Into New Jersey

Day 36
Distance travelled: 107.2 miles
Time in saddle: 8hrs 52 mins
Overall distance travelled: 3260.9 miles

When went to bed last night I gave my bike a check over, just to make sure that everything was OK, which it was. I woke up this morning and I had a flat tyre. MY god it's even happening in my sleep. There are two obvious explanations. It was a very slow puncture or the puncture fairly paid me a visit....I'm sleeping with one eye open tonight. I cycled up some quite big hills today, but it didn't seem to bother me that much. I think I am buzzing because I am so close to finishing this part of the challenge.....only 1500 miles to go....doesn't sound much when you say it fast.
I met a guy called Hal, an elderly man who was staring at my bike as I was sat having a drink outside a petrol station store. He asked me which direction I was heading and then told me a story about his friend who was a motor cyclist had died because a deer had jumped out in front of him just outside the town I was in. It was on the road I was travelling on. I made a mental note to be careful when speeding down the steep hills, the woods are right next to the road and it wouldn't be difficult to hit an animal that stray into the road. I am reaching about forty miles an hour going down hill so I will have to be very careful.
Hal asked me where I was going and where I had come from. When I said San Francisco he just looked at me and kept saying "San Francisco" over and over again....I thought I had another stutter. I thanked Hal and went on my way. I passed through some pretty grubby towns today. The area I cycled through used to be known for coal mining and the towns seemed a little scruffy and a bit dirty, perhaps it was the weather, it was very foggy when I started out and a little drizzly. As I went East the scenery improved and the houses and towns looked better. I called into a petrol station/store for a break and as I was pouring a drink from the coke machine a very excited Mexican guy approached me, he pointed excitedly and kept saying "you him, you him" I thought I'd been caught shoplifting or something. His English wasn't very good so I tried him with my fluent Spanish. "Hello-io, what-o you want-io", which he didn't seem to understand. I was very surprised he didn't understand my Spanish, especially as he was Mexican. He brought a friend over and apparently he had seen me on TV in California. Then he kept on saying"my name is Raphael" I thought oh my god I'm in a Zorro movie. I was going to write the letter Z on the wall as I left but I couldn't find my pen...and obviously I didn't have a sword. Anyway thanks Raphael you made a very weary cyclist feel like a star for a couple of minutes.
I was told that I would have to go through a town called Bethlehem on my way East, to catch the old highway 22, which I could cycle on. As I travelled through the many districts I had to keep stopping and asking the way to Bethlehem. It felt like the nativity scene. If it had been night time I could have just followed the star, but it was bright sunshine so I couldn't. I was tempted to stay in a motel once I got there but from experience I knew there would be no room at the Inns...and I certainly didn't want to sleep in a stable....look what happened last time.
I went out of Pennsylvania into New Jersey and it began to flatten out, except for one final big hill. I had to walk up the first part of it.....not that it was particularly steep but I felt a little light headed. I haven't eaten much today, although I have had loads to drink. I find it really difficult to eat when I'm cycling. I know I have to but it's hard. Halfway up the hill my head cleared and I cycled on. I went through quite a sleepy part of Clinton, a very nice town in New Jersey. I stopped and asked a couple who were tending their garden for directions. The guy insisted that he would drive in front of me to show me the way, so that I was safe. His name was Lou and he was fantastic. Once he showed me the way he even took some photos of me for my blog, cheers Lou you are gent and from the look of your BMW a very successful one...bless you. I eventually looked for somewhere to stay. The first motel didn't have WIFI, which I wanted in order to send the blog, the next two motels were fully booked, eventually I came to a motel that was vacant and relatively cheap...which is always a plus. The guy who owns it is an Indian guy and very nice. When he was giving me directions to the room he kept saying "backside, backside" I thought oh heck what have I got myself into, but he meant round the back, which is fair enough but it gave me fright. I thought so that's why it's so cheap.
I am only forty five miles away from New York. I can't tell you how excited I am. I know that I still have a long way to go before I get home but whatever happens I will have cycled across America. No one can ever take that away from me and I want to thank everyone for their support in helping me to follow my dream
See you tomorrow.