We're in Gunnison, Colorado- on our 31st day, and have completed around 2400 miles. Got some time to kill in a library, so here are some of my favourite photos of our favourite state so far...
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Some Colorado snaps so far...
We're in Gunnison, Colorado- on our 31st day, and have completed around 2400 miles. Got some time to kill in a library, so here are some of my favourite photos of our favourite state so far...
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Colorado!
When we last posted to the blog, we had just finished the Ozark mountain range in Missouri, looking forward to an extended spell of flat riding. Well, that's all finished now- we're now in Pueblo, Colorado, and can see the Rocky mountains from our window- a little bit daunting! Here's a rundown on what we've managed in the last week or so:
Day 22: Pittsburg, KS - Yates Center, KS (60 miles)
Day 23: Yates Center, KS - El Dorado, KS (65 miles)
Day 24: El Dorado, Ks - Hutchinson, KS (75 miles)
Day 25: Hutchinson, KS - Kinsley, KS (88 miles)
Day 26: Kinsley, KS - Garden City, KS (90 miles)
Day 27: Garden City, KS - Lamar, Colorado (107 miles)
Day 28: Lamar, CO - Pueblo, CO (122 miles)
Our first full day in Kansas was also our first full day of horrible weather- persistent rain all day, combined with strong winds meant we sacked off camping for the night, and only managed 60 miles into Yates Center. From there, we pedalled to El Dorado, where we stayed with the Monroe family, who we had met way back on day 6 in Wythville, Virginia- they kindly offered us a place to stay if we were ever passing through Kansas- an offer to kind to refuse! To tie this in to our trip, we decided to venture off the officical TransAmerica route, and followed Route 50 all the way from Newton, KS through to where we are now in Pueblo. This has made our route far more direct, and to be honest, it's not like we missed out on many sights in Kansas!
From El Dorado, we headed to Hutchinson, where we were planning on camping. However, as we were checking the map for directions to our campground, we were again offered a place to stay for the night- thanks to Jason and Kalene Nisly for confirming that people in Kansas win the most friendly people in America so far award!
Since Hutchinson, we have been gradually climbing uphill to Pueblo- we are now at just a shade under 5000 feet. However, the riding has not been especially tough- the main challenge has been just keeping going when there is really not much to distract you from the straight roads and flat farmland! The last couple of days have been our biggest two of the trip, as we tried to up our daily average- it's now up to 80 miles a day, meaning we have to hit 73 per day for the next three weeks to get to San Francisco on time in 50 days.
We've got the Rockies to start today, and there's no messing around- we have 25 miles of gradual uphill out of Pueblo before climbing up to 9000 feet today, followed by the highest point of the entire trip tomorrow- almost 12000 feet over Monarch pass! It's going to be a challenge, but we all feel in great condition to tackle it- a change of scenery will be nice at least!
Will post again soon- wish us luck! If you want to really show some support, don't forget this whole trip is for a very good cause: we are raising money for CLIC Sargent- a children's cancer and leukaemia charity back in the UK - donations to the cause can be made here
Monday, 16 August 2010
Flat(ish) for 1000 miles!
Since the last post (again, a bit too long ago) we have cycled across yet another state- I'm now writing this from Pittsburg, Kansas.
Day 17: Chester, Il - Farmington, Missouri (55 miles)
Day 18: Farmington, Mo - Owl's Bend, Mo (75 miles)
Day 19: Owl's Bend, Mo - Hartville, Mo (95 miles)
Day 20: Hartville, Mo - Ash Grove, Mo (75 miles)
Day 21 Ash Grove, Mo - Pittsburg, Kansas (70 miles)
From Chester, we crossed the Mississippi into Missouri. The first few miles were pleasant enough, but within about 45 minutes we were caught in another big thunderstorm, and had to take shelter in a local garage for a bit- a pattern that continued all day, hence the short 55 mile day into Farmington. The next couple of days after that were fantastic cycling however, as we entered the Ozark mountains in central Missouri- lots of beautiful rolling hills covered in pine forests. A particular highlight was our night on day 18: we camped next to a river which flowed off the mountains- we had a pretty nice (but cold) swim for a bit, perfect after a tough day's riding!
The next day we managed a good amount of miles into Hartville without too much alarm, and all was going well until about 3am when we were once again caught in a storm. This one was unlike anything we'd seen before, and due to us being in pretty flimsy tents, we decided the best thing to do was to ditch them and hide under a nearby porch until it blew over- it was pretty scary stuff! Didn't make for the best night's sleep either- we were all pretty knackered the next morning! Managed 75 into Ash Grove yesterday- nice town, made all the nicer by the Christensen family who saw it was a Sunday night in a sleepy town and kindly took us in for a couple of hours and fed us bacon and eggs for tea! It's things like that which are really making this trip special for us- random acts of kindness that we just wouldn't usually come across in the UK.
Now we've got the hills out of the way, we've just cracked through another 70-odd today, but in just over 4 hours of cycling- the lack of hills and a big tailwind help so much! Hopefully this bodes well for the rest of Kansas and we avoid the storms for a while now!
Missing you all lots
Sam, Hal & Dave
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Another day, another state
Since the last update from Hindman we have made cracking progress! I'm writing this from a public library in Chester, Illinois- on the banks of the Mississippi river, about to cross the border into Missouri.
Day 10: Hindman, Ky - Booneville, Ky (67 miles)
Day 11: Booneville, Ky - Harrodsburg, Ky (102 miles)
Day 12: Harrodsburg, Ky - Hodgenville, Ky (96 miles)
Day 13 Hodgenville, Ky - Utica, Ky (104 miles)
Day 14: Utica, Ky - Marion, Ky (72 miles)
Day 15: Marion, Ky - Goreville, Il (80 miles)
Day 16: Goreville - Chester, Il (80 miles)
We have now covered just shy of 1250 miles, and once we cross the river, we'll be in our 6th State! The riding since Hindman has flattened out a bit; we've seen the end of the Appalachian mountains, and the terrain has given way to rolling farmland through the rest of Kentucky.
Our first day in Illinois was one of the toughest of the trip so far, with steep rolling hills and 38 degree heat, IN THE SHADE! We also managed to take a wrong turn halfway through the day, meaning we had to take around a 15 mile detour at the end of the day- not really something to be doing after such a hard day in the saddle. In some ways it was worth it though- we stopped for pizza at the most stereotypical American bar, and were bought shots by some very friendly regulars. Sam even got his first phone number of the trip from one particularly attentive lady.....
Missouri should be nice riding, made a bit tougher by tackling the Ozark mountain range- this should mean more steep hills, but hopefully they'll be over in a few days time....once we're through there, it's on to Kansas- lovely flat roads, but probably tough in the wind!
Better dash now, got another 75 miles or so to crack out this afternoon- photos to come soon I promise!
Day 10: Hindman, Ky - Booneville, Ky (67 miles)
Day 11: Booneville, Ky - Harrodsburg, Ky (102 miles)
Day 12: Harrodsburg, Ky - Hodgenville, Ky (96 miles)
Day 13 Hodgenville, Ky - Utica, Ky (104 miles)
Day 14: Utica, Ky - Marion, Ky (72 miles)
Day 15: Marion, Ky - Goreville, Il (80 miles)
Day 16: Goreville - Chester, Il (80 miles)
We have now covered just shy of 1250 miles, and once we cross the river, we'll be in our 6th State! The riding since Hindman has flattened out a bit; we've seen the end of the Appalachian mountains, and the terrain has given way to rolling farmland through the rest of Kentucky.
Our first day in Illinois was one of the toughest of the trip so far, with steep rolling hills and 38 degree heat, IN THE SHADE! We also managed to take a wrong turn halfway through the day, meaning we had to take around a 15 mile detour at the end of the day- not really something to be doing after such a hard day in the saddle. In some ways it was worth it though- we stopped for pizza at the most stereotypical American bar, and were bought shots by some very friendly regulars. Sam even got his first phone number of the trip from one particularly attentive lady.....
Missouri should be nice riding, made a bit tougher by tackling the Ozark mountain range- this should mean more steep hills, but hopefully they'll be over in a few days time....once we're through there, it's on to Kansas- lovely flat roads, but probably tough in the wind!
Better dash now, got another 75 miles or so to crack out this afternoon- photos to come soon I promise!
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Who knew the appalachians were so big?
For a mountain range none of us really knew much about, the Appalachian mountains which stretch between Virginia and Kentucky are proving to be surprisingly hard work! Since the last update, we have had three more days of tough riding.
Day 7: Wythville,VA - Damascus, VA (60 miles)
Day 8: Damascus - Elkhorn City, KY (86 miles)
Day 9: Elkhorn City - Hindman, KY (66 miles)
Riding here is really hard work- not only are the mountain climbs ridiculously steep, but it has also been up to 42 degrees at times- which has meant that today we were forced to take a two hour break in the middle of the day to lie around at the roadside while the sun went in! It's seeming like a long time ago that we were getting the subway out of Washington- despite the hard work and sore legs, we are all getting into the swing of it now, and will probably be in California before we know it!
We have left the big mountains behind for now, and now are going to go through a few days of steeply rolling hills, pretty draining in this heat. If all goes to plan we will be in Berea, Kentucky by tomorrow night- apparently a distance of well over 100 miles- unfortunately this is necessary if we want to keep our average mileage up...
Just want to mention a big thank you to Joe Bowen who helped us out big-time in Hindman today in finding our lodging for the evening- all those people who said "you can't miss it" were sorely mistaken! Joe has just written a book detailing his two 14000 mile bike rides around the USA and Canada- a pretty remarkable achievement, and something we'll definitely be reading once we get home.
That's all for now, hope to update again soon-maybe even the next state!
Hal, Sam & Dave
Day 7: Wythville,VA - Damascus, VA (60 miles)
Day 8: Damascus - Elkhorn City, KY (86 miles)
Day 9: Elkhorn City - Hindman, KY (66 miles)
Riding here is really hard work- not only are the mountain climbs ridiculously steep, but it has also been up to 42 degrees at times- which has meant that today we were forced to take a two hour break in the middle of the day to lie around at the roadside while the sun went in! It's seeming like a long time ago that we were getting the subway out of Washington- despite the hard work and sore legs, we are all getting into the swing of it now, and will probably be in California before we know it!
We have left the big mountains behind for now, and now are going to go through a few days of steeply rolling hills, pretty draining in this heat. If all goes to plan we will be in Berea, Kentucky by tomorrow night- apparently a distance of well over 100 miles- unfortunately this is necessary if we want to keep our average mileage up...
Just want to mention a big thank you to Joe Bowen who helped us out big-time in Hindman today in finding our lodging for the evening- all those people who said "you can't miss it" were sorely mistaken! Joe has just written a book detailing his two 14000 mile bike rides around the USA and Canada- a pretty remarkable achievement, and something we'll definitely be reading once we get home.
That's all for now, hope to update again soon-maybe even the next state!
Hal, Sam & Dave
Monday, 2 August 2010
One week down!
Apologies for the length of time between updates, getting to internet out in redneck country is proving to be more difficult than anticipated! We're currently in Whythville, Virginia, about to start our seventh consecutive day of riding.
After flying into DC the other day, we made fairly slow progress for a couple of days from the Maryland coast, mainly as this involved cycling a fair way in the wrong direction to get there, and then staying in DC for a night as well. Once we got into the countryside a bit more, we have managed to get a lot more miles in- 95 into Charlottesville, and another 86 into Wytheville yesterday. We have also entered the Appalachian mountains- really tough riding, but fantastic views from the top (when we got there!) Today should be the last of the big peaks (over 3000ft), and then the terrain gradually levels out until we reach the plains in Missouri and Kansas.
To recap the first week, we have managed:
Day 1: Beverly Beach, MD - Washington, DC (37 miles)
Day 2: Washington, DC - Prince William Forest Park, VA (55)
Day 3: Prince William - Charlottesville, VA (95)
Day 4: Charlottesville - Vesuvius, VA (72)
Day 5: Vesuvius - Catawba, VA (76)
Day 6: Catawba - Wytheville, VA (87)
About 425 miles so far, so pretty much on track to make into San Francisco on time!
(Today should be a slightly smaller day into Damascus, VA - roughly 60 miles)
It's definitely been a bit of an eye-opener into how tough this trip is going to be- already gone through three punctures and a crash in the first week, not to mention a broken pannier rack and very tired legs! We're all absolutely loving it though, the scenery has been stunning, and the people here are so incredibly friendly- always stopping to chat and wish us good luck.
We will hopefully get some photos up soon- perhaps when we have a bit more time and a speedier internet connection! We'll also update this again as soon as we can.
That's all for now- don't forget to keep those donations coming in here- not far to go to reach our fundraising target!
Missing y'all lots.
Sam, Hal & Dave
After flying into DC the other day, we made fairly slow progress for a couple of days from the Maryland coast, mainly as this involved cycling a fair way in the wrong direction to get there, and then staying in DC for a night as well. Once we got into the countryside a bit more, we have managed to get a lot more miles in- 95 into Charlottesville, and another 86 into Wytheville yesterday. We have also entered the Appalachian mountains- really tough riding, but fantastic views from the top (when we got there!) Today should be the last of the big peaks (over 3000ft), and then the terrain gradually levels out until we reach the plains in Missouri and Kansas.
To recap the first week, we have managed:
Day 1: Beverly Beach, MD - Washington, DC (37 miles)
Day 2: Washington, DC - Prince William Forest Park, VA (55)
Day 3: Prince William - Charlottesville, VA (95)
Day 4: Charlottesville - Vesuvius, VA (72)
Day 5: Vesuvius - Catawba, VA (76)
Day 6: Catawba - Wytheville, VA (87)
About 425 miles so far, so pretty much on track to make into San Francisco on time!
(Today should be a slightly smaller day into Damascus, VA - roughly 60 miles)
It's definitely been a bit of an eye-opener into how tough this trip is going to be- already gone through three punctures and a crash in the first week, not to mention a broken pannier rack and very tired legs! We're all absolutely loving it though, the scenery has been stunning, and the people here are so incredibly friendly- always stopping to chat and wish us good luck.
We will hopefully get some photos up soon- perhaps when we have a bit more time and a speedier internet connection! We'll also update this again as soon as we can.
That's all for now- don't forget to keep those donations coming in here- not far to go to reach our fundraising target!
Missing y'all lots.
Sam, Hal & Dave
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