Epilogue

This is roughly what I said at the final rap session. Pretty much all my adult life I've wanted to do a cycling challenge of about 100 miles per day as I think this is the limit of my physical ability. Four years ago I started seriously looking into it and found Mike Monk's tour diary for this ride which was taking place at the time. Since then I've wanted to do this specific ride. Every time I've been out on the roads in those four years I was thinking about this trip. I expect when I go back to riding the roads of Oxfordshire I'll still be thinking about America.

I paid tribute to Mike, Barbara and Karen, who've done a great job throughout. There were several instances, like when I needed help on the first and second days, when my wheel bust in Albuquerque, that I really needed their support. Even if you followed exactly the same route, the logistics of finding or carrying enough water would make this a very different type of challenge if you were doing it without their assistance.

I was given several pieces of useful advice before starting, including "don't forget you know how to ride a bike" which has served me well. However perhaps the best was from Kate who said, "don't just survive it, go and enjoy it." I've certainly done that, each day has been a challenge and an adventure. The difference between those first uncertain days where I was starting to think that it was beyond me and the final few weeks where I was in no doubt that I would finish, was remarkable. I'm now in the best shape of my life and am a more skilled cyclist.

I’ve been asked by a few people if there’s any advice for anyone contemplating such a challenge. First I think you’ve got to choose something that you enjoy doing anyway. Of those who took on this challenge, not many were what you would call athletes, but all had a long history of riding bikes. You’ll need a very good bike. Only one person had a bike costing less than about £1500 and he had several bike problems. It’s a good idea to do some sort of practice tour, I learnt a lot from a week in Spain the year before. It says in the literature that you should be able to ride 100 miles in 6.5 hours. This is probably true, but that’s not to say you’ll need to do it every day. Some days, including the SAG stops we weren’t averaging much more than 12 mph. Most importantly you’ll need the support of friends and family. Training 5 or 6 days per week for 8 months and then using all your annual leave in one go is certainly something to be discussed well in advance.

One aspect that I've only briefly touched on in these posts is how dangerous this trip is. I found out yesterday that in forty five cross country trips there's only been three where everyone has made it across without anyone having to retire through accident or injury. We're the smallest group they've ever taken and therefore our chances as a group were reletively better, but it's still a remarkable feat and the most important thing that we all made it across safely. Linda's accident on day four was fortunately minor, but demonstrates how disaster can come out of nothing. I'm very glad that I managed to keep the rubber side down for the entire trip. I found out by chance about three days before leaving that on this equivalent trip last year a guy died. He was in his 50's and had been pushing hard for several days. Then one evening he met up with his family for some very gentle socialising. That night he had a heart attack and died in his sleep. Knowing that influenced my decision to get in the van on day two.

We were very lucky with the group we had, no massive egos or aggresive atheletes. (Bermuda) Mike, Jay, Paul, Robert, Andy and Linda, it was great riding with you. In my final speech I talked about team Kysirium (Tom, Ron and Sam) and how great it was working as a team. I probably didn’t mention Eric and Jack enough, I really enjoyed their company.

Writing the blog has also been a rewarding experience. I think (hope) that there are many people reading this and I hope you've enjoyed it. At times it's been a challenge to go beyond the 'got up, cycled a long way, felt very tired' repetition. I've been aware throughout that I'm writing for quite a diverse audience of friends and family.

So that’s it. What’s next? Well my enthusiasm for cycling has only increased so there will certainly be something. Next stop Asia?

Day 33 Keene to Amesbury (112 miles)

I'm writing this at South station in Boston on Friday morning, so maybe it doesn't have the immediacy which I've tried to maintain throughout the ride. Hopefully me and my massive bike box will be boarding a train to New York soon where I'll spend a couple of days with Kate before flying back to England.

We were reminded throughout yesterday that this really was the last day, the last morning load and sign in, the last lunchtime SAG etc but somehow it just didn't seem like it. It was another beautiful day, again clear blue skies and very warm, temperatures hit the 90's by the afternoon. We were also told that it wasn't uncommon to get a bit emotional as we neared the beach. My main emotion (if it is an emotion) was exhaustion. It was another tough day, long mileage and about 5000 feet of climbing. I hadn't been expecting that much and coming on the back of the hilly day before my legs were aching about as much as they have all trip.

For once we didn't ride as a four. One of our group, Tom, was also feeling tired so started out a little earlier. I was riding with Ron and Sam, but when they upped the pace, I didn't feel like responding and was content to go my own speed and soak in the atmosphere. It had been arranged that we'd all meet up about 5 miles from the beach and then ride down together, so as long as I stayed in front of, or near the last guy, there was no reason to push it along.

Again the ride was beautiful, tree tunnelled winding roads with dappelled light most of the way. There was also several lakes, many small ones when we were up in the hills and then a large one as we moved further down, all surrounded by trees. It seemed like just another day, but then we were out of the trees and on to a salt marsh with a row of beach houses just ahead of us. Riding the last few miles as an eight and relatively slowly was strange, it's the first time we've done that all trip. It was very busy, there'd been a car accident on the opposite side of the road and ambulances etc were still arriving.

Then suddenly we turned a corner and arrived at the beach. Everyone seemed a little stunned and didn't really know what to do. There were handshakes and congratulations all round, but no whoops of joy or out pouring of emotion. Mike, Barbara and Karen had just parked the vans and arrived to organise us for photos and the ceremonial dunking of wheels. It's a tradition that a bottle of water is collected in the Pacific and transported to the Atlantic. I was given the honour of pouring it in to the ocean.

Like the UK, we're coming up to a holiday weekend here, so the beach was fairly busy. I don't think the locals knew what to make of us, eight guys with very expensive bikes walking over the sand. It's quite likely that I won't be at the beach on a day as nice as this for quite some time, especially if this summer is anything like the last two, so had to take the opportunity for a dip. Strangely nobody followed me as I dived in and pretended to start swimming to England.

There was then the logistics of packing up all the bikes for transportation and returning to the hotel. We all went out for a meal at a noisy restaurant, which was pleasant but again a little muted. I think for me it hadn't (hasn't) sunk in yet and also I was absolutely knackered. At the hotel we had a private room for a final rap session. Everyone, staff and riders, were given the opportunity to speak about their thoughts on the ride and what it meant to them. After the downbeat celebrations earlier, this went much better than I expected, with several riders speaking eloquently and at length about everything that had happened in the last 5 weeks.

We've been keeping a map and displaying it in the hotel lobbies to chart our progress each day. It's another tradition that it's given to the rider who, in the opinion of the staff, most deserves it. Jack was the recipient and there were certainly no arguments with that decision. He's ridden at the back and mainly on his own pretty much the whole way, but like he said in his speech, he'd completed each of the last 19 consecutive days.

TLM then presented a slide show with 10 or so photos from each day. For anyone other than this group, it would be largely just a series of shots of cyclists travelling down very long highways. However for us it bought back lots of memories of 31 individual challenges. There was no late night drinking session, that's not what this trip's been about, it was off to bed in time for another early start.

I'll bring some final thoughts in the next few days.

Day 32 Amsterdam to Keene (124 miles horizontally and 1.4 miles vertically)

Yes, a lot of climbing today, over 7000 feet. That includes all the little ups and downs as well as one big climb of 2000 feet after we'd ridden about 70 miles. Couldn't have been more lucky with the weather in these final few days. It was another day of sunshine and temperatures in the seventies. Just right, not too hot on the ups, and not too cold on the downs.

Out of the farmland now and into wooded hillsides and lakes. All very beautiful, but maybe a little too perfect. A bit like the lake district in the UK, you know, absolutely beautiful, but everywhere selling crafts and maple syrup. Give me the hidden gems of New Mexico and Ohio. Maybe that's harsh, if you've only got two weeks, definately come and see it. Crossed the Hudson river, which I should be seeing again in a few days time in New York. Another three State day today, crossed into Vermont at about 60 miles and then into New Hampshire at 110. Tomorrow we cross very briefly into Massachusetts which I'm pretty sure makes 15 States in all.

We're in such a routine now. There's always the morning piss break which comes between 20 and 30 miles. The shout goes up 'STOP' and we all dive in the bushes. Then between the last SAG and the hotel with about 20 miles to go there'll be a stop at a service station for a final energy drink or chocolate bar. This is one of the nicest parts of the day, the hard work is generally done and we've got about an hour to roll into the finish. It's usually about 15 minutes of chilling in the afternoon sun.

Like I said, a lot of climbing, but also of course a lot of decents. We were on a two lane highway, but quite a main road most of the day, which meant wide open turns. It's not my favourite type of decent, I prefer the sharp hairpins where you have to get heavy on to the breaks and then accelerate out of the corners, keeping pace with the traffic. This was basically point it downhill and hang on. Some of the guys got over 50 mph. My top was 42, because I'm not that confident. Top speed for this trip was 46.7 mph, down a long straight hill into Albuquerque. That's it, I'm never going that fast again.

Photo shows Barbara talking to a guy who's doing a solo trek across the US, then down to the bottom of Argentina. Now that really is completely nuts, I've got no wish to do anything like that. Fully supported is the only way to go.

Bike started to make one or two complaining noises today, but should be OK for tomorrow. I imagine it will be like the car at the end of The Blues Brothers, it'll get to the ocean perfectly and then just fall apart completely. Obviously a very long day, but I felt fine throughout. A bit tired after 90 miles, but who wouldn't be, before I got a second wind.

Seven of us went out for dinner again. We're such a bonded group, but it's probably time for this thing to end now. If we rode for another 33 days I imagine it would be the same group of four riding every day and the same group of seven eating out every night.

Doubt I'll have time to write anything tomorrow. It's another long day, 110 miles with a fair amount of hills. Then we get to the ocean! Then we get shuttled by van back to the hotel, then there's the bikes etc to pack, then a final meal, speeches etc. I'll try to write up the final day and provide some final thoughts very soon, by the end of next week at the latest.

Day 31 Liverpool to Amsterdam (120 miles)

So we followed the M6 down to Birmingham, headed east to Lowestoft, got the ferry across the North Sea, headed inland. Nnnnnnooooo, not that Liverpool, not that Amsterdam. There are a lot of place names one would recognise in this part of the country, yesterday we went through Geneva, which even had a gorgeous lake, there's a Naples, a Rochester even a Wallingford around here somewhere.

Another really lovely day today. Temperature was meant to be 2 degrees C when we started out at 7am, but it felt warmer than on the previous two days. Shorts or longs, shorts or longs. In the end went with shorts and was glad I did, it soon warmed up and everyone was shedding clothing at the first SAG. Clear blue skies, little wind and OK temperature all day, perfect. Looks like we're also set fair for the final two days.

It's a really beautiful part of the country as well, which for once the photo does some justice to. We followed either the Erie canal or the Mohawk river (shown) for most of the day. It's a lot of wooded hillsides which turn amazing colours during the fall (or autumn as it's correctly called.) Roads were again very good, large, smooth, clean shoulders. One or two hills but nothing too bad. Worst hill of the day was an extra one we did because we missed the final turn into the hotel. We start out with that tomorrow, it's a tough one.

In these last few days I must try not to get complacent and let my concentration slip. Nearly headed off to breakfast (about 200 yards up the road) without wearing my helmet, which is a cardinal sin. Fortunately Karen reminded me before I got on the bike. Also forgot to but the bum cream on this morning for the first time in 31 days, but there are only the most minor consequences. Went to pump up the tyres and got the hose jammed on the valve. Ripped the tube whilst trying to get it off. That's technically puncture six, but I'm not counting it.

It was the gang of four on the road again today. We're even riding in the same order now. I always seem to follow Sam. I think this is a ploy by the other two, Sam's the skinniest and therefore provides the least wind resistance. Again, I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me, but we're riding really well as a team. All doing fair turns without really keeping score, matching each other's pace well, giving clear signals for debris and other hazards. We haven't touched wheels or had any sort of near miss for many days now.

Tomorrow has one big climb going up about 2000 feet. I'm looking forward to it, think I'm a relatively good climber and enjoyed the hills earlier in the ride and in Spain last year, but there's 65 miles of flat before we get to it.

PS - loft watch has been updated.

Day 30 Batavia to Liverpool (122 miles)

So fortunately managed to get the winter stuff dried over night because it was effing freezing this morning. It was 36 degrees (F) that's only 2 degrees C. That's means we've had almost a 70 degree temperature range this trip, from 36, to 104 in the desert. Needless to say it was hat and big gloves time again.

Photo is a kind of typical shot of what it was like all day. Blue cloudless skies fortunately, which meant that whilst we were moving things were fine, but could get very cold very fast if we stopped or were out of the sun. The roads here in New York are about the best in the country, wide, smooth, clean shoulders meant that it was easy to ride in any formation (one behind the other when we're into the wind, or two or three abreast when it's from another direction.)

I know this is probably starting to sound repetative, but hey, give me a break, I've been churning this stuff out for 30 days now. Rode as a four again today at a perfect pace all day, i.e. one that we could all live with but which did get the job done. Passed the 3000 mile mark today, as of this evening there's only 350 ish to go. One thing that's continually intrigued me is what images I will remember from this trip. I see flashes of various scenery, SAG stops, hotels etc, but it's difficult to remember where it's all from. The support team continue to take lots of photos, so hopefully that will form a complete record.

We got in about 4:15 which meant it was quite a quick turn around to make the RAP meeting at 5. Like everything, there's a routine to when I get in. First it's a load of warm down stretches. I can't say whether they do any good or not, but I've been remarkably free of neck, shoulder, those kind of annoying aches and it could be down to that. Next it's drink a large recovery drink from some powder I bought with me. This has also helped mark my progress, I bought three big tubs of the stuff and am now down to the bottom of the last one. Then of course it's get in the shower. Apparently in previous years there's been complaints from hotels. When we use a face cloth to get clean it looks like we've been cleaning the bike with it. All that road muck certainly leaves it's mark.

Jack, who I've mentioned a few times, rode strongly again today, we criss crossed with him several times, then the five of us went out to dinner. You'd think that 5 or 6 eating out together would present a problem with the bill (or cheque as they say here). How to split, what to tip etc. But it seems asking for an individual bill is routine here, not a problem at all. Does it work like that in the UK, I've never tried?

The challenge of riding 120 miles does not diminish and I think everyone was tired this evening, three more days with similar distances but apparently more climbing. So many confused thoughts about the final three days, want it to end, don't want it to end.

Day 29 Dunkirk to Batavia (85 miles)

I was expecting to get a poor night's sleep. Our hotel seems the centre of the social scene in Dunkirk and there were a lot of graduation parties being hosted at our place. I'm not sure why or how they work, but it's something along the lines of parents paying for their kids to whope it up in a hotel for the evening. However there didn't seem to be much whoping going on, it was all quiet from about 9 oclock.

Apologies for the poor photo today, it's our hotel and the shores of Lake Erie. Main thing I wanted to capture was how bitterly cold it was today. At departure time is was about 8 degrees C and didn't rise above about 12 all day, so apart from anything else I didn't take my big gloves off long enough to take many other photos. I was wearing my full winter gear, hat, sexy tights etc.

The day was divided in to two halves. First a 40 mile ride, then a stop at a bicycle museum and then the remaining 45 miles. The museum was kind of cool, showed the history of the bicycle from the earliest push along jobs, through the penny farthing, then innovations like the chain and the pneumatic tyre, through to quirky stuff like field guns and radios being added to bikes. The guy who ran it opened up early just for us and was full of enthusiasm, even through he must have given that tour hundreds of times. He's trying to retire and sell the place, but doesn't want the collection to be split up, which would be a shame. Only one SAG today, lunch at the museum. It was bright sunshine, but you had to stay out of the wind and even then it was still cold.

Kind of strange day today. It don't know whether I've mentioned this before, but I'd only done a hundred mile ride twice before this trip. So almost every day has been an adventure, going beyond what I know I can achieve. But today was just a couple of morning rides back to back, there was no sense of achievement at having completed another marathon. Everyone seemed a little down after the euphoria of the big ride yesterday. It's 120 miles tomorrow so we should be back up for it. Did have another excellent meal though. Six of us went to a steak house near the hotel. The place was jammed, but they managed to find a table for us quickly and the service and food were great. Only another 3 or so days of eating what I like and not worrying about the consequences.

I was very pleased to get all the washing done last night and now have 4 sets of shorts and tops for the 4 remaining days. Only problem is, it's so freezing that I could be wearing my one set of winter stuff for the rest of the trip, so it's back to hand washing each night. I've learned a top tip for getting stuff dried in a hotel room. First wring the item out as best you can, then spread a towel on the floor and lay the garment on top of it. Then roll the whole thing up like a swiss roll and stand on it. Works a treat, the rest should dry overnight.

Day 28 Niles to Dunkirk (139 miles)

Dodgy internet connection last night, that was the only reason for the delay in posting.

139 miles, one hundred and thirty nine miles. ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY NINE MILES. Easiest 139 miles I ever rode.

It was meant to be raining this morning, but started out overcast, warm and with a good wind in our direction. Usual team of 4 started out at a brisk 20 mph along flat roads. Again with this sort of distance it's important not too think about it for the first several miles, otherwise it just gets overwhelming. For example when you reach 30 miles, try not to think that you're still less than a quarter of the way.

First SAG was next to one of those covered bridges. Another three state day today. At about mile 65 we entered Pennsylvania, then at about mile 110 we entered New York, The Empire State. There are the usual photos of the four of us lined up underneath the sign. I haven't bothered posting these, but look back a few days, swap say Kansas or Ohio for New York and you get the idea.

All going very well until mile 90 when it started to rain. That continued for about an hour and got heavy at times. When it stopped the roads were still wet so got filthy with road muck. Even the rain didn't slow us down and our total ride time for the 139 miles was 6 hours 52 minutes, which is an average of just over 20 miles an hour. That included having to stop frequently at stop signs in the country and then negotiating our way through a few towns, so when we were travelling it was generally at 22-25 mph. That's testament to how good the wind was, but also how well we're still riding. The main problem at those continuous high speeds is avoiding pot holes, bits of debris and mainly each other for such a long time. That time doesn't include SAG stops, photo opportunities, toilet breaks and punctures. Yes I got my fifth today, just 5 miles from the finish. The guys stopped with me and fortunately the van was only a couple of minutes behind so we had it fixed in no time. It was a small sharp piece of stone and it's quite a big rip, so it means another finished tyre.

A lot of the afternoon was spent near the shores of Lake Erie. A bit foggy so couldn't see very far, but Canada is out there somewhere.

Very busy this evening. There was a new tyre to put on. Also the bike needed a wash and as the hotel couldn't provide a hose you can see from the photo that I had to improvise. Also we've been without any laundry facilities for the past few days. I'm doing better than most due to the nice man at the Motel 8, but even I needed to get some done. There's only one washer and one dryer, so a strict rota system was quickly set up with notification going to the next person on the list. Yes it is a bit over the top, but these things take on huge importance out here.

I wrote about Jack yesterday. This morning he left 40 minutes before us and we didn't see him all day, he must have been really flying and quick through the two SAGs.

I said in the prologue to this blog that there's a joy to riding a bike, fast. That was it all over today, a great day, but you've really got to love riding that bike. Can imagine that for most the idea of putting the hammer down for 7 hours would be a nightmare, but I'm really going to miss riding at these speeds in these pacelines. Only 5 days to go and everyone is starting to realise that our adventure is nearly at an end.

Day 27 Wooster to Niles (98 miles)

It was absolutely the perfect day to go bike riding today, clear blues skies, warm but not hot and no wind. By this late stage in the tour we're now pretty much set in our ways and every day follows a similar pattern. One guy, Jack, leaves about half an hour before everyone else. I admire him, each day he starts off, only to get overtaken somewhere down the road, then spends most of the day on his own at the back. However he's kept plugging away and has completed each day for a while now, great perseverance. Another guy, Andy, rides off the front and usually arrives at SAGs and the hotel well ahead of everyone else. Then there's Eric and (new guy) Richard, who've formed a nice little partnership. They're slightly slower, but spend less time at the SAGs, so we cross with them several times during the day. That leaves team Kysirium (me, Tom and Ron) and twenty year old Sam, who usually now ride as a four.

Photo today shows a closed road. We've had several on this trip, but the bikes have always been able to walk through. This was the first one where it was no go. We had to take a 1.5 mile detour. They all count when there's nearly a hundred to do. We had another one almost straight out of the motel. A one mile section was no more than a muddy track. We could negotiate it on the bikes, but so much for anyone who gave the bike a wash last night.

I'm sure many (more knowledgable than me) would disagree, but this part of Ohio is the most idyllic part of the US I've seen. There are so many lovely houses (and not the kind of ostentateous, formulaic ones we saw leaving Lebannon) all with beautifully manicured lawns and lots of small ponds or lakes. Chatting to the waitress on our steakfest last night she said it takes her four and a half hours to cut her lawn and she has to do it twice a week. It's like having a second job.

No real pacelines today, the roads weren't the best in places so it was difficult to stick too close, but mainly we weren't pushing it along. The weather was so great and the miles relatively short that it was like going for the sort of bike ride that normal people do, only for a lot longer. Staying at a Fairfield Inn this evening. Rooms are great and internet access is very fast, but no fridge and most importantly no laundry facilities count against it.

A couple of people have commented that I should be listening to Ohio by Neil Young, I'll check it out. Bumwatch is about to be retired, it's now officially better. Legs are aching. I'm very glad Goose made me do all those squats, they hurt in all the same places. Apart from that, I'm in good shape. Today was almost literally the calm before the storm. It's 139 miles tomorrow, our second longest of the entire trip. Forecast is rain in the morning, but strong favourable winds.

Day 26 Marysville to Wooster (103 miles)

Woke this morning to the sound of thunder. Looked outside and yes it was lashing it down with thunder and lightning all around. The start was put back about 2 hours to 9 am so we spent the time watching the weather channel. Saw that they'd had several tornados in Kirksville, where we were a week ago, and three people had been killed. Kind of puts it all into perspective, the small problems we've had with wind and rain.

The decision to delay was a good one. By 9 am the rain had stopped and there was a tail wind blowing at about 15 mph. About 45 minutes into the ride decided that there was little chance of rain although the skies were very dark so all stopped to take off our rain jackets. About 20 seconds later it started to rain, so we all stopped again to put them back on. Continued raining for about an hour, but crucially it wasn't as cold as yesterday and therefore not so miserable. Spurred on by Rain, by The Cult, going through my head - oh here she comes again.

I did a lot of the training wearing an ipod nano, but we're not allowed to wear head phones whilst cycling here. It's not necessarily that they make it any more dangerous, it's just that we could be held partly liable if there was an accident. However I often have songs going through my head and for some reason seem to be obsessed with Simon and Garfunkel records. One is 'Keep the Customer Satisfied' especially the last chorus - "and I'm so tired, I'm oh oh oh oh so tired". Today it was 'America' "It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw, I've come to look for America".

Passed through Delaware, in the rain it had something of the feel of The Deer Hunter about it. Looked it up this evening and some of it was filmed in Ohio. Photo is me doing a funny 'I'm about to ride off this here bridge' kind of thing. The bridge was closed to traffic, so the vans had to take quite a detour. Rain soon stopped and it was blue skies for the rest of the day. Turned into another great day's riding. You can see from the photo some of the terrain, some hills with lots of trees. I think this part of Ohio has some of the most beautiful scenery we've seen all trip.

Very nice lunch SAG next to a reservoir. Picnic tables, sunshine, only 30 miles to go, everyone in good spirits. In the afternoon we had one of those 'you had to be there moments' but I'll write it anyway. We passed quite a posh golf course and then a driving range. There was one guy on the tee with a massive club (1 wood?) about to take a swing as three of us rode past. The temptation to shout something just as he swung was enormous, but we kept our mouths shut. No matter, he heeled it and the ball trickled sideways about 5 yards. He looked round like it was our fault. Unlucky buddy, golf's a stupid game.

For once we're actually in the centre of the town, rather than being stuck near an Interstate. Wooster seems a really nice town, lots of big old houses plus two book shops and a bike shop. Always a sign of a liberal community. Went for what was possibly our best meal of the trip, rivalled only by the home cooked fried chicken several days (or is that weeks) ago. I'm now full with choice steak, garlic mashed potatoes, salad, veggies and chocolate cake. Should sleep well tonight.

Day 25 Richmond to Marysville (103 miles)

It's Wednesday, it must be - Ohio!

Yes another day another state. We crossed the boarder into Ohio 2.5 miles into the ride and stopped to take the obligatory photo. About 30 seconds after leaving the hotel it started raining. It was also freezing, and my arse was hurting. I have to say it was certainly the most miserable hour of this trip and probably of my biking career, not counting the infamous Dartmoor challenge from last year. At one point I looked up from the spray that was hitting my face and all I could see was very dark clouds in all directions, it looked like we were in for it all day.

Amazingly after an hour the rain stopped and it started to brighten. We also passed the grey van, which I was very glad of. The rule is that once your luggage is loaded, that's it, you can't get to it (fair enough). However we're allowed a day bag of clothes we might need for that trip. I fortunately had packed a heavy weight jacket and thermal gloves. Hands were so cold that it took about 5 minutes to get the gloves on.

Lots of directions to follow today. I missed a turn and had to retrace my steps, which meant about a mile extra. Not as bad as one of the others who missed a turn and ended up adding 12 miles to what was already a long day. Battled side winds most of the day, but fortunately they turned largely behind us for the last hour. Terrain is open farmland. Largely flat with the occasional rolling hill.

Staying in a Motel 8 this evening which ranks bottom of my list of chain hotels. The rooms are too small, don't they realise that we have bikes to store and wet washing to hang everywhere? They don't have a laundry room here and after 4 days I was all out of clean cycling clothing. However the owner very kindly drove me to the local launderette. A really nice guy except he is a Man Utd supporter.

Spoke to Kate this evening and also other friends via Skype (which is the most fantastic invention, since, well the internet I guess.) First thing everyone asks is 'how's your arse?' Well it's doing OK thanks, a little better than yesterday. Infact it doesn't really hurt much at all, it's just the scary prospect that in these conditions, with no rest bite, things can go downhill very fast. I'll keep you posted.

Day 24 Lebanon to Richmond (103 miles)

Today started at 6:30 when we were picked up and driven the 20 minutes to the Roark very expensive bicycle factory. It was quite strange driving anywhere for the first time in over three weeks. I could quite get used to moving at an average speed of over 30 mph in air conditioned comfort and sitting on a nice padded seat.

We got shown around the factory. Most of their work is for the military, which we weren't allowed to take photos of, cutting and welding precision parts for aircraft and submarines. The bike bit is tucked away in a corner. They make about 50 a year and each one costs between $4000 and $8000, and that's just for the frame, it doesn't include the wheels, handlebars, gears etc. But you do get your name lazer cut into it. If you want to see what a $10k bike looks like, check out the FAQ section. Not even I could justify spending that much on a bike even for Christmas AND birthday combined. I wasn't even tempted by the $40 water bottle holder. They were good guys though and made us feel very welcome.

By about 8:30 we were all itching to get on the road, so returned to the hotel, loaded and departed just after 9am, one of our latest starts. The day was again clear blue skies and side winds. We passed several miles of millionairres row types mansions, it is a very rich area out here. After about 20 miles it got slightly less expensive but more aspirational. Not exactly gated communities, but certainly communities. That would be a number of very large very similar houses generally clustered around something like a lake, often with a fountain in it and given a communal name on a large sign at the entrance, something like 'Fountain Lakes'. I think Stepford would be a better description.

I really wasn't riding well this morning. Absolutely paranoid about making my saddle sore any worse and just not into it. Dropped off of the main group of five and did the last hour to lunch on my own. I wasn't the only one feeling uninspired, maybe it was the gap between breakfast and starting. Photo shows our group at lunch, what a strange bunch, why are they sitting like that?

I was second to last leaving lunch and not looking forward to the remaining 45 miles at all. Passed TLM who was I think pretending to work on his bike, but really waiting for me. He soon caught me up and we paced each other. His turn was 23ish mph and mine was 21ish mph. The guy's in his 60's and an inspiration. We absolutely tore it up for about an hour, felt much much better, really riding strong. It could have been something to do with the can of coke, bottle of iced coffee, bottle of something called '5 hour energy' (which is probably banned in the UK) and energy bar I had for lunch, I was completely wired. Met up with some of the others who'd stopped at a service station and our group rode in strongly. One of the guys (Ron) got his third puncture in three days, a massive nail which went right through the tyre and inner tube. He was lucky it didn't damage the wheel.

Got the bike checked over this evening. As expected it needed a new chain. Apparently they last about 2000 miles, which for me would be a little under a year in normal conditions, or a little over two weeks is these conditions. This chain had done I think over 4000 miles, so no surprise that it was shot. So far I've had two new wheels, four new tyres (although maybe the last two could have lasted a little longer) and one new chain. Let's hope that's it.

Saddle sore is better this evening, I really hope it's going to heal, it's about the only thing which could spoil the end of this trip. Weather's meant to turn nasty for the next few days, rain and high winds. Oh well, we've ridden our luck so far.

Day 23 Tuscola to Lebanon (121 miles)

It's Monday, it must be - Indiana.

Photo shows Team Kysirium and our young padawan (Sam) entering our ninth state (California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinoi and Indiana.)

Really nice day today both in terms of the riding and the atmosphere. Started out as a seven going along the same gridded country roads as yesterday. Soon two were off the front and one was out the back so we were down to a four, which is about the best number for riding in a group. Less than that and your turn at the front comes around a little too quickly, many more and manouvering becomes a little tricky, especially if there's a side wind. The pace today was just right, an average of just over 18 mph which was fast enough to get the long mileage done, but not so fast that everyone was constantly under presssure. Everyone was taking long turns at the front which is a sure sign that we could all cope OK.

Blue skies all the way today, but not too warm. Apart from maybe a bit too much side wind it was perfect riding conditions. I'd settle for that all the way to the coast. It was a long way to the first SAG (44 miles) which we then missed and had to U turn, so was more than ready for a bite to eat and a refill of the water bottles.

Today saw what I think is our fifth or sixth prison or correctional facility. Wow, they seem to lock a lot of people up here. I know we've done a lot of miles, but how far would you have to travel in the UK to pass six prisons?

Passed into Indiana at about the halfway 60 mile point. You'll see Indiana was Lincoln's boyhood home as opposed to Illinoi which is where he was born. I have this image of him making his way very very slowly to Washington, arriving just in time to be President. We lost another hour as we passed from Central time to Eastern time, so now only five hours behind the UK. That's it though, we're now done with time travel for the rest of the trip. The countryside is subtly different in this state, still very flat, but there are a lot more trees.

Really nice lunch stop. One of the fast guys had mechanical problems and had gone in search of a bike shop and the two behind were quite far back, so our group of four were the leaders on the road by quite some distance. Stopped at a convenience store, Ron's place. A couple of the locals came over to say hello and check out our bikes. No-one can believe it when they pick up one of our racing machines. They weigh about 17 pounds, you can literally lift them with one finger.

With the hour lost we got in at 5 pm. Got to be up early tomorrow, we're going on a field trip, to a bike factory, before the scheduled 106 miles. Yes, really nice day today, several of those 'you had to be there' moments which lose everything in the writing down. Only dark cloud is that I think I have my first saddle sore. Least I hope that's what it is otherwise I'm in serious trouble. Won't be adding 'bum watch' to the loft watch section of the site.

Day 22 Springfield to Tuscola (83 miles)

So on paper today was our easiest day, just 83 miles and all flat. That's kind of how it turned out but I think we made it more difficult on ourselves than it should have been. Don't know if everyone wanted to prove something to the new guy Richard, but we left Springfield at a fearsome pace. A seven man paceline each taking a turn on the front before moving to the back. If you dropped a water bottle, or lost the wheel in front for a second, bang you were gone. I managed to stay with it, but it was uncomfortably fast at times. It's as much my fault as anyones, I was pushing it from the front when it was my turn. Going to try and take it more leisurely in the days ahead, but it's difficult to ignore the lure of the paceline with its promise of high speeds and some economy of effort.

Photo shows the lunch time SAG stop. That's Barbara (Mum) putting out the food. She'll give us a slap if we reach for any food without first cleaning our hands with wet wipes and gel. They're very careful about hygene, we don't want some sort of bug going through the whole group. Lunch is make you own ham and cheese sandwiches, bananas (of course) biscuits, fig rolls, peanuts, raisins, pasta, fruit. There's also water with optional gatoraid powder. Plenty to keep us going in the afternoon. That's 'grey' van which Barbara drives and goes ahead to set up the next SAG. There's also 'white' which Mike or Karen usually drives (whilst the other one often rides) which keeps in touch with us throughout the day to take photos a sort out any problems.

The terrain was nothing to write home about, flat open fields. The crops are apparently a few weeks behind schedule because it's been so wet. Normally the corn would be a foot or so high, but all there was, was a few green shoots in otherwise ploughed fields. Roads were single lane or single track country roads. Everything is laid out on a grid system which means lots of cross roads. These are often unmarked, which can lead to an interesting game of 'chicken'. Being the most vulnerable thing on the highway we're always the first to stop.

In the afternoon one guy went off the front and two others got shelled out the back, so we were down to a group of four. This was a bit more relaxed and it was actually a pleasant ride in. Got in at 2pm, so a nice long rest before tomorrow. We're near an outlet mall (discount Helle Hansen shirt anyone?) but little else. Dinner was at the local pizza hut. That's one thing I am getting very tired of, when I get home it's going to be a long time before I go anywhere near a pizza hut or domino's.

At the evening RAP meeting we talked about the arrangements for the final day, getting people and bikes to airports etc. All seems a bit premature, there's 11 tough days of riding still to do, starting tomorrow with 120 miles.

Day 21 Springfield Rest Day (24 miles)

Well I can't say I'll be rushing back to Springfield Illinois. It was like I feared, great if you want to see something Lincoln related, or buy some fancy art work, but not if you're out of shower gel.

Went for a shortish ride this morning. Had no real enthusiasm for it, but I've now finally made up the miles I lost on day 2, so in my mind I'm now set to complete the whole thing. Others thought I was mad for cycling on the day off. The weather was sunny with fluffy white clouds, just like the start of The Simpsons, which is something of a coincidence. I happened upon Lincolns tomb, which is shown in the photo. Don't know who the guy in the orange t-shirt is, it's not me and I didn't see him in the view finder.

In the afternoon walked 10 blocks (about a mile and a half) in search of washing powder and shower gel. Had to buy the biggest tubs of both. Now looking for smaller bottles to decant them into. Still not as bad as the guy who walked 27 blocks to go to a tattoo parlour, only to find when he got there it was shut. Or the guy who found a pharmacy about 10 blocks away on google, only to get there and find it no longer existed. It would be fair to say nobody made a great use of their day off. Still I have all my washing done and two new tyres on the bike.

A new guy joins us tomorrow, so our happy band will be up to 8. It's only 83 miles, our shortest day. Also the winds are meant to be behind us. I really need it, I'm not riding well at the moment, legs are very tired, hopefully I'll ride back into a bit of form over the next few days. Other than that (touching wood) things are going very well, my only complaint is sunburnt lips and ears, so things can't be too bad. One thing I've been surprised by is how little I've thought about actually finishing this thing. I could see it would be easy to get obsessed by there only being 12 days to go (to survive) etc, but so far it's been a case of one day at a time. Soon we're going to have to start coming to terms with the fact that this isn't going to last much longer.

Day 20 Quincy to Springfield (101 miles)

Really really tired last night, very glad it's the rest day tomorrow. Like I said before, getting this done is all about sticking to a routine, which includes half an hour a night with my bum against the headboard of the bed and my legs sticking up in the air. This is meant to drain all the blood and bad stuff out of your legs so it can be flushed from your body over night. There could be something to it, anyway last night was the first time I didn't do it, just too tired. So this morning, psychologically is nothing else, was feeling a little down.

Did stay awake long enough last night to hear a thunderstorm passing through. Thought 'great, that's that out the way, tomorrow is bound to be a nice day, sweet dreams to me'.

Woke this morning to thick fog. For the first time we weren't having breakfast at or near the hotel. Cycled 14 miles to 'Mike's Place', but it was well worth it. Had a 'full American' which is like a full English except they have funny bacon and pancakes and syrup.

Leaving breakfast it started raining - hard. Infact it was piss-istently raining all morning, with thunder and lightning at times. At one point I was at the back of a four man paceline. With the spray from the road and the rain from above it was like having a hose continually spraying on to you. I was drenched. Lunch SAG was at a petrol station. Barbara and Karen were standing outside, in the pouring rain, frantically waving, to make sure we didn't go sailing on by. They really go the extra mile for us.

Had a big stroke of luck at lunchtime (well two strokes.) We've been advised to check our tyres frequently, especially when it's wet. It anything gets stuck in there it can take time to work through and cause a puncture. I checked at lunch and found a big shard of stone embedded in both the front and back tyres. We managed to hook them out and the tyres were fine for the rest of the day.

Stopped raining in the afternoon and we got into Springfield at 3pm. Had a quick look around this evening. Have to say I'm not warming to the place. A magnificent state capital building, but no shops. All I want is some shower gel and washing powder. We'll go in search tomorrow.

Day 19 Kirksville to Quincy (91 miles)

Well another day and another state, we're in Illinois now, the birthplace of Lincoln.

Yesterday was kind of frantic, I for one knew that I had to keep the pace up all day to get it done. Today the atmosphere was much more relaxed almost a holiday mood as there was plenty of time to do the published 97 miles. We were all hungover to some extent though. Not in the drank 14 pints last night and got in at 5am kind of way, but in the cycled 145 miles and my legs are still hurting kind.

It was big rollers again today. The photo is kind of typical of the beautiful meadowland. The sun was (unexpectedly) out most of the day and it was quite warm.

We crossed the Mississippi river just before arriving in Quincy. Usually this is done by ferry and is one of the highlights of the trip, but unfortunately for the first time in about 20 years it was broken so the team had to sort out an alternative route over a bridge. TLM had some ideas about how we might go, so took the van up to scope out the route. As always he did an excellent job, painting signs on the road at every turn and keeping a close eye on us at the main junctions. He relayed instructions back to Barbara and Karen who showed us the route and the lunchtime SAG. The new route was 7 miles shorter than the original. It still meant that for the first time we were following maps rather than the turn by turn route sheets which we normally have. So much effort goes into preparing these routes, every single turn, the quality of all the roads, current road works etc all have to be checked right the way across.

I seemed to be suffering more than most today. Dropped off in the morning and was last on the road for part of the time because I couldn't be bothered maintaining the pace. Also dropped in the afternoon, but only by about 10 minutes. I'm not too concerned, everything is fine, no aches or pains, just looking forward to the rest day on Saturday.

One disconcerting thing we do see along the road a lot are shrines, presumably to crash victims. We probably see about 8 on an average day. Sometimes they'll be a group of 3 and there's been one group of 5.

There's now only 7 riders and 3 staff, which means we're forming quite a tight knit group. 6 of us riders went out to dinner this evening and got on well. Hopefully we can continue for another 14 days without getting sick of the sight of each other. So few riders makes things like loading in the morning and getting through lunch very easy. Sometimes on these rides they have 70. It must be a nightmare, queueing for the toilets etc at service stations.

Staying in a Comfort Inn this evening. It rates quite highly in my heirachy of chain hotels, although it doesn't have a fridge.

Day 18 Saint Joseph to Kirksville (145 miles)

Oxford to Sheffield, Oxford to Exeter, our house to the centre of town 145 times. Yes they're all about 145 miles and they're all a bloody long way. Most days the trick is to divide the distance into smaller amounts, but even that was difficult today, ride 35 miles and you're still not a quarter of the way.

We agreed at breakfast that it was going to be every man for himself today. With all the rollers, there was no point in trying to form a paceline. Also some thought the best tactic was to take it easy and pace themselves in the first part. My strategy was to go at it hard from the start, get as many miles done as fast as possible so even if I faded in the afternoon there wouldn't be too far to go.

The day started with a series of rollers, just to get the lactic acid good and flowing. The first SAG was at 32 miles, outside a petrol station. Once again we saw the hospitality of small town America. They gave us free drinks and donuts. I was second to leave the SAG and was doing OK, when I got caught by the TLM express. The rollers had flattened a bit and he set a pace of about 25 mph which I could just about follow. We flew along for about 10 miles until we caught Andy, the strongest rider, then those guys worked together and again I just about hung on. By now we were getting way ahead of the other riders, so it was decided that we'd take a small detour (yes a 143 mile day is ideal for a little extra) to visit Jamestown with an excellent bakery. I'm having those two extra miles, means I'm now only 21 behind the scheduled total which I'll catch up on the second rest day. Jamestown is Armish country and the photo shows (badly) the typical horse and trap they use.

The terrain was farmland all day, it's getting more densely populated now, big farms and lush green fields. We've been dog free so far this trip, but today I got chased on three separate occasions. They don't actually come into contact with you, but it certainly gets the adrenalin going as they race towards you. You don't have to be faster than the dog, just faster than the slowest rider. Unfortunately each time I was on my own.

At lunch we got interviewed by the local paper. So if you happen to subscribe to the Trenton Bugle look out for my photo tomorrow.

After lunch we got our first proper soaking. It rained for about 45 minutes, then stopped for an hour and then another heavier downpour for about an hour. It was pinging off my sunburnt lips, which was quite painful. It was still raining hard when we reached the final SAG, a petrol station. They let us use their washroom to dry off until the rain stopped.

Leaving the last SAG I got my third puncture, in the rear wheel again of course. There's never a good time to get one, but with 111 miles down and 34 to go it was especially unpleasant. Also the vans were either still at the SAG or following the last riders, so I had to change it myself. Went on slowly for a few miles until one of the vans passed and I could get the tyre fully inflated. Found it was a piece of wire, probably from a lorry tyre.

Coming through Kirksville was a nightmare. Very busy traffic and some of it aggresive and passing too close. I don't think I got the worst of it, some riders alluded to incidents at the meeting this evening, should get the full story tomorrow. Got another flat, this time in the front, as I was pulling into the hotel. A sharp piece of stone. Managed to coast in and then change the tyre in my room.

So I've had it all today, dogs, flat tyres, aggressive drivers, but we've survived them all. Our reward is a lie in tomorrow, we load at 8am, then a short 97 miles.

Day 17 Topeka to Saint Joseph (89 miles)

We're not in Kansas anymore Toto. We're in Missouri!

Today IS the halfway point on the tour, 16 riding days down, 15 to go.

Beautiful weather today, sunny and in the 70's most of the day. Rolled out of Topeka at 7:15. Only 89 miles today and everyone seemed in the mood to get it done. The usual team riding together. Nice gentle rises and falls in the terrain, so we were pushing hard, 20+ miles per hour, when we were caught by the TLM express train doing 25 mph. Rode that as a 7 man paceline for a few miles, but soon got dropped and it was back to the 3.

People have generally been very friendly in Kansas, asking what we're up to, how we're getting on etc. To cross over the Missouri river we had to traverse an old steel bridge, metal slats, not ideal for riding on, very narrow, one lane in each direction. Just over the river we got honked at by an old woman who's journey we had delayed by about 4 seconds. A few yards down the road it happened again, from a truck, for no reason. Welcome to Missouri. But generally people are great here too. At lunch we were camped outside a community centre. The woman how owned it remember Mike and Barbara from two years ago so came over and opened it up so we could use the toilets.

On the FAQ section I've put a couple of photos of shops doorways. No smoking, no dogs, who cares? The big question is can you bring your gun in or not. First we see a shop where guns are considered a bad idea. Apparently unless they show this sign then it's OK with the old firearm. But what to do? Do you leave it chained up outside, ask someone to watch it for you, problems, problems. In the second example we see a sign positively encouraging bringing guns into the store. What, you're out of Kit Kats, go ahead, make my day. There's a debate going on here about whether students should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. A 'D', you gave me a fricking D, go ahead, make my day.

Another rider, Jay, left the tour today. He'd only signed up for half and was using this as training for a race season. He's done several tours before and was the life and soul to some extent. He gave us some good advice in his leaving speech. 'You know you can do this now, you're over halfway, but the key thing is routine and consistency. Keep washing your water bottles, keep looking for things in the road and point them out to each other.' He's dead right, there's a strict routine, keep charging the GPS, don't forget the bum cream, or the sun screen.

Got in at 1:30pm, so one of our shorter days. Plenty of time to prepare for tomorrow. Went for a meal at the BBQ house next door, where they're famous for their 'dry rub'. I'm a big fan of the West Wing and dry rub (a style of cooking without sauce) was featured in one of the episodes where the city slickers from Washington got stuck out in the sticks, so it was great to find out what it was - again delicious. Generally the local delicacy is worth trying - see brisket.

Tomorrow is our longest day, 143 miles and all the rolling ups and downs that I suffered with so much yesterday. It's the day I've been thinking about, been training for, for the last two years. I've been out on a 70 mile training ride, got back and thought 'could I do that again immediately'? The answer has generally been 'well possibly, but I'd really rather not'. Tomorrow we'll find out whether it is possible. Gave the bike a good clean and oil this evening. It's early to bed, I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Depending on what time we get in, there may not be a blog tomorrow.

Day 16 Abilene to Topeka (109 miles)

After the good day yesterday, it was back to earth with a bump today and a reminder that cycling 109 miles is not to be taken lightly. This was meant to be one of our easier days, a slightly shorter than average distance, nice weather and relatively flat, but I struggled. The problem was the 'rolling' terrain. Short downhill sections of 20 - 30 seconds followed by 30 - 40 seconds uphill. The choice was to either power down the hill, hoping to get enough speed to carry you over the next up, or to change down and take it more slowly. It was impossible to get any sort of rythme, constantly changing gear and getting in and out of the saddle. It was also impossible to ride as a group because some were quicker on the downs and some on the ups, so we were constantly over taking each other.

I felt tired and my legs heavy. For the first time in several days I was dropped from the group I usually ride with and arrived at lunch about 10 minutes behind them.

The Buffalo in the photo were the only ones I saw, I wouldn't say they're typical of the wildlife out here. Apparently this area looks like England, but I'm not so sure, maybe a bit Somerset, maybe a bit Yorkshire or Cornwall, anyway it's mainly farmland with some kind of lowland moor in places. Again very sparsely populated.

109 miles was plenty today and I was very glad to see the hotel at 3pm. A guy who lives in Topeka had ridden this ride a few years ago. He rode in with us from the final SAG and then invited us all out to his house (well mansion) for a meal this evening. At a rough guess I'd say their pool had the same plan area as our house. They were great hosts and it was good not to eat in a restaurant for an evening. A lot of the talk was of swine flu, everyone here thinks this current wave will pass, but there could be something worse just around the corner.

We said goodbye to another rider today. Paul, a professor from Austin TX had only signed up for half the ride. He'd been suffering from saddle sores most of the way. We'll miss his quick wits and dry humour for the rest of the trip.

Day 15 Great Bend to Abilene (129 miles)

Usual start this morning, going east out of Great Bend, knowing that we had a long way to go. There was the likelyhood of rain and the winds were about 5 - 10 mph in our face. Three of us, team Ksyrium (with a silent K) for that is the name of the wheels we all now have, were moving well at about 17 mph. The scenery is flat and green, very much like Norfolk. Norfolk, norfolk, norfolk, for hundreds of miles. The only difference is that many of the fields have the 'nodding donkey' oil extractors, which I've tried to capture in the picture.

The first SAG was at 32 miles in the town of Lyon. Barbara had set up infront of an office / house. We'd just arrived when the old fella who owned it turned up. He got chatting to tour leader Mike (TLM from now on) who flew in Vietnam. This old guy was a pilot in WW2 stationed in England, so invited us in to look around his office which was full of memorabilia. He flew B17 bombers over the Czech border. Out of a squadron of 36, 12 aircraft were shot down. His aircraft 'Heaven Can Wait' was hit by a cluster bomb, killing one of the crew. He had a piece of the shrapnel, with the aluminium from their plane melted into it as it passed through the side. We then went next door to see his studio. I've put a photo of it in the FAQ section of this blog. I don't think I've ever been so taken aback by a picture. You can see the campaign poster from JFK. We have the identical poster hanging in our dining room. Except ours is a copy, his was an original which he got at the Florida convention, I think in 1960. He'd met both Bobby and JFK. An amazing and quite emotional experience talking to him.

Leaving the SAG, I got my second puncture. A big shard of glass had ripped through the tyre and inner tube. TLM replaced the tube and 'booted' the type with some duct tape. It lasted for the rest of the day, but I've just replaced the tyre this evening.

There was light rain on and off for the rest of the morning, through lunch and into the afternoon. We're starting to pass through small town America, lots of front porches with swinging seats, lot of Stars and Stripes hanging out the front. Some of it appears idillic, some has seen better days.

Early afternoon we passed through the official halfway point in terms of mileage. All stopped, lots of photos, congratulations all round etc. Except it's not. I didn't believe that in 31 days of riding, we'd be halfway on ride day 14, so did the maths this evening. By my calcs we don't get there until the end of the day after tomorrow. Don't know whether to tell the group or not, no-one likes a smart arse.

Final SAG was in the town of Gysum. We all sat in a gazebo (like a small band stand.) The sun was out and everyone was in a good mood. Got to the hotel at 5:30, making it a long day.

For the first time, everyone went to dinner together. A restaurant next to the hotel offered home style cooking. The decor was like a front parlour. There was only one thing of the menu, fried chicken. They bought out huge plates of fried chicken, mashed potato, coleslaw and sweet corn, which you passed round the table. Again everyone was in good spirits. A great end to a great day.

Day 14 Dodge City to Great Bend (85 miles)

Well we got run out of Dodge at about 7:20 this morning. Didn't see the sheriff, guess he was organising a posse, rounding up some varmin, or maybe just in the donut shop.

Today was a much easier day, winds were in our faces again, but were only 5-10 miles an hour, so instead of struggling to do 12 miles an hour, we were struggling to do 18 miles an hour, which actually feels like you're travelling instead of cycling through treacle. Five of us had a well organised paceline doing a mile each, so it was a little over 3 minutes into the wind on the front and then about 15 minutes rest behind.

The higher speeds meant we had a bit of time for sightseeing. Stopped at Midpoint USA which you can see from the sign is equi-distance between New York and San Francisco. That's me in my rather fetching tights being very cold and eating a fig roll, which is the second most important food after bananas. It's fig rolls, bananas and gatoraid all the time.

We're not quite halfway through our trip yet, but we're getting there, we'll be mid-point in distance the day after tomorrow I think and then mid point in time the day after that. Had a look around the Sod House museum, it's a house made out of, well, sod. I guess we'd call it peat. The museum had other curios and knick knacks that people had donated including a bike from about 1900 which some fool rode from New York. Who'd want to do that?

It was freezing today, I was wearing all the stuff I wore during the winter training. I've only got one set of this stuff so there's a lot of hand washing each evening. Bring back the sun, I won't complain until it reaches 104 again.

Kansas is very very flat and very very dull, a lot like Norfolk, all big open fields. In the afternoon stopped at Pawnee Rock. This used to look a lot like a Dartmoor Tor until they removed all the rock for building. Now it's just a low hill, about 200 feet high, which makes it 200 feet higher than anything else, so you can see for miles in all directions. It was an important stopping off point for settlers moving west along the Santa Fe trail.

Got in about 2pm, about 2 minutes before it started to rain, so a bit of time for resting before a very big day tomorrow, 129 miles and we're into the wind again.

Day 13 Liberal to Dodge City (85 miles)

On paper this was meant to be one of our easiest days, a recovery day with some time for sightseeing around the famous Dodge City with its Boot Hill. That wasn't how it turned out, this was one of our toughest days yet. All because of the wind which was 20 mph and gusting to 30 in our faces all day. Six of us started out riding a paceline. About 10 miles down the road the guy at the front was wearing a bum bag (or fanny pack as they call it out here.) This slipped from around his waist and he swerved to try and catch it. The five of us behind very nearly piled into each other.

Soon after one guy got dropped and we continued on as a five. When you're directly into the wind things aren't too bad. We were doing a mile each, so you give it a lot of effort for 4-5 minutes and then drop to the back for 15-20 minutes of relative rest. It's when it's coming a little to the side that it's worst. We'd like to go in a kind of diagonal "\" formation, but usually the shoulder isn't wide enough. So as well as getting beaten up when you're in position 1, you also get it at 3 and 5 as well. It's also fairly tricky moving positions when you're going like that, it's not just a case of dropped off the front, everyone has to shuffle round. Amazingly we didn't have any further incidents or near misses all day.

Terrain is pretty flat and dull. Looks either like the lowlands of Dartmoor, all grasslands and small shrubs or farmland.

The lunch SAG was at the famous hideout of the Dalton gang. From there they would go robbing banks, but always return to Ma Dalton who would shelter them. Now it looks like any other house in a suburban street.

I think the photo is of Boot Hill. It's certainly a hill in Dodge City. By that point I was too tired to care whether it's the real thing.

One of our party had to abandon the tour today. He'd been suffering with varioius ailments over the last few days and is now off home to see a doctor. Real shame. So now we're down to seven trying to go coast to coast.

More of the same tomorrow, a little colder, a little wetter, but hopefully not so windy.