Saturday 16 October 2010

That was our blog!

Wondered what we rambled on about most on our blog? Check out this word cloud which gives greater prominence to words that appeared more frequently - JUST MILES CAFE by the look of it!
Wordle: Cycle America Coast to Coast

Friday 27 August 2010

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Friday 13 August 2010

And so we reach the Pacific Ocean... !

Alsea to Florence, OR (and the Pacific Ocean!)

We all agreed that it would be a good idea, and the right thing to do, to meet at a cafe 4 miles from our final destination on our final day; no speed demons and no slow tortoises to be seen, but instead we would cycle the final 4 miles to the ocean together, just as we started in Yorktown, 83 days ago.  Now, in an ideal situation, we would have all timed our departures perfectly so that we arrive around a similar sort of time, so as Mike and Jeff are not waiting for everyone for 3 hours. This worked rather well as we agreed to meet at 10.30am, however, unbeknown to us, this little cafe was thriving; full of hungry customers and with one waitress!! After an hour of waiting for our breakfast, we finally all set off for the ocean, some of us more ready than others, with Mike waiting in the cafe for 2 hours!

As we rode our bikes for those last 4 miles, it was as though every one of us was in a state of complete bliss; forgotten were the hard times and the controversies and even the heat, the hills and the mosquitoes. All we could do now was to embrace our last miles together in the realisation that this was ending and that we may never see these wonderful, amazing, brave, strong people again. The people that have belonged to our group for 12 weeks, through thick and thin, who have experienced the same things but in different ways and whom all have the uttermost respect and gratitude for each other. We have achieved something outstanding together and many tears of happiness surfaced in those last few miles, amongst all of us. Doing the TransAm is a Love/Hate kind of relationship. At times I really wanted it to end but now I felt as though I was losing something; losing these people and friendships I have built.

Before we reached the Ocean however, we rode along the Alsea highway, thick forests carpeting the hills on either side. And then came the cyclists best friend, something we have encountered several times in our travels and somehow managed to come out unscathed, just. Chip and seal. Basically when the yellow coated transportation departments chuck a load of tar on a seemingly serviceable road, and then a thick layer of gravel and give it a little press down just enough to pass for a road again before leaving. So then comes little old cyclist. Clouds of dust spew up, gravel mounds to sink into, and missiles flying up at your face as trucks hurtle past!  Seven miles is a long way. I guess it made the sight of a tidal river, and then the smell of salty air and then the glimmer of the wide bluey green Ocean even more special.

The Pacific Ocean is not quite what we had imagined. Hawai's palms, cocktails and flower garlands are a world away from the clouds, cliffs and spray of the Oregon coast. Beautiful though and the wide white pristine sandy beach felt good between our toes as we held our bikes aloft and then dipped our wheels in the water. Unfortunately it was not just our wheels - Robin in his excitement had put his bag down just as a wave pummeled the beach - cameras and salt water do not mix. Coast to coast - every inch. DONE!


It felt as though a weight had been lifted as we headed down the coast to Florence to enjoy our last meal together and engage in our favourite conversation... "do you remember where that [insert tale or event] was??..."
(our group, photo by Greg Siple of Adventure Cycling)

Some things we learnt cycling the TransAm:

1) Kansas is windy but Wyoming is even windier.
2) There are 4 types of potentially deadly spider in the US; 2 species of black widow and 2 species of brown recluse. ALWAYS, check your shoes.
3) DO NOT underestimate the force of mother nature and her wild weather systems; do not try to beat it but respect it because it IS stronger than you.
4) 'RESTROOM' is the most appropriate term to use when asking to go to the toilet in the US, although the Americans agree that you certainly do not 'rest' in a restroom.
5) America is NOT, I repeat, NOT flat, at all.
6) Cycling gives you strange tan lines.
7) There is always someone who is doing something far more extraordinary than you are.
8) There are hundreds of nasty dogs in Kentucky and they WILL kill you given half the chance. Carry pepper spray.
9) Missouri has a great deal of vineyards and wineries. Drink wine and be merry!
10) In 1997, Washington DC's christmas tree came from Walden, CO.
11) 50% of North America's antelope population live in Wyoming.
12) There is absolutlely no Net 10 mobile phone network in the whole state of Idaho. And some of Oregon too.
13) Robin and I can spend all day every day together on a bike and not come home divorced! 
14) And most of all, anyone can do anything if they really want to.

My mum always tells me, "the mind is a powerful thing and you can overcome anything if you work with your mind to help you accomplish it". Even pain, my mother says, can be diminished, just by thinking that it's just not hurting. This is the best thing my mother has ever said to me because this is how I can accomplish these amazing things.

One other lesson I have been taught, is not to underestimate yourself. If someone close to you believes in you, then it makes it all the easier. Just give me a break please Mike, before you talk me into signing up for an Ironman.        

Thanks so much to all who have donated to www.justgiving.com/bikeamerica

Monday 9 August 2010

Western Oregon - the last leg!!

Well the time is amost here for us to say goodbye to our bikes and I have to be honest, I've loved this experience but I'll be glad to see the back of them (the bikes that is, not our fellow cyclists!). We have arrived in Alsea today, just 30 miles from the coast, although tomorrow will be approximately a 66  mile day as when we reach the coast, we then cycle another 30 or so miles down the coast to Florence, our final destination. Today we came just 50 miles from Harrisburg. The original plan was to stop over at Colburg last night in the Truckers motel, but we ended up cycling a furhter 12 miles onto Harrisburg when Steve arrived in the van at the Truckers Motel and saw what we would be staying in. His words were 'it's a complete dive'. Anyway those extra 12 miles were worth it as we ended up staying in a rather nice hotel/resort type place with a pool and hot tub. Well we have a fair amount of money left for accommodation so we have to spend it some way or another!

Two days ago, Jeff's son Eric joined us from Anchorage (Alaska), where he has been living with his girlfriend for approximately 18 months. He is cycling the last 4 days with us and has fortunately had one of the most beautiful rides ever with us (2 days ago-Redmond to Blue River). We had the McKenzie Pass to climb at 5,500 ft which was beautiful.

North and Middle Sister
Originally uploaded by Oregon Hiker
North and Middle Sister volcanoes in the McKenzie Pass region of Oregon. The McKenzie Pass region is lava and volcanoes in all directions as far as the eye can see. At the top we were surrounded by hundreds of years old volcanic rock which had at one point been hot lava flow. We could also see the snow topped three sisters mountains in the distance. This was followed by a descent which was seemingly endless through forested narrow switch back roads! A little scary coming down but lovely! The Cascade mountains included a 4000 ft descent - dry desert scrub to bleak snow capped peaks and lava fields to lush green soaring forests.  I have ensured Eric though that we havn't always had this type of luxury on the TransAm so he shouldn't give his dad a hard time about 'living it up'.

Fundraising News
Just been told that our cycle ride is slightly further than the distance from London Heathrow to Delhi, India!! America is a big place! Oh and we've raised a little over 30p a mile, so far. If you would like to support us, please just click on www.justigiving.com/bikeamerica. Thanks so much.

Fundraising News News
Just found out that we've made the South Wales Echo!... How exciting!

Friday 6 August 2010

John Day to Mitchell to Redmond (yes these all sound like people's names but in America they are places)

These past three days we have climbed over 5 mountain passes and cycled around 220 miles so they have been difficult. Eastern/central Oregon is kinda desert like with little greenery; very hot and dry, especially in the afternoons when most of the hills seem to appear! I've lost track of which mountain range we are crossing currently and I'm not sure that I really need to know the names anymore, I just do it. Apparently tomorrow is our last big climb...well I've heard that one before but with just 3 days left after tomorrow, maybe there's some truth in that. We have to start going down at some point surely to reach the ocean!

On the ride into John Day we passed a mammal fossil museum (which I might add involved an extra 4 MILES to get to...the things we do for our loved one hey!). Robin really enjoyed this, being a male and all interested in fossils and stuff so it was well worth the detour of course!

In Mitchell we stayed at the Sky Hook Motel which as you might guess from the name, was up on a hill and  had a fantastic view of the little (very) town. It was mine and Jeff's turn to cook so we decided we'd all go out. There was one cafe in town which we learnt from Mike (speed demon and therefore killing time around town until we all arrived) was shutting at 7pm because the owners dog had just come out of animal hospital. Oh and they couldn't serve 14 of us all at once so we had fun trying to all get fed by 7pm in relays! In addition to this drama, we had further panic amongst camp that night. The 'supermarket' had shut down and the nearest place to get a pint of milk was 47 miles away. The shoppers (me and Jeff) concluded therefore that we had an Apollo 13 situation ("Is there anything you have in the aircraft that you can eat?"). "Houston, we have a problem"; we summised that we would have a 'scrounge' breakfast (basically eating anything you can find in the van to keep you going for the first 47 miles tomorrow morning until we get to civilisation and a decent sandwich). With proper 'food police' control, this operation this morning turned out to be a sucessful one! And you'll be pleased to know that we are all now fed and watered appropriately and hopefully this 'rationing' will not need to happen again.

We are today, in Redmond, a town of 7, 000 people so we again intend on eating out....no I have not lost any weight cycling 60 miles a day for 3 months!

Very excitingly (!) we have crossed the 4000miles pedalled mark today - that's a very long way!

We have uploaded a few more photos...

Tuesday 3 August 2010

Oregon!!!

Yesterday saw us cross yet another time zone, 3500 miles, thousands of ft of climbing once again, and the border into Oregon!! I can't quite believe we're in our final state with only 8 days left! The past two days we have been cycling through Hell's Canyon, which begins in Idaho and goes into Oregon. Despite it's scenic beauty, we were both glad to leaving it behind today; after 2 days of the same scenery, extremely hot weather (as there is no breeze down there in the canyon) and loads of hills,it all got a bit too much! Glad to report though that today we have arrived in a city of 7,000 people, and have the luxury of a motel and rest day tomorrow. Perfect. I thought that as time went on I wouldn't need my rest days as much but it seems as though just as you're conquering one aspect of suffering, so another one comes along, and you are therefore ALWAYS in need of a rest day.



Two nights ago we camped in the grounds of a motel and RV park in a town called Cambridge. This was fine, despite the huge RV next to us whom had a little yappy dog that decided to bark until all hours and poop all over the lawn we were camping on - when we arrived there were sticks poking out of the ground about every 2 metre square where the early arrivers of the group had scouted out dog poop! After about 20 minutes of Robin and I 'debating' where the tent should go (we always spend this long 'debating' as we have different criteria; I like it flat as I cannot sleep whilst rolling down hill and Robin likes the ground soft so it doesn't bend the pegs. We both agree on the fact that it should be in the shade which helps but trying to find all criteria on a ground full of dog poop is quite trying! We finally get it up just in time for dinner (luckily we were not cooking!). The highlight of this town was the ice cream/desert/cafe we went into after dinner. All 10 of us ordered different varieties of desert or ice cream and we all waited about 10 minutes per ice cream cone (which is a long wait when you're thinking about getting your beauty sleep for tomorrow's ride), except for Robin's 1 scoop huckleberry ice cream in a waffle cone, which seemed to be special in that it took about 40 minutes to arrive, in which time, the waitress had served the table next to us 3 1 scoop huckleberry ice cream's in a waffle cone. Much to the group's amusement and Robin's distress!








Saturday 31 July 2010

White Bird to New Meadows to Cambridge, ID

Yesterday we cycled from White Bird to New Meadows which was a 61, fairly hilly ride through pretty much similar scenery as the day before (winding roads alongside river, with trees bordering), with some small towns on the way to stop at for breaks. Riggins was one of these towns whereby we pulled up outside a nice looking cafe for a mid morning coffee and Robin noticed that his spedometor was reading that we were travelling at 95mph. Well I can tell you we certainly were not. After thorough exploration as to the reasons why this may have happened (on Robin's part as he was highly distressed by this inconvenience. All I wanted to do was get my coffee!), Robin discovered (or rather thinks that he has discovered) that the cause of this were some radioactive rocks that were in a truck we parked next to!! Hmmm, I'm not so sure. Anyway, you'll be pleased to know that the spedometer is now in full working order and clearly displayed that we were going at 12mph today in the wind (thats more like it)! Last night we stayed at a hot springs camp site with a lodge type place attached to the hot springs pool, which was thriving in the 1950's (there are old photos everywhere). The decor hadn't changed much either but was very cosy and we spent an evening playing air hockey in the games room trying to escape from the heat outside.

Today we travelled from New Meadows to Cambridge and besides the last 20 miles of head wind, the 51 mile ride has been very pleasant, after yesterday's climb, today was mostly downhill with no major dramas!

We are beginging to think about our plans for the end of our cycle tour now as we have 11 days remaining and will hit the border of Oregon in just 2 days time-how exciting! We are also trying to make sure we spend all of our group budget remaining so a few motel nights will be coming up which will be great for the end of our trip! But lets not dwell on the end too much for now as we still have the whole length of Oregon to travel.

Friday 30 July 2010

Missoula, Montana to White Bird, Idaho

Well folks, the last few weeks have been hectic and we have had the most spectacular scenery/cycling/wildlife/history (cowboys, Indians and Gold Rushes) but this has not included much internet access.

We crossed the Continental Divide for the final time at Lolo Pass and indulged in the free hot chocolate at the visitor's centre (cue log cabin in the forest) as we tried to warm up from the cold rain, thunder and lightning all around us! I suppose it had to happen sooner or later - all the other high altitude biking had been in pretty-much blue cloudless skies. By the time we had descended into the thick green forests we were freezing. The forests carpet the steep hill sides, with the mountains all around towering above and disappearing into puffy white underbellies of the clouds, a bit like how photos of rainforests look. The trees for some reason were an order of magnitude taller than any we had seen to date - old hulks of cedar, pine, spruce and all adding to the stillness and coolness at ground level. Luckily, one of our group knows us only too well and had already reserved the last remaining cabin for the night as the travellers sought refuge.

The road from Powell to Syringa is rightly labelled a scenic byway. Our 70 miles of cruising downhill follows rightly named Clearwater River - nice cycling but only if the wood truckers don't run you over (I have a nifty mirror on my glasses to keep an eye on what's steaming up our back - I strongly believe this will become an iconic fashion statement... perhaps!). Each twist in the valley presented the same scene of crashing white water, towering cloud-licked mountains and thick lush green trees. We stayed at a cosy log cabin and whilst Luc frequented the hot tub, Robin went for a very little run!

Syringa to White Bird involved about three turns - positively a navigation overload from the previous day! We followed the wider calmer Clearwater River before turning at the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. The Nez Perce tribe had in the 19 Century originally lived in the Montana/Idaho mountains but landownership conflicts with all the pioneers (gold rush prompted) had broken the peace at White Bird battleground afterwhich they desperately attempted to avoid the US military attacks by moving east, along the route we were following. The story is not all one-sided but at places like Big Hole in the wide Big Hole Valley, the soldiers attacked the Nez Perce camp with attrocities to many women and childern. Sadly they didn't escape to the freedom of Canada, instead they were intercepted and banished to Oklahoma. Sorry, digression.

Disappointingly none of the towns we passed through this morning had cafes open for breakfast before attacked two mammoth hills totalling 2000feet of climb but fortunately between them, Grangeville had a wonderful milkshake stall (30 flavours - we only tried 2!), and then the what goes up must come down theory was proven with a zooming 8 mile downhill. Nice.

Tuesday 27 July 2010

Highlights of Montana and Yellowstone National Park

We havn't managed to update our blog for sometime due to lack of towns with libraries/internet access and a string of longer days, meaning that we sometimes don't have the time to update especially if we are on cooking duty that evening. The past 2 weeks we have in awe of our surroundings; one of my favourite days being luckily my birthday where we toured yellowstone (in the van) and saw numerous bears up really close!! As you can see by my face in the photo Robin took of me, when I saw my first bear literally jump out about 5 metres in front of me onto the road from the surrounding forests, I was shocked to say the least! But I have since learnt that they are not really that unfriendly, they just like to wander around roads and campsites, not really bothering anyone!Another highlight was a Rodeo we went to in Dubois, Wyoming where small children rode on the backs of sheep!! Not sure about that. Today is a day off in Missoula, Montana which is the home of Adventure Cycling headquarters where all our routes are maps are developed and surprisingly enough Missoula is a very bicycle friendly town, with designated bike lanes and people pulling prams with children on the back of their bikes! We were invited by Adventure Cycling for a BBQ lunch and had a tour of the office where numerous old bikes are mounted to the walls and photos of the TransAm history all over the place-very interesting. We felt extremely important as we had our photos taken which will be archived in history forever (along with the other thousands of riders that pass through)! A day off goes so quickly though so its off to get something to eat and then to bed early ready for tomorrow and another long climbling day!

Friday 23 July 2010

3,000 miles done and welcome to Montana!

Since 22 May, Luc and I have been cycling across America. We have been following the TransAmerica bicycle route which people have cycled since 1976 a rambling route from Yorktown, Virginia to Florence, Oregon - a total of 4,325 miles.

Sitting in the evening sunset in a campground in Montana, the memory of dipping our wheels in the Atlantic Ocean feels very distant.  Yorktown was selected not by chance - the British defeat at Yorktown arguably led to the birth of the United States and the lush corn fields of Virginia were filled with a sense of history. Trucks and sidewalk-users waved encouragingly at us and friendly store-owners shared stories about their local areas. The temperature and humidity was high and growing. Western Virginia comprises the shady forested Appalachian Mountains.  The east-most are named the Blue Ridge, somewhat aptly in the midday haze. They fade into eastern Kentucky but the atmosphere changed as our route winded through narrrow valleys, the constrasts of poverty and mining riches... and angry dogs. Western Kentucky is calmer, with more horses and fields than burnt out trailers and coal trucks but wherever you go you are reminded by the church bilboards - you are in the Bible Belt.

We crossed the Ohio River ferry into Illinois in the crisp early morning sunlight and enjoyed a couple of days of rolling fields, towns and forests but onyl just survived the muggy, mosquito-filled nights.  We cycled for a day alongside the mighty Mississippi before crossing as a convoy into Missouri and the Ozark Mountains - a self-propelled rollercoaster rides of forested humid hills (State warnings of dangerously high heat indexes ringing in our ears) and a toughest challenge. And then Kansas - flat, straight, hot, windy and passing through the epicenter of the breadbowl's harvest with all the trucks and combines that entails. Some call Kansas boring but the wide open spaces of the unplowed and unending Flint Hills were awesome and we shared the fourth of July celebrations in a tiny community with a big atmosphere (and thunderstorm!).  Colorado rose up at the end of the Great Plains with sagebush, wildlife and snow-capped mountains. Amongst the flowering alpine meadows we spotted elk deer and antelope.

At the State line of wonderful Wyoming, the headwind started. Antelope, cowboys and geothermal springs failed to distract us from this fact. The stunning jagged Teton Mountains rising up from Jackson Bowl,  buffalo (or bison?!), rodeos, and the odd close encounter with bears did. And now Montana - all of above was mere training as to the definition of wide open spaces. Frontier tails of Trails and the Gold Rush litter the landscape. You appreciate how far north we have come by the bitter cold air first thing.

We are part of a group of around a dozen riders with two leaders from Adventure Cycling who provide support by driving a van which carries our luggage during the day. We camp in city parks, gardens, community/church halls (my favourite, as they were usually cool) and even a commercial campground or motel as a treat.

We're over halfway and on the downhill stretch - although we know there'll be plenty of uphills before the Pacific and Oregon! Some days are long and over 70 miles, others shorter. Sometimes we have help (gradients or winds) but more often than not they hinder.  Somedays we pass through historic monuments, national parks or state wildlife reserves, otherdays we just ride on one road past nothing but cornfields (no, literally in Kansas).  We are sharing an amazing adventure and somehow managing to overcome all the nasties - the aching legs/bottoms/arms, the confusing turns and never-ending inclines.

We set out to have this adventure but also to raise some much needed money for RedR. Let me tell you a little about RedR.  Uniquely, they provide people and training to support aid agencies' competent response such as the UN, Oxfam and many smaller local organisations.  For 30 years, they have made a massive impact supporting the relieving suffering from disasters. RedR are a fantastic international disaster relief charity who we have supported in different ways for a number of years. Their work saves and rebuilds the lives of people affected by natural disasters and conflict by ensuring that the right people, with the right skills are available to respond. We would be very grateful for your support and we would encourgage you to consider donating through www.justgiving.com/bikeamerica.



Thursday 15 July 2010

Rawlins to Jeffrey City, WY (67 miles) to Lander, WY (57 miles)

Rawlins was a great place; for one thing it had a population over 50 which was very exciting! Despite the treacherous windy weather, we arrived in one piece but managed to snap a tent pole in the wind and bend all of our tent pegs banging them into the hard ground. It was a unanimous decision (not just because Robin was cooking) that we should go out to eat or else we would be chasing our plates around the campsite with food flying everywhere! Luckily by bedtime (which is about 8.30pm these days) the wind has settled a little and we both got a surprisingly good sleep.

Yesterday we cycled to Jeffrey City. Do not be misled by the name; Jeffrey City is not a city at all. In fact it is a ghost town and seems to be described as such by those whom live there also (about 30 people I think). Jeffrey City once had a population of over 5000 people as it has Uranium in the area. Until there was a nuclear explosion in three mile Island and the town went bust, it was thriving. Sadly today, the town consists of closed down gas stations, stores and motels (one of which we stayed in). Yes, we stayed in a non operational motel that has probably been closed for years, so it was in need of a little more than a lick of paint to say the least. As there is no where to stopover between Rawlins and Lander which is around 130 miles, the owner agreed to open it for us for one night. Interesting place.

Today we are in Lander and again to our surprise it has a population of over 100 - 6800 in fact! We have cycled 57 miles of beautifully dramatic scenery with no wind and mainly gradual downhill so it's been one of the most pleasant days yet. Makes up for all these nasty head wind days we've been having lately! We have set up our tent in a campsite up on a hill overlooking the town and have already visited the bike shop and outdoor shops to try and find a replacement for our broken tent pole and pegs! Tonight we have a friend of Jerry's joining us for dinner (a guy who cycled the Southern Tier of America with him this year, just before this trip) so we've decided to go out. Better wash my hair then!



Tuesday 13 July 2010

Breckenridge, CO to Hot Sulphur Springs, CO to Walden, CO to Saragota, WY to Rawlins, WY

Well the climbs of the Rockies seem a distance away now; the weather has become warmer again and we have descended down to about 7000 ft. We are in Wyoming now but are apparently still in the Rocky Mountain Range so still have some rolling hills but the difficult thing at the moment is the wind again. It is very fierce. So much so that I find it difficult to actually stay on the bike at times!

The last couple of days cycling through the tops of the mountains has been gorgeous and we've managed to do a little wildlife spotting. We've seen moose, deer, prairie dogs, chipmunks, coyotes and loads of antelope (apparently 50% of the Nations Antelope are in Wyoming)! Some have been very close just back from the roadside and we've even managed to video them too.

Breckenridge, CO to Hot Sulphur Springs, CO
Wow! Dillon Dam was amazing with not a ripple on the reflections of the snow covered peaks. Then down, down down and the temperature steadily rising before passing through the strangest volcanic scenery. The village of Hot Sulphur Springs amazingly has hot sulphur springs (116 degrees!) which smell of eggs and naturally we tried out. For the record sulphur does not seem to deter mosquitoes! Luc cooked Bangers and Mash for the group - went down a treat.

Hot Sulphur Springs, CO to Walden, CO
First thing was very chilly (layer of ice on tent!). Luc started the day resembling the Micheline man - wearing pretty much everything she had. Naturally the sun came and and we ended up baking. Lots of the pine trees had died thanks to a nasty beetle problem but this couldn't detract from the view - a truely beautiful day of climbing valleys to cross the Continental Divide (again!) at Willow Creek Pass and then downhill (ish) to Walden. We spotted our first MOOSE!

Walden, CO to Saragota, WY
A long day with high head winds, including a 2.5 mile uphill and then a 3.5 mile downhill (you still need to pedal a lot to keep going because of the wind). We passed the impressive Welcome to Wyoming sign but the states seemed to merge their landscapes into one another.  


Cruising the high plains of Wyoming - we spotted Coyotes, badgers, prairie dogs (like mere cats) and loads of antelope. Also saw real cowboys on horseback herding up cattle - tonnes of dust flying up into the air.  We crossed the 2,500 mile mark today - wowsers - but also had to contend with a fair amount of head/tail wind which didn't make things easy.


Saragota, WY to Rawlins, WY
Today we're in Rawlins, which was only a 42 mile day and so considered a half rest day. However, I have done absolutely no resting as this was one of my hardest days yet due to the winds! We have 85 miles tomorrow so I hope its a tailwind otherwise we won't be getting in until 10pm!

More big sky plains crossed to reach this little oasis in the sage bush grassland. Headwind is not pleasant, having to pedal hard just to stay in one place! We've completed our 7th map today, with only 5 to go...

Saturday 10 July 2010

Rest Day in the Rockies!

Beautiful, lovely Breckenridge! What a place to have a day off! Breckenridge is a gorgeous ski resort town with plenty of outdoor activities to do in the summer too and lots of good shops, cafes and restaurants. Situated in the heart of the Rocky Mountains; a good place for Mountain biking, Robin and Steve decided to do this! As if they hadn't had enough biking already!! Needless to say, I didn't, and instead Kath and I headed into town for a mid morning coffee and pastry followed by massages and haircuts. Perfect way to relax! Ending the evening with a lovely meal and beer at the local brewery, and then a dip in the hot tub with brownies and ice cream! The problem is with luxury on this trip, is that its all the worse getting back into it! Although today has not been too bad. Our reward for all the hills has been a 72 mile downhill with panoramic views of the Rockies! Well, we're not quite at our destination yet; hot sulphur springs. We've stopped 17 miles away at a town called Kremmling for lunch and now taking cover in the library until the rain stops! I can hear the thunder crashing!

Apparently tonight we are camping next to the hot sulphur springs, hence the name 'hot sulphur springs', and wuill get to use the natural spa there which sounds nice. I'm cooking with Phil tonight though so won't be able to spend too much time relaxing! Something easy I thought; bangers and mash!

Thursday 8 July 2010

Pueblo to Royal Gorge (51 miles), to Fairplay (66 miles) to Breckinridge (23 miles)

We woke in our tent at Royal Gorge campsite, which had been swaying too and frow all night forcing Robin to get out and check at one point during the night if the tree we had pitched under was about the fall down on top of us due to the force of the winds! Luckily, we didn't blow away!

Royal Gorge to Fairplay was the start of the climbing to our 11,500 ft highest point in the trip at the Rocky mountains. There was a fair amount of uphill to cycle on this 66 mile day which meant that the day was a little longer than usual but I tend to always expect the worst and am then presently surprised! It was a beautiful day; fairly cool with stunning views of the mountains and lots of wildlife to spot-we saw dear, chipmunks, bison but no bears yet! However the weather took a turn for the worst and we got caught in a thunder/hail storm about 12 miles from Fairplay. We managed to take shelter (well as best we could) at the side of an old abandoned house until it eased off and then just went for it, arriving very cold and wet! The town of Fairplay is at approximatey 9,500 ft and is home to the best hat shop ever where they custom make traditional cowboy hats out of any material you wish-Robin was planning on a custom made hat for my birthday until he found out they cost around $500 each! Maybe not. Fairplay also has the town of South Park; remember the cartoon type comedy series?!

We began today with a little lie in not getting up until 6.30am for 2 reasons; our motel in Breckinridge would not be available until 1pm anyway and today's ride was only 23 miles. After a 7am breakfast, we layered up in our winter warmers; today was going to be around 3 degrees celcius and probably colder the higher we get. It was nice not to have to deal with the heat for a change and I enjoyed the fresh, cool air on the climb up. As we were already at 9,500 ft today, we only had another 2000ft to climb to reach the summit so within the first 10 miles, we were there. The hills generally have a steady gradient but go on for miles which is far less tiring than what we encountered in the Apalachians and Missouri. However, we did not have to deal with any kind of altitude there like we have here. It did not effect anyone greatly but both Robin and I found that we felt generally like we had less energy and it sometimes felt more difficult to get enough air; similar to when you are gasping for breath after sprinting or something, although you shouldn't have been as the gradient was not high. Today was a great day and very enjoyable, nothing to have been too concerned about and we all waited at the summit until everyone arrived so we could have a group photo! The summit is also the Continental Divide; the watershed ridge whereby rainfall either drops into the Atlantic on one side or the Pacific on the other, much to Robin's amusement!

We're waiting for a way to upload our photos, so in the meantime, here's a couple from other people of what we've been seeing!
Hoosier Pass Sunset


We are currently in Breckinridge Library. It is a lovely sk
iing resort town; which seems to be just as busy in summer months. We can see snow on the tops of the mountains and the temperature is very cool to cold (feels more like home!). We are about to go exploring the town, which seems to have lots of various shops/cafes before heading to our lodgings (indoor for 2 nights as its rest day tomorrow!).                            

Tuesday 6 July 2010

Welcome to Colourful Colorado! Ordway to Pueblo; Pueblo to Canon City

So, Robin was on cooking duty but, since it was the Fourth July and since local T-bone steaks were on offer, we got talking to a local restaurant who agreed to cook up the slabs of almost half a cow per person - wowsers. The breeze had been picking up and, after a short burst of sunshine, the clouds returned with a vengeance. Thick black and billowing with thunder and lightning. We set off to the nearby Sugar City fireworks more like storm chasers than party goers but amazingly the storm blew over by the time we arrived. All of the 200 residents appeared to have turned out and the local fire department proceeded to set off some dodgy fireworks (at least three didn't quite work on the lift off bit and just exploded on the ground - prompting loads of cheers from the locals!) whilst Luc got eaten by Mosquitoes (she is literally applying the Benadryl next to me as I type!). The fireworks were good but what made the night was the backdrop of thunderstorm clouds - towering 50 mile wide columns of cloud illuminated by lightning sheets and forks - at least six storms covered the horizon!

Sunday 4 July 2010

Leoti to Eads, CO (79 miles) to Ordway, CO (61 miles)

The past couple of days have seen us travel into Colorado (sixth state), cross another time zone (now 7 hours ahead of home), and reach 2000 mile marker! Eads was again a very small town with many shops looking as though they had closed down. We did manage to find the local pharmacy and mini supermarket though which appeared to have everything you could possibly want anyway, so can't complain. We stayed in a very basic motel with a very comfy bed (thats all you need after 79 miles!) and spent the afternoon having a nap and relaxing! Throughout our ride today, we met many other cyclists. There is a group of about 25 cycling the US for MS and taking a similar route and schedule that we are currently so we chatted with many of them on yesterday's ride into Eads, which makes for slightly more interesting cycling - we love each other dearly but sometimes a change of face is nice! The crossing into Colorado was our most colourful yet! Check out the sign! And it's always nice to put your watch back an hour!

Today was great - finally we had a little tailwind, although it took Robin a considerable amount of time to convince me that we were actually getting a tailwind (I couldn't feel it until we turned around to go back on ourselves by about 100 yards as we'd missed the turn for 'America's smallest Jail' and then I definately felt the headwind!). The smallest Jail was literally 1 cell in the middle of nowhere. I checked to see whether it was still operational - it looked fully furnished but there was noone inside! Already the strong aggressive winds of Kansas seem to have faded and Colorado almost resembles a desert; without the desert heat. Today was very cool and we had to wear our jackets for some of the ride!

Coasting in Ordway, we located our hotel (yes we are being spoilt lately - will have to dust off our tents next time we use them!) to find that our rooms were not quite ready; understandably since we had arrived at 1030am, that wind really did give us a push I guess! We have our room now, absolutely lovely old hotel with a bath, which I have just enjoyed! Robin is cooking with Mike tonight and there is extra pressure on as its the 4th JULY!! Independence day so very important to celebrate - we are having steak and chicken (for those who don't like steak) and Mike has convinced the hotel staff to cook it for us at a small cost. So, actually all that Robin has had to do is buy the food! Tonight, after our good meal we intend to visit some fireworks!!  a              

Saturday 3 July 2010

Larned to Ness City (65) to Leoti (79 miles) - 2000 miles, 6 states and 2 time zones DONE (almost)

Hello from Western Kansas! We have been busy uploading and updating for your reading pleasure - you will see at the top you can see maps of Our Route, slideshows of our Photos and Videos, and short introductions on Our Group members. We hope you like them!

The past couple of days from Larned to Leoti have been in the most part enjoyable, especially the day we travelled to Ness City when we had a little tail wind and flew into town. However, our luck changed yesterday when we had a very strong south westerly wind and lots of HUGE combines, grain/cattle trucks and a few massive wind turbines on trucks zooming and whizzing past at speed. We are in the epicentre of Kansas' wheat harvest - add in a strong cross-wind and little cyclists like us just get blown around like leaves! The combine caravans travel up from Texas and follow the crops, it really is a like a wave across the country.  This day was horrible, and dangerous - I was quite literally thrown off the road by gusts of wind on numerous occassions and at one point seriously thought that I may have to walk into Leoti. But I did cycle in and we are now sat in our motel room enjoying a day's rest. Not looking forward to tomorrow as the weather forecast is similar, the road will be the same and traffic is likely to be similar to yesterday, also it is another 80 mile day.

Cycling here is a lot like sailing. You feel like you are at sea, with the wheat waves on an ocean. The horizon dead flat and distant. The only features to see are trucks wizzing (ships?) and grain silos dotted at regular intervals like... ummm, running out of parallels... light houses/cliffs/supertankers - you decide.



Today, in Leoti, which is a very small town we did nothing other than have a lie in and good breakfast, and wander main street (not a lot to see or do), followed by a meal at the one and only mexican restaurant. It is good to have a rest and the wind today was so strong, we could hardly walk in it, let alone cycle in it! We met another group of cyclists (raising money for MS), whom came from Scott City (24 miles away), but decided to stop here for the night rather than continue on due to the extent of the strong winds. They too are planning to ride to Eads, Colorado tomorrow, same as we are, so we should see many cyclists on the road tomorrow! We also chatted to a self-contained guy called Kirk who has overtaken us - http://pedalaround.blogspot.com/
And tomorrow (besides the wind), should be an exciting day as we go into Colorado (our sixth state!), cross a time zone (1 hour extra in the day), and hit 2000 mile mark! All in one day! Bye Bye Kansas, I have partially enjoyed you but will not miss those winds!!

Wednesday 30 June 2010

Sterling to Larned - 50 miles

Today we arrived in Larned after a 50 miler which involved one long straight road with no services or water stops. Fifty miles felt like a lifetime. The views were very pretty but after you've seen 5 minutes then you've seen it all and for me this is hard because there is nothing to distract you, except the pain in your behind!

Yesterday afternoon's little visit to the town library in Sterling was interesting-we were treated like some minor celebrities and asked if we could speak to some local kids in the library about our trip. It was lovely, Robin sat nodding whilst I entertained the kids with stories from the TransAm! They were so cute and so interested in what we were doing! We had a lovely swim in the local pool, which seems to be routine for us these days for two main reasons; to cool down and to get a shower! In the evening they had a little concert in the park - just to prove we were in small town USA, the post mistress (we had tried to by airmail stamps earlier and she had to look it up in a book - such is the tourist demand) was there selling raffle tickets and the gas station guy was there playing tuba. Turns out the town is famous for turtle racing on 4th July - shame we wont be there.

Except for the local corn silo drier sounding like a jet engine when the world is otherwise quiet, a grain train shunting, and the park sprinkler system drenching us (no joke - Robin managed to stamp/plastic bag one but then got soaked by a pincer movement from another) we got a good night sleep. Waking in the morning, it was a mere 85 degrees - somewhat chilly!

Tonight we are staying in a church and the pastor loaned us his car so that we could avoid the 5 mile extra bike ride to the Museum of the 'Sante Fe Trail'. Five miles doesn't sound a lot when you you're cycling over 4000 but every moment off the saddle helps towards rebuilding the skin and bones around my behind area! Did you know that only Great Plain Indians wore feather headdresses? Tepees were only used after Westerners had traded guns with the Indians and they gave up farming for nomadic buffalo hunting?

Only a couple of days before a rest day and then, Colorado!

Monday 28 June 2010

Kansas - Chanute to Eureka to Sterling

We left Chanute Kansas early passing through the small deserted streets, heading into fields dotted with oil wells. Our route passed beautiful green pastures and the cross wind momentarily becomes tailwind and we actually overtake Kath, Dennis and Jerry - Luc hitting a respectable 24 mph. Steadily Kansas becomes emptier but the roads just keep on going, straight.

We passed through Toronto, a small typical ghost town - aside from the post office and a struggling grocery, the only motion on main street is dust blowing up at the weatherbeatern empty shop fronts as the cracked flaking paint gives a clue of a former baker and barber. Many of the more beautiful old houses looked abandoned - what must it be like to grow up here - isolation or traquility? - what will the future hold?

We continued to Lizard Lips Cafe - the shack in the middle of nowhere appeared like a mirage in the hazy heat. We escaped the 93 F heat, had pie and picked up the obligatory little plastic lizard souvenir.

We entered the Flint Hills region, open prarie grassland, apparently the largest unploughed grassland in the world dotted with cows fattening up in the summer as part of a cycle rotation (they spend winter in Western Kansas eating all the corn grown there). The road swept off into the horizon and open vistas fell away either side. And then we encountered the cyclist arch-enemy - HEADWIND. This basically is like riding uphill but never reaching the down. Just a little prelude for tomorrow.


Eureka's town park was an oasis, neat and green. After much discussion (on the path of the sun/shade), we set up our tent under a tree and cooled off in the town pool. To escape the heat, we went over to the bar to watch USA get beaten by Ghana (we were the only ones watching!). We lay in our tent and tried in vain not to melt away in the heat.

The next day the wind had shifted - a stiff headwind and it was hard enough to stand still. We struggled along the almost dead flat roads of the Blue Stem pastures, passing all the cattle farms - herds packed tightly around watering holes - You had to "mooo" every-so-often to prompt a mass of blank stares (and once a stampede). Cycling here is strange. One stretch of 38 miles of "nothing" was particularly memorable for being unmemorable, if you see what I mean. Telegraph poles, mounds of gravel, an oil well, a cow all become features of interest. Initially I counted down the miles (79 of them) but then I found Luc had two skills I never knew - playing I-spy (I know, aren't we...!) and singing in the style of a Munchkin. It was a long day.

Whenever you think you have it bad, something makes you realise someone has it twice as bad. We met a guy who is WALKING the route. Started in April, sleeps wherever and hopes to finish in October. His kit bag is the same size as our day sack. Mad.

Today, powered by last-night's delicious stir fry (if I do say so myself) we reached Sterling and tomorrow our 58 miles is completely without services - the largest stretch of "nothing" we have. We're almost halfway across the USA and halftime. As we were fighting with our tent in 90 degree heat and screaming at the mosquitoes taking advantage of our vulnerability today, Kath said to Luc..."half way through the race is always the toughest and then the champions come in at the end". That made us feel better. Lets hope they do.

For your viewing pleasure, we've got a little map of our progress...

View Bike America Coast2Coast - TransAm - the story in a larger map

and our rough route...

View Bike America Coast2Coast - TransAm - the plan in a larger map

Friday 25 June 2010

Pittsburg to Chanute, KS

Our rest day in Pittsburg was short lived as always and distrupted by a 60 mile cycle today to Chanute. I think I stayed in pretty much the same gears the whole way as it was flat, flat, flat for the first time ever. About time too!! Roads in Kansas are like on a grid so its very difficult to get lost, but I'm sure Hugh could give it a good go!!! He actually turned up a few hours later than everyone else yesterday after taking a detour!!

We are staying at a church with air conditioning (great!) but with no showers (not so great when you've just finished a 60 mmiler in the heat!). So after an hour of trying to find a shower somewhere in Chanute, and Hugh spending about half hour on the phone to the local police station trying to pursuade them to let us use thier shower, only to be told that they do not have a shower at the station, we, (Kath, Hugh and I) came to the conclusion that people in Chanute just don't shower. Hugh offered to make a donation to the police station so that they could put it towards getting a shower for their officers (never mind the fact that they don't need one, they just shower before they come to work!)! The fire stations are usually pretty good and we have stayed at them before but Chanute Fir Station would not allow us to use their shower. How dissapointed we were. Again, desperate, Hugh offered to put down a $125 deposit for any damages caused!!! Thats probably why they weren't keen on us using their shower. Exactly what were we planning on doing in there???

Anyway, after another search for a shower and an hour long chat with a pastor in another church, Gerry Sharp (who told us the history of his musical family and background and called himself G Sharp (get it?),we discovered that there was a swimming pool just a couple of blocks away, with showers!!!! So now we are nicely showered up having had fun in the pool too!!!

Tonight, we are planning to head to the bar of a hotel on the same street as the church we are staying at (after a nap and for a coke!) and have also been invited by Pastor Gerry Sharp to the church for a sing song and a strum! Lets go crazy!!!

Thursday 24 June 2010

Ashgrove to Pittsburg, Kansas

Today is our rest day in Pittsburg, KS. We arrived at our lovely air conditioned motel for 2 nights after a 73 mile (half hilly, half flat with big winds) cycle to get here. We crossed the border from Missouri into Kansas about 4 miles before entering our destination, Pittsburg, so havn't had a chance to see much of Kansas yet.



This morning we went to the one and only bike shop in Pittsburg to find that they had completely almost run out of stock due to another large group of cyclists coming through. I thought this explanation sounded a little strange as they would have had to have bought the entire shop!! Anyway, we did manage to get 2 more water bottles and holders for our bikes as looking at the Kansas maps, it appears that some days there may be up to 50 miles without any water stops (Kansas is vast and desolate apparently!)



A group of us then decided to check out the outdoor store for some camping fans (since we cannot sleep in our tents at night!) and to our great surprise they were giving a free lunch cooked on some BBQ grills they were trying to sell - lucky for us it was lunch time and we were hungry so burgers and hotdogs all round it was!! We didn't tell them that we were travelling across the country on bikes so the chances of us actually purchasing one of this BBQ's was ZERO. They didn't have any fans by the way so we will continue to be cooked alive until our next rest day which won't be until we are in Colorado!

Off for a swim now (in the lovely Econolodge motel pool) and then to the cinema to see Toy Story 3! This is becoming a bit of a habit on rest days as you may have gathered as the cinema is one of the few places you can hide out that has air conditioning and the chances of dropping dead is the heat is therefore reduced greatly!

Wednesday 23 June 2010

Missouri Photos





Beer tasting!


Ready for another day in the office, leaving Al's Place in Farmington, IL


Jeff, Hugh and Luc leaving Eminence, IL






Roads getting straighter, flatter and hotter, just before Kansas!


Tuesday 22 June 2010

Marshfield to Ashgrove, (Missouri)

Today we arrived in a town called Ash Grove, Missouri after a very hot 50 mile ride preceeded by a very hot night camping at Marshfield city park (and also some drunken hollering from some locals and a train that honked and honked at about 2am). Luckily for us, we are staying in a small air conditioned cabin tonight at Ash Grove City Park - it means you get no sleep from all the snoring but I would much rather that than no sleep because you are being cooked alive in your tent!

This town is very pleasant and we have just spent the afternoon in the city park swimming pool, Robin reading his book in the shade and me trying to even out my tan - biking is not the best activity to do for a lovely even shade. I currently look as though I am wearing a pair of stockings and have strange markings on my back (due to the straps on my top). Generally my left side is darker than my right and my hands look like I'm wearing one of those Michael Jackson Gloves!

The route today was still hilly (actually 'hilly' does not do the Ozarks justice!) and I was exhausted after 10 miles let alone 50! However, it was very beautiful (as Robin kept pointing out as I am puffing up the hills!).

Tomorrow will see us crossing the border from Missouri into Kansas (our fifth state), how exciting! We are also half way through the entire trip tomorrow (days wise) so its definately feeling like theres no way back! We've been informed that most of Kansas is very flat, however, other passing cyclists we have met coming from the West complain about this as there is no relief from peddalling and there can be a horrendous headwind. Also, it will continue to be very hot and there is not much shade as Kansas mainly consists of corn and sunflower fields (or so I'm told). We also have to be on the look out for tornados (like in the 'Wizard of Oz'!) I think that cyclists are never happy! I am looking forward to seeing the famous fields of sunflowers and singing 'somewhere over the rainbow' as we pedal through and we will let you know what Kansas is really like in a couple of days! Our first stop in Kansas is Pittsburg where we will have a rest day so we'll update our blog then. Bye for now x

Monday 21 June 2010

Horrendous hills, heat and humidity of the Ozark Mountains!

Well folks, we've arrived into Marshfield, Missouri today and managed to fight our way into a library to get internet access. This first involved asking directions from the only person foolish enough to brave the heat with us (who also was one of the many around this small town who feel the need to use their Second Amendment - the right to bear arms - frankly the place feels as dangerous as Cowbridge on a Saturday morning!). Second, we had to give photographic identification and a funny handshake to get onto a computer (needless to say, Luc hadn't any ID and so, for a change it is I, Robin typing!).

For the past few days it has been HOT and we have been melting but for the relief of air conditioning in motels for the last two nights. For any of you weather buffs out there, there has been a heat advisory weather warning with the funny/scary wording...

DANGEROUSLY HIGH HEAT INDEX VALUES BETWEEN 100 AND 105 DEGREES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON.

A HEAT ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN HIGH TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE IT IS 100 DEGREES OR GREATER FOR FOUR OR MORE CONSECUTIVE DAYS. PEOPLE IN THE ADVISORY AREA ARE ADVISED TO AVOID PROLONGED WORK IN THE SUN...(no mention of cycling though!) OR IN POORLY VENTILATED AREAS. ALSO...KEEP PLENTY OF LIQUIDS ON HAND (or bike) AND TRY TO STAY IN AN AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENT. (joke!)
MANY PEOPLE AVOID USING AIR CONDITIONING BECAUSE OF THE COST. IN TIMES OF EXTREME HEAT AND HUMIDITY...THIS CAN BE A FATAL MISTAKE! (agree - hence the group discussed and agreed to use our group kitty to fund staying in a motel!).

Aside from the heat (which makes even sitting an effort), the area has become beautiful rolling countryside after some short but very sharp mountainous roads in the Ozarks. We have crossed countless rugged river canyons with crystal clear waters - the relief of jumping off and swimming in the cool rivers is amazing. We have experienced the awesome power of nature - no, not the fact that the oldest mountain range was once under the sea... no, the power of the skunk. Frankly this small mammal deserves respect - one campground we stayed in recently stank so much of the thing that you constantly walked around checking what you had stood in!



For a break from cycling we have been doing other things aside from swimming. First we climbed up a fire tower - picture a power pylon but with a small garden shed stuck on the top for some poor sole to sit in and presumably spot fires in. Well, we were able to climb up this precarious thing and see the mountainous hills from a totally different angle. Strangely, from several hundred feet up, the forest seems to go on forever and the horizon seemed completely flat. Another alternative was running - although in the heat this didn't really result in much!

Anyway our library is shutting and the computer is flashing. Expect an update soon. Fingers crossed for rain/coolness!

Friday 18 June 2010

Illinois Photos



Endless straight roads!


Free pie always tastes better! Lots of places along the route have got guestbooks for cyclists and take photos like this shop in Goreville, IL




Ever want to visit a Diner - Mary Lou's Carbondale highly recommended - waitress gave everyone a nickname by the time it came to ordering!




Onto the Mississippi Levees


Crossing the Mississippi at Chester, IL


Thursday 17 June 2010

Illinois to Missouri

Yesterday's ride was mainly flat (the flattest day yet!), however the traffic was horrendous and not too friendly to cyclists, resulting in one member of our group, Joyce, being clipped by a coal truck. Needless to say, she was very shaken up and made the decicion this morning to go home. Joyce says that she's been thinking about doing this for some time and this experience was the last straw for her. We wish her well and will miss her dearly-the group will not be the same without her but she is happy that she'll be seeing her husband and her pets again! Remember Joyce, please come visit us in Wales sometime!

Last night we stayed at a campsite (well, more like field in the middle of a residential area with little grass to pitch your tent) in Chester, Illinois, official home of Popeye the sailor man! The town has a museum and statues of all the characters around the place-very amusing!

Today brought much excitement as we crossed the Mississippi River into the state of Moussouri. As the bridge road is so narrow we had to cycle 2 abreast with the van escorting is behind to keep cars/trucks/general traffic out of the way so they won't kill us! It was really nice to go across as a group but there was a general feeling of loss amongst us as Joyce has left to return home. However, the road goes on and so does the pedaling on onwards we will go!! We are in Moussouri. Illinois dissapeared so quickly! And incase you havn't picked up on my vibes yet, let me just clarify, AMERICA IS NOT FLAT. In fact, it is nothing but hilss and mountains. We have today entered the Ozark mountains-hills, hills, hills again. Actually, they never really stopped (apparently, Illinois is flat, except for the part that we went through!). Anyway, thats my moaning out the way again!



Today was a lovely day though, the weather cooled, although we did get caught in another thunder storm! It either seems to thunder storm or is 100 degrees! Ten miles from our destination, we stopped at an air conditioned brewery (Me, Robin, Dawn, John and Hugh) and sampled 8 different beers (I don't even like beer but it was fab to do something other than cycling and it seemed to go down quite well!) Maybe a little too well as those last ten miles felt like 40!!! We have heard lots of horror stories about the state of Moussouri from other cyclists; mainly to do with the hills and the traffic but today wasn't so bad. We've done worse hills! I'll be sorry I said that probably-I don't know what tomorrow will bring!