Day 11 - There are no frontiers

The tone of todays blog has changed in my head throughout today... This morning did not start well. Once again, I struggled to get up (what? You arent surprised) and by the time I went off to breakfast it was gone 7am, only to find the door to the lobby locked so no breakfast. So I put on my helmet and headed off before the sun had risen.
Actually this was great because I was treated to a beautiful sunrise and the scenery had somehow changed overnight. No longer the oklahoma trees  but red earth and hillocks with scrub bushes, like what I thought the midwest was going to be.
My good mood dissipated mainly because of the state of the roads here. At first glance you would think they were fine, but the composition of the tarmac made it feel as though I was pedaling through treacle.
I kept looking at my wheels to check for punctures or brakes rubbing or something to explain why I was crawling along. Nope nuthin like that to blame it on. It quicly became clear to me that my head and my legs werent playing the game today.
Matt Dixon kindly put a piece up on my wall about how when you ride, it creates a void in your head for thoughts to come and go... this is true, but also for the negative ones, which are much harder to remove. So my thoughts turned to the days ahead.... big mistake! The enormity of what I still had to do became almost overwhelming, particularly as I hadnt yet reached the point I had originally intended to reach yesterday. If I was 15 miles behind today, what would tomorrow be. Could I possibly catch up the miles lost and so on. The pressure of a late start added to these thoughts.  Now normally I would come up with some phrase or saying to break up the pattern but today these thoughts stuck in my head for a while. I was crawling along at 10 to 12mph on the flat and the wind and the cold were adding to a general lack of oomph.
It took all the willpower I had not to stop at the first motel I saw, crawl into bed with the covers over my head. I was this close to stopping and taking another rest day... what stopped me, well the thought that I may need this day more in the next 2 weeks than I needed it now. Sure things felt crap but they could be worse and who knows what challenges might lie up the road.
So I plodded on until I came to Elk City, the first waypoint for todays ride. Once there , I kinda missed my turning and found myself on a smooth, wide hard shoulder.... the interstate... oh well ... I could always pretend not to know it was illegal, play the stoopid foreigner card if stopped.  I loved it... 16mph with little difficulty, flying along, what a difference a good road surface makes. So in this manner I shot along to the next junction, where with regret, I once again joined the frontage road.

For the next few miles of bumpy drudgery I found myself contemplating why I put myself through these things. I love my life back home and am not running away from anything, I am more running towards something I think. ! Many years ago I was in a car accident, we got hit by a lorry on the M25, and although we were physically unhurt, I struggled with the thought that I had dodged the proverbial bullet. It was because of this that the invincibility you feel when you are young was suddenly and brutally replaced with the fear of dying- sorry cheery subject I know. Since then I have always been chasing life, because I realise how precious and short it can be and how quickly it could have gone that day. So I try to pack as much into my life, experience as many things as possible, chase my dreams, because I believe that this is the only shot you get at it.

The ironic thing so far on this trip, whilst I have seen and experienced huge amounts, it has only made me think more about everything and everyone I appreciate back home... I have always expected this though and wear always a pendant with the words, 'the life you seek does not exist' on it,  a lyric from a mike peters song (of course) which reminds me that however far away I go, all the best things I have in life... my family, friends, work... will all be waiting for me when I get home.
So back to why do all this then.... because I also believe that part of life is testing yourself, making yourself do things that appear too hard, because then you can take those lessons back with you to your real life and use them to enhance the person you are... does that make sense?

Anyway all these thoughts invaded my mind and provided some distraction from the leg aching task of the day.
Now having missed the oklahoma memorial I was determined to see texola, the deserted town on the border.  I was on my last legs, 7 miles to go, pedaling squares, knackered.... and then oklahoma decided to say goodbye, by raining on me.... cold tired and now wet, I was about ready to pitch my tent at the roadside when I saw a sign........

Not from God, but for a cafe... wearily I pulled up with the full knowledge that if I stopped I wouldnt get to mclean today. I went in and found a besutifully decorated tea room/art gallery. I was asked in a good southern drawl if I wanted anything and soon I was sitting, coffee and cake in hand, chatting to the owner of Tumbleweeds which is both the first and last stop in oklahoma.
It was fascinating how this lady had been drawn to an old building and turned it into this place, full of art, painted wonderfully by herself and providing a weary traveller with a place to stop. Before I knew it an hour had gone but funnily enough the panic of not making mclean had gone, replaced by the joy of sharing stories and coffee. This stop reminded me that (although I have to get to LA in tkme for the gig and flight home, its also about how I get there and the people I meet along the way that make it a journey.
So because of the stop, I set off with renewed fervour... and gave an inner whoop of joy when I crossed the border... ok so it wasn't an inner one, but no one heard (I hope). Texas seemed to recognise my change of mood and welcomed me with sunshine and scenery that some might call boring, but I thought was the picture of perfection...
Cattle lazily grazing in fields of scrub green, which stretched for miles in every direction.... this is how I'd imagined it and it was perfect. The sun lit up the white whisps of clouds as the (now) gentle breeze sent them scudding along. I even saw my first real cowboy, hat and pickup truck, locking in his cattle on the ranch for the night.
The last 10 miles to Shamrock were pure bliss, not because I was flying along, tho the road was better, but because I had been re shown the beauty of my surroundings and nothing could spoil that!

Shamtock provided me with the blarney inn and a steakhouse...
That will do...
Texas is currently my favourite state, lets hope that lasts!

Rest day and Day 10 - Fight back

In contrast to my previous days blogs, I am going to start this days blog from the night before...
As usual I was catching up with messages from friends and family when I received an email. A friend of mine has just been told of a cancer diagnosis. Obviously this upset me a huge amount, especially as this person is one of the truly, genuinely good people of this world, but I am sharing this to put all this adventure into some kind of context.
Whatever difficulty or challenge I face on this journey will never come close to the challenges faced by people battling illness.  And it highlights the importance of the work done by Love Hope Strength foundation and Delete Blood Cancer both in the UK, Usa and spreading round the world, thanks to the work of people like Mike and Jules Peters, James Chippendale and everyone connected with these charities in the fight.
So before I continue the blog for day 10 - my friend - today I cycle with you in mind... and in the words of MP, Fight back fight back fight back with all that you are!

Day 10 began with an unfortunate glance at the weather update... storms passing over head, flooding in Texas, winds gusting up to 40mph...remind me never to do that again. Its much easier to face the weather as it hits you than dread it coming, but having seen that I was eager to get a good start, just in case things turned really bad.
Of course then everything took longer to do, and I didn't get my foot on the pedal until half 7am and faced westwards out of the city. After the, by now infamous, highway 100 out of st louis I faced the expressway with some trepidation, but neednt have worried. All the cars and trucks were curteous, giving way and giving room and soon I was out on the old route 66 road, content... well sort of.
Whether it was the rest day or something else, I didn't have the zip I did... ok I had a fairly horrendous head/sidewind to deal with, but it wasn't raining. (Grateful for small mercies me). It was however bloody cold with just shorts and although I had tried, my shoes were not fully dry, meaning neither were my feet, and therfore they were blocks of ice! I was very grateful for my wind/waterproof which did a good job in keeping my core temp above freezing... but the legs were stiff and my foot hurt!
Woe is me right... well actually despite all this and the snail pace I was doing, I was enjoying myself. Once onto the 66 road, I was pretty much by myself, in the middle of just about nowhere, which is my favourite place in the world and the scenery reminded me of the ridgeway... yes hills again but even these were ok, I just trundled up and down  setting a steady tempo.
This equilibrium was disturbed slightly about 40 miles in, when I realised the problem of drinking too much on a rest day.. you don't use up the water and now I desperately needed to find a bush...but trying to find a bush on this road was next to impossible and although it had been pretty deserted, every time I thought id found a suitable point to stop a car appeared on the horizon... this went on for at least 10 miles and although the situation was becoming more desparate, I could see the funny side. On one hand, I was too isolated cos no gas station appeared, on the other hand, I wasn't isolated enough cos the cars kept appearing..
Anyway eventually I chanced it, hopped behind some kind of barn and emerged in a short while feeling much better, got on my bike, pedaled 5 mins down the road..... and a gas station appeared!
The road continued ever westwards... one highlight was getting stopped by some roadworkers and the surprise on their faces when I told them I had come from chicago 11 days ago and was going to LA, priceless. I have also started to graffiti my panniers, currently LA or bust and some hash marks to count off the days along with the words that keep me going, Love, Hope and Strength! I also got to see a large bird of prey up pretty close and this time it wasnt dead!
The wind remained strong throughout the day but I couldnt shake off the feeling that I was trying to outrun the storm, heading for bluer skies all the time and eventually the sun did break through a little, enough to warm my bones and feet up!
One feature of the landscape that had been ever present since the city, and should have given me a clue as to what kind of day to expect, were the windfarms, in the hundreds. I did think this was good to see as we hear a lot of negativity about the gas guzzling america, but here was proof, that in some areas at least, alternative sources of energy are being embraced and they do look kinda majestic in the fields that I don't think they detract from the scenery at all.
Once again, I found myself going up hill and down dale alongside the flat interstate. The road itself wasn't in too bad a condition but it was a relief occasionally to hit a wide smooth duel carriageway.
In regards to injuries, my foot has been playing up today, not just when I stand but also whilst cycling. It might have something to do with the cold today, or maybe just because ive cycled over 900 miles on it. My hands still remain weak and wierd feeling but I can live with that. My arse is hurting less today, so I guess the day off did some good.
So wearily I crawled up yet another hill to arrive at my destination for today, a small town called Clinton. I was originally going to stop 15 miles further down the road, but there was no where to stay there, according to google maps, so it was a choice between clinton or canute, another 20 miles down the road and frankly id had enough fresh air today.
The motel im in is possibly the wrong side of town (lots of sirens) and is less salubrious than some ive stayed in, but its cheap, they gave me a discount, it has a heater and a bed and most importantly, wifi!
I have noticed that all motels here below a certain price range, have the same floral patterned bedspread and curtains!
So its felt like a long day, but I have had plenty of peace and solitude along the road and have rather enjoyed it today... fingers crossed again for me that the weather holds, it seemed to do the trick today.
So now for a nice hot shower and then settle down to a book and another hershey bar!
Onwards and westwards to texas.....

Rest day - Were were you hiding when the storm broke

So im probably going to confuse after calling this day 10 at breakfast... but decided to call it rest day and tomorrow day 10 as coincides with my mapping.
Nice hotel last night and woke early to skype home...
Got shit together slowly then set foot out the door.
Rain pouring and I mean pouring down, rivers and lakes forming on the roads but I had a mission today... get to the other side of the city ready for tomorrow, get my bike looked at and visit a pharmacy... reasons discussed later.

So I got pretty wet and went pretty slowly  and eventually got to a days inn, which is as far from the best western as chalk from cheese and looks something like the motel in no country for old men.
Doesnt really matter tho... the heater is on full blast, drying my only pair of shorts so I can get wet again when I pop out to get food.
So whilst I am waiting for them to dry, I have cnn on. Its full of the government shutdown and the obamacare website which doesn't work properly.... a heathcare website not work... really... after spending lots of money on it? Seems it isn't just the Nhs then!
The other funny thing that struck me when I watch tv is any health product advert has an almost complte listing of side effects and contact your doctor ifs....during the advert. Its like, buy (insert product name) it may cause chest pain, breathlessness, you could even die, makecsure you tell your doc if u suffer with any itching, redness, allergic reaction,... but its really good and may help weight loss. Stop Taking it if you feel dizzy or nauseus.. but do pleae buy it!  And if your insurance doesn't cover it astra zenecca may be able to help you...
Well it made me chuckle...

So my original aim was to go and visit the memorial, but I quickly decided that although it would be a shame not to see it, it was just too wet for me to use up energy fighting my way downtown and then back up again and the energy might well be needed tomorrow, especially if its like this!
On the way I found a bike store, and made an important purchase that will hopefully save me from severe saddle soreness. Somewhat a taboo subject between cyclists and non cyclists.. you have to understand that preventing things getting bad is high priority as that will be one of the few things that could bring all this to an abrupt halt... I cant cycle standing up all the way..
So how do u prevent I hear you ask... well, a good thin saddle (less contact points =less areas of chafing), no underwear under the bike shorts (less seams always a good thing) and chamois cream! Hence my pharmeceutical and bike shop visits. I also bought a white marker which im hoping will work on my panniers so I can scrawl a message or two on them.

There seems to be a decent mexican restaurant outside and will stock up on provisions for tomorrow. I might try and repack the panniers to see if I can do it in a better way to leave more room for souvenirs... I mean provisions.

So keep your fingers crossed that the weather is better tomorrow. Im still feeling good after yesterdays ride so will take it easy whilst I can.
LHS X

Day 9 - I am unsafe....

Firstly, thank you to Lynn who took me out in Tulsa last night. It was nice to see some local life, even if I am now painfully aware that I am surrounded by people carrying guns... very wierd thought if you live in the UK.
So having got up this morning, once again determined to get an early start, when as you might have seen, I saw the flat back tyre. I knew that I had a very long day ahead and probably a bit tired from not being in bed by 9pm as I am accustomed to doing, and this felt like a bad omen for the day.
I rolled up my sleeves and with hands that don't work as well as they did last week, managed to change the tube, get the wheel back on, reattatch the panniers, have breakfast and set off by half 8, which isn't bad. It didn't feel like that though. I was in a foul temper.
Now bad moods are why its a good thing to be travelling alone. If you want to be in a bad mood, you can be cos the only person you can piss off is yourself. Sometimes you want to be in a bad mood and having someone else there trying to cheer you up, can sometimes make it worse. So temporarily happy with my bad mood, I set off. Quickly my bad mood about the start of the day evaporated and changed to a bad mood with myself for letting a puncture put me in a bad mood... still with me!

Basically it upset me that I had let this get to me. In fact I have been lucky not to have a puncture up till now. The bad mood continued and as a result  i was certain that I wouldnt get my rest day, because I thought that I would struggle to get anywhere today, given the late start. The thought of no rest day made my bad mood worse... not even my music was pulling me out of it . Basically my bad mood was further feeding my bad mood and I needed to break the cycle. I glanced down at my bands that I wear constantly (except at work-bare below elbows rule) and got to thinking what they mean to me.

This is what I came up with... 
They summarise how I have been able to get through this trip so far

Love - I have such supportive friends and family and friends who are like family that it gives me Hope that I can achieve this challenge that I have set out to do, both of these in turn give me the strength to keep the pedals turning day by day.
Sorry if it all sounds a bit OTT but this is how my thought processes were working at the time.
Once I had thought that through, the music began to filter through...

At this point my decision making was swinging between," just do 60 or so miles today and another short day tomorrow" and "go for it, get it done today and reap the benefit tomorrow".  I couldnt make my mind up as to how determined I was going to be. Meanwhile I was making my way through Tulsa and doing a bit of the tourist thing, half convinced that it was going to be a short day.

At some point I started to put the power down, my legs felt good, even if the rest of my body was breaking down. I desperately need a rest day, just to let my hands recover, if nothing else. I also quite needed to visit a pharmacy and a bike shop, to give my bike the once over before the next leg.  I also wanted to see the memorial at the least.  All this was going through my mind as I pushed harder on the pedals. There were no free miles today and it was like being back in missouri with the ups and downs

So with my hands on the drops and head into the wind, i was pushing along between 15 and 20 mph, with uphill between 12 and 14mph.  This is pretty fast on a loaded bike.

As the day wore on, thoughts of stopping short of oklahoma city started to fade.

I said, if i am at this point by 4pm, i will have enough light to make it.  i made sure i stopped every hour to snack and drink, but kept the stops short. 

The point that i had a decision to make came... and it was only 3pm. I was an hour earlier than i thought i would be.

The negative had turned into positive and a challenge to myself to get to the city. I continued to push, knowing that i had fought every mile to get a rest day and it would therefore be much sweeter.

As i neared the city, i started to relax and look around. I hadnt taken much notice of the sights up to this point and ironically the scenery seemed to improve, the closer i got to the city. At one point a searing pain went through my left thigh and i worried i had torn something so tried to tone down the pushing. Thankfully the pain subsided And i was able to continue at speed.

Oklahoma city is such that a sign announces the city limits 20 miles out. This makes the last 20miles like you are there but not. 

So at half 6 pm, having cycled 115 miles, i got to where i had been planning to spend the night, asked for a discount, got one and sunk gratefully into a very nice room.

So maybe my puncture this morning was not as some (kindly) suggested a sign that i needed to take it easy, or take the bus (Fiona), but rather having risen to the challenge, a sign that i can have more hope that i will make it. Today has given me more strength of mind 

Im very happy that i get my rest day tomorrow. I feel slightly broken and therefore I still declare myself unsafe.... just with a touch of satisfaction!

Day 8 - Breathe the air : It's the only thing you get for free

I didn't sleep well last night due to the bloody great big thunderstorm. I was concerned about cycling across flat land on my bike, basically serving as a lightening conductor. However the storm abated and I got up at 5 am to overcast skies and drizzle but not cold and  no wind to speak of.  Excited to make the most of this I packed up in super quick time and headed off to breakfast, to be told it was saturday and therefore breakfast not available until 7am. Such is life.

Once 7 am arrived, i jumped in for breakfast and was soon on my way. Despite it being overcast, the wind was for once with me and i shot out of miami. The road was straight, reasonably flat and aimed in the same direction all day, rising to the belief that i would be enjoying a tailwind all day.  I had a few pressing issues, one of which i dealt with as soon as i found a shop. Disaster had befallen me last night as i reached miami... my headphones had given up. I cannot, i repeat cannot cycle without music and on my spare headphones the sound of the alarm was more like, the sound of... well it might be the alarm but i couldnt tell u for sure. Fortunately the gas station sold headphones as well as guns, knives, and more pertinent to me, shots of energy juice. So loaded up with a couple of those just in case the day turned bad, and with working music again, i set off once more.

The road was wide and straight and i was able to enjoy the day. Looking at my surrounding, there were miles of fields and for the first time really since the trip began i had the pleasure of being alone on the road for stretches at a time.

For the first time, my mind could wander from the road to other things in my life... thoughts of home and family and friends that i miss, the dissertation i have to start when i get back ( second thoughts, maybe too much time to think is a bad thing). My dog radar was kept on background alert but for once did not get set off at all.

I got to the top of a hill and the sun was starting to make itself felt, so i stopped to take off a layer or two and was confronted by a picture perfect view. I paused the ipod and just stood there... admiring the view, breathing the air and feeling lucky to be alive. It was one of those perfect moments that i find whilst biking, no distractions, no interruptions, just purity. This is why i came to america, for moments like this. A friend pointed out to me that you cant appreciate highs without experiencing the lows and he is totally correct. Im not sure this moment would have been as appreciated if the last few days hadnt been rough! 

Whilst standing there i noticed a white truck stop up ahead and then turn round and go back down the road... now because i am by myself i have a radar for things like this too and my internal warning system was on high alert. 2 mins later the truck pulls up to me. Staying where i was i asked if all was alright, 

The reply i got was ' are you ok, are you lost, do you need help' i replied that i was grand and felt really bad that id been thinking the worst. They then said we just wanted to check... i thanked them and they drove off, leaving me once again marvelling at how nice peoole can be!

So once again I set off, the wind carrying me at a rate of knots. Now I mentioned the headphone problem and one I couldnt sort. Basically my hands dont work properly from gripping the handlebars for over 750 miles in 8 days. This makes things like attatching my ipod to my belt loop take up to 5 mins and you should see me trying to use a knife and fork... it is quite funny... as long as its only temporary, which it should be.  One of my fingers, the forth on my right, will not straigten of its own accord.  The other minor injury i have is my left foot. I injured it on snowdon somehow, possibly a stress fracture of one of the small bones. Whilst i am cycling along its fine... so actually all good, but today accidently put that foot down at some lights and it really was quite painful, so just wont do that again. Other than that, a miriad of bruises, achIng muscles and a bit of sunburn, actually i feel pretty good.  

The road from this point to tulsa cannot go by without me mentioning 2 more things... first is Spot, my companion for 30 miles (remember i have to keep myself entertained) Spot was a little bug who hitchiked a ride, yellow with black spots (hence the name). He kept me entertained for a while, crawling around on my handlebar bag, looking like he was catching the bus to work! (No i havent really lost it) 

The other piece of entertainment i alluded to back in missouri, the concept of free miles... i have now expanded on that. I expected an average, including stops of 10 mph. This is my baseline. If i go over that without having to pedal, its called free miles... doesnt have to be down hills, can be wind assisted. However i was going so fast today that i decided if i hit 20mph whilst not pedaling it counts as double free miles.... yeah yeah i know i sound like ive lost it lol, but it helps to pass the time.

I freewheeled into Tulsa in record time, having done just around 95 ish miles. Found the Super 8, got a discount (again) and settled down to catch up with everyone. The wifi didnt work... panic stations. I was ready to up and leave but fortunately they sorted it out but it made me slightly sad on one hand and lucky on the other... let me explain...

I like to think of myself as the kind of person who could up sticks and live in a wild place with little of no connection to the outer world... today i realised i probably couldnt and that made me slightly sad, but better than that it made me feel lucky and that is because i have such wonderful family and friends, that on this short trip, it is without question the highlight of my day, shower and bed notwithstanding, to sit and catch up with everyone by facebook and email and i feel lucky because of that.

So on that note... go outside, take a deep breath of fresh air and feel the peace that enveloped me today, then tell someone close to you about it and you will come close to feeling how i do now.

As always  Love hope and strength to all. Roll on oklahoma city tomorrow!

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!