, for VAIL ROCKS!

REASON NUMBER 3: Fitness training (okay okay poor reason) really walking up a beautiful mountain with Mike Peters, James Chippendale, Cy Curnin, Brett Dennon and a few hundred fantastic people who have raised a bundle for Love Hope Strength Foundation! The walk is difficult to describe in one long narrative so here are some snap shots!

People signing Mike's guitar with their names
Chatting to many different people along the trail, making new friends along the way.
Realising that the altitude was suddenly noticable half way up, but using the wonderful scenery as an excuse to take a photo
Music breaks along the way
Mike making it to the top a week after treatment
Breathing fresh mountain air
A couple getting engaged at the top of the mountain , lovely people both and congratulations
The sense of cameraderie
Following the above : a restored faith in the basic goodness of many people
Sunshine ( no not burnt this time) and complaining about the heat ( lol)

And so many other little bits and pieces to mention, hopefully the photos on my facebook site will tell the story more eloquently than I ever could. Those who climbed with Lhs uk up Snowdon and Ben Nevis in the uk or have participated in any rocks events will know what I am trying and failing to adequately describe. Not only have Mike Peters and James Chippendale founded a charity that has already saved many lives but one that has its own . ...... (insert the word you think is appropriate)

So walk over ( sorry I admit, I took the gondola down, with 5 very cool people) ( photos on fb, please tag yourselves!), it was down to the lhs stall to set up and begin the swabbing. Damn it was a laugh and so great to talk to all the people who came over and spared 5 mins of their day , having already walked up a mountain, to swab, GET ON THE LIST, and potentially help save a life.  It didn't harm that the booth was in the perfect position to see the stage, and for me that Mike and James kindly signed my Vail Rocks t shirt, giving me the perfect souvenir! 225, yes that's 225 swabs later, BIG COUNTRY came on stage (lol twice in 2 days, cant get better than that!)  And now for the highlight of my weekend.  I was so lucky and got not only to sing (OR SHOUT) from the side of the stage but got to join mike and the boys on the stage along with some of the other volunteers for a rendition of Love Hope And Strength!

Yet another highlight to add to the memory bank.

Then it was all hands on deck to pack up, Including the stage Lol , which for me was the perfect ending to this perfect weekend.

So it is at this point in the post where I shamelessly self promote my bike ride and say thank you soooo much to all the people who have kindly offered help, emergency contacts, places to stay, tour guiding on my odd day off, said they would folow my ride with interest, said they would help set up donor drives along the way, said that they would join my bike ride for a day ( or more commonly volunteer someone else to join my ride for a day) And offer friendship and help to a total stranger! It is at times like this that I am reminded how lucky I am (without descending into sentimentality) to be a part of the wonderful cause that is LHS, and to have these opportunities to experience all that goes with it.  I think I have already thanked everyone I could think of and if you are still reading this, fair play, I thought you would have given up reading long ago.

VAIL ROCKED!

New Bike... 1st ride.....

New bike.. 

So for all those of you that have been kindly keeping an eye on my progress you will know that i have bought my bike for Route 66.  It was a struggle deciding whether to go for the dependable but heavier and possibly slower touring cycle - specifically made for long distance rides or the fast sleek, lovely road bike!  

Head ruled heart and I went for a Dawes Touring Galaxy AL13 - picked it up Sunday and today I took it out properly for the first time.  I haven't yet fitted a cycle computer to it so had no idea how fast I was going or how far i had gone so that left me with just how I felt about it to worry about.  Map my ride was tracking my progress which I have also posted up on my facebook page! www.facebook.com/Route66LHSCycle  This is my workout on Map my Ride : 

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/293618233

So initial impressions....

Well first I had to get used to changing gears all over again as on my old Dawes they are located on the frame.  These were located (as with all modern bikes) on the handlebars.  Getting used to this wasn't too bad, although did result in one hairy moment where I was trying to change gear and brake whilst coming up to a roundabout and unclipping from my pedal...  Didn't fall off though it was a close run thing!

Initially the bike felt heavier and more unwieldy than my old Dawes, which considering my old bike is steel framed was a surprise.  The bike is built for a more upright position but i spent most of my time on the drops (the part of the handlebars that curves round on a road bike) which is what i am used to doing - only problem is on long rides - riding with your hands on the hoods, (on the top of the bars) is considered to be a better position for all day riding.  this means that you are less aerodynamic but unless you are racing or going into a particularly bad headwind, this shouldn't be a huge consideration.

By the end of the ride, i still felt a bit disappointed in the handling of the bike and how it felt.  Now i know I'm not racing across America, but I've still got to cover a fair amount of distance and a lot of the mental positivity for me is convincing yourself you are going along at a decent speed so the mental consideration of this bike is a big one.  

The bike is a bit rattly which is due to the mudguards - considering the weather throughout USA at the time i am going is supposed to be good all the way along - i could risk removing them.  Why you ask??  Well it's all very well rattling along for an hour or two but this could very well grate endlessly on my nerves by week 4-  another mental positivity thing to consider - when I'm already broken I won't need something else to piss me off!!

Now it may seem as though I'm concentrating on the negatives, picking holes in the details... yes I am, I agree.  so now for the positives.

1st up.... the gears shifted well and when i got the hang of it, i like the new positioning of the gears.  Going uphill didn't seem very bad.  The pedaling action is smooth and lends itself to spinning up hills - usually with a couple of flicks of the gears down though!!  This might not mean much to non- bike-riders.  It rode the bumps of the Wokingham road in Reading well - no mean feat, and the saddle was reasonably comfortable - though I will probably swop it for my old one (the one i have 'broken' in.)

It might just be a case of getting used to the feel of a different bike and then i will be happy as larry again - or I might have to load it up with kit and then I will feel how good it is at what it is made for... or i might have to go on a very long day or two ride and then feel how well i and it cope with that before I'm sold on it.

The trouble is... in my heart of hearts ... I wanted the sleek shiny, lovely fast road bike.  But that wouldn't be sensible would it????

So I got home and after a slight delay, stopped the tracking on the Map my Ride app and looked at the data.  i was pleasantly surprised.  I had managed 13 miles without mishap, the speeds weren't as dire as I thought they were and total ride time (including stops for traffic lights/trains crossing and getting my bike back into the shed) was reasonable.  So maybe the bike isn't as bad as it feels and maybe it's just my head wishing I was on the other bike.

So maybe the sensible choice was a good one after all..... or maybe you will find me back at the bike shop ordering the other one :)