Into Philipsburg...over half way.

Day 19
Distance travelled: 97.7 miles
Time in saddle: 8hrs 14 mins
Overall distance travelled: 1708 miles
I didn't really want to get out of bed this morning. I felt a bit rough yesterday. I think it was the sun. The fact that I had to put my watch an hour forward probably messed with my body clock....when I woke up my little hand was pointing towards the nine rather than the twelve....not a good sign....you guys will know what I mean.
I was speaking to the lady who owned the motel as I left. She wished me luck and told me to watch out for the harvesters....I had visions of farmers out hunting for me, but she meant the combine harvest machines, which will be transported by truck along the highway.
I am nearer to the east coast than I am to the west coast....can't believe I've done that much. I knew during the worst times that if I kept peddling I would get there...it works. It is true, you can spend your life thinking about things...or just get on with it....that's a lesson for the future.
The roads were hilly, again. It doesn't really matter, it makes it less boring. I noticed loads of birds killed by cars, road kills as they are called. They must be the unluckiest things alive. Cars pass every five to ten minutes. These birds can not know the highway code.....fly higher and you will survive....obvious really. I counted at least sixty birds and one tortoise...I didn't know tortoises could fly.
The road was long today and I didn't see anyone but you come across some unusual things. There were hundreds of crickets on the road. As I cycled through them they jumped to get out of the way. They were all over my legs....scarey. A couple hit the middle stump...but it was a no ball.. sorry its a cricket term, only a few of you will get it.
One hit me square in the middle of my riding glasses. I actually saw the expression on its face. It was as if it was thinking 'where did you come from' I was thinking exactly the same mate. I hope you landed with cleaner underpants on than me....not that I am wearing underwear but you know what I mean.
It's funny when I pass cows, they all stop what they are doing and stare at me as I go past. I suppose they don't get many Brits riding past wearing Lycra....or do they think I'm a long horn...sorry. When you are cycling for hours alone you think of these jokes...I apologise but wont stop...it makes me laugh..if no one else.
I arrived at a place called Norton. It was about five o'clock in the afternoon and the temperature was 89 degrees. I was tempted to stay in Norton. It was the biggest town I had been through for quite a while. It was still light and I had only done sixty odd miles. I feel a little disappointed if I don't do at least eighty miles so I decided to travel on. It was another thirty five miles to the next big town.....I went for it.
It helps if I have a goal. Every rise in the distance, town on the map or bend in the road is a goal...it's the only way I can get through it. I arrived at Philipsburg at about eight o'clock and the temperature was still 85 degrees....with lightening in the distance....it looks fantastic, but I wouldn't like to be in the middle of it.
I stopped at a store and bought a new tripod, my old one has been broken for a while. I've been coping but its been a lot of messing. Hopefully it will be easier to get video pictures from now on. I also bought a small American flag, to replace the one I lost a while ago. As I travel through each country I would like to include their flag on my flag pole. This will indicate where I have been.
I tried to phone my uncle Ken and auntie Hilda today. They had sent me an email wondering how I was going on. I was going to surprise them, but my phone wasn't getting through...funny because it is triband...whatever that means, but I was assured that it would work in the USA.
It's the 4th July tomorrow. I don't know what to expect....but I'll let you know.

Going into Kansas

Day 18
Distance travelled: 72.6 Miles
Time in saddle: 6hrs 23 mins
Overall distanced covered: 1610 miles

I checked my bike early this morning. When I fixed the puncture I had last night I heard a squeaking once I'd put my wheel back on, as if it was catching something. I didn't sort it last night as it was getting dark and I just wanted to get to cover away from the thunderstorm. It was pretty hot again and there weer some thunderstorm warnings. I peddled pretty fast, I wanted to get some miles under my belt before the storm.....which didn't materialise.
As I cycled down the long an not winding road I was surprised to see a tortoise crossing the road.....I know I was shocked too. I stopped and waited for it to get across but got fed up ...it could take a while. I decided to intervene and I picked it up and put it on the grass at the side of the road....with hindsight I might have put it on the wrong side. I bet it was peed off with me. It was only the same as me forgetting my camera at the bottom of that massive hill.....get over it tortoise, move on....sorry, it's a lonely ride at the moment...I lose it now and again.
The roads are good in kansas, which makes a change. I am trying to stay away from the side of the road, that's where the punctures happen. I am not cycling in the middle of the road or anything like that but you know what I mean.
The first thirty miles were quite easy today. The morning was quite cool, which made it much easier. As the sun came out I began to feel the heat and it did affect my cycling. I eventually stopped at a place called St Francis. Quite a small town but slightly bigger than the ones that I've been coming through over the last few days. A very nice lady in a grocery shop adorned with American flags gave me a map of Kansas. She is obviously getting ready for the 4th July celebrations. I should be an interesting sight with my Union flag flying from the back of my bike. I am basically following the highway 36 as far as it goes. I will make arrangements when appropriate.
This time tomorrow I should be half way across the American stage of my ride. I haven't had a day off yet and still feel strong. I have been sick today but I don't know if it is the sun that is affecting me or I've had something to eat that has upset my stomach.It's just a hiccup and I should be OK tomorrow. I have had a couple of short days but I'm ahead of schedule so I am not worrying, I have days spare.
I pulled up outside the motel and had to phone a number to get someone to come down and give me a key. As I was waiting a black guy pulled up in the most outrageous car I have seen since I have been in America....and I've seen some really weird cars. It was an old typical 70s American Chevy, painted in dazzling colours.It looked like a pimp mobile. He was staying the night too.
I looked at the video on you tube that the people at work have done for me...it's a greeting video that Matty and Ryan have produced. It is fantastic and it really made my day....thanks everyone. You can not imagine how much it boosts my moral.

Rolling, rolling rolling...those hills I mean.

Day 17

Distance travelled: 110.9 miles
Time in saddle: 8 hrs 46 mins
Overall distance travelled: 1537.4 miles

It was already very hot when I left the motel. I was already on 36 so it was just a case of getting on the road and peddling. I wanted to have an early night last night but I was after midnight before I finally got to sleep so I’m pretty tired before begin this morning.
I said in a blog the other day that the worst was over….I’m probably counting my chickens here. The rolling hills are tedious to say the least. There are some pretty big climbs and they seem to go on forever. I’ve been playing ‘what’s over the next brow’ game. It stood me I good stead over the Rockies….here it just goes on and on and on…It’s like the Duracell bunny, but not as amusing. The first couple of ‘towns’ I went through consisted of about four houses at a cross roads. No shops or anything. When the highway opened whole communities closed down…pretty sad really. Finally I came to Anton, not much bigger but at least it has a shop. I decided to have an hour’s rest; more to let the sun go down that actually rest, although I did fall asleep as I was ‘resting’ my eyes on the bench outside the shop. The shop owner has said that this is the biggest town for a while, so it looks like I’m camping out tonight. The landscape around here is very much like the desert, but grass rather than brush and sand. It is vast, as far as the eye can see nothing but grass. The road feels very similar to highway 50. This is probably the second loneliest road in America…I can pick them can’t I? As I cycled past two horses they stopped chewing on the grass and watched me as I went past….. that’s how interesting the road was…I don’t know if it was the wind or just my imagination but I am sure that they were singing ‘ go wayneo for the heroes wont you go’. Their lips were even in sync.
I’ve been told that the next town with a motel is thirty-five miles away. I intend to go for it. I need an incentive to get me to the next destination. Yes, I could camp by the road, but it doesn’t make me cycle faster. Now, a destination, no matter how far gives me focus. I peddled like a madman…I was doing sixteen miles an hour for over an hour and still wanting more…..then I had a puncture. It was very frustrating. A thunderstorm was closing in and it was getting dark. I fixed the puncture very quickly, which surprised me as I was knackered, with a capital F. As put the tyre back on the wheel I pinched the inner tube and had to re-do the whole change again…argh.
Eventually I started to ride again and got to the town…with a motel. It’s never as easy as that. The motel was closed and I had to go to the local bar to register…not a bad option. I had a couple of drinks and met the locals, which were great. They were very interested in what I was doing and wished me luck when I left. The bar tender was more camp than I was….I know how camp is that? I ordered a steak, which was very nice. The bar guy showed a lot of interest in my meat…..thank god I didn’t order the two veg as well. Unfortunately they motel doesn’t have Internet so I will have to submit this tomorrow.
As I cycled to my room the sky was lit up with the lightening…it was fantastic. I tried to film it but I don’t know if it looks as good on camera, probably not.
This afternoon was less ‘hilly’ which helped he mileage count.
Tomorrow I pass another state border. I leave Colorado and go into Kansas…wonder what’s in store there?

Stats for today

Details for today
Distance travelled: 59.6 Miles
Time in saddle: 5hrs 8 mins
Overall distance: 1426.5 miles

A sad loss

I left Brian and Saphera's house about half past eight and felt great. It was a late night but I had a great sleep and was well fed, Brian even made me a bagel to take along for the trip... thanks guys. I cycled into Denver and followed the map that Brian had made up for me....as usual I got slightly lost but eventually made it to the 36, a road I needed to get out of town. I got some great phone calls last night, one form my brothers , Gary and Kevin. It's great to hear their voices. I also got a call from Mike, from Viva TV....I can't tell you how much they mean to me. After about two hours and twenty odd miles later, and still not out of Denver...it's a big city. Life can be surprisingly wonderful....at the blink of an eye it can also be heart breakingly tragic. I received another call from Brian, my best friend. he told me that one of my childhood friends, Mark had died at the age of forty nine. I was absolutely devastated. He said that he wasn't sure about telling me but I am glad he did. Mark had lived in Australia for the last twenty odd years and I've not seen him for quite a while. That does not distract from the closeness of the relationship...I have said before you can not erase history. I have some very fond memories of Mark. I can see him laughing as I write this blog. It is such a sad and terrible loss. I can only offer my sincere condolences to his family, especially Graham, his brother.
There are no photos or film today...I just didn't feel like it, sorry.
I am having an early night and will pick it up tomorrow.
I received a wonderful phone call from Thomas, my son tonight....he made my day. Thanks Thomas...I love you very much.

Met a great couple.

Day fifteen
Distance travelled: 105.5 miles
Time in saddle: 9hrs 23 mins
Overall distance: 1366 miles
I was freezing last night. I managed to drop off but woke through the night dithering. In the end I put my coat on and used my thick cycling top as leg warmers. I put my feet through the sleeves….ingenious hey?
I finally got up about seven o’clock and put my tent away. It was wet trough from the frost the previous night. I was sleeping at about eight thousand feet so it was to be expected.
As I cycled up a cycle path a guy rode beside me called Randy…I was hoping that he fitted heaters in transits…he would be Randy Van Warmer. You’ve got to have been around in the seventies to get that one. He was a really nice guy. About the same age as me but on a lighter bike, which makes all the difference and he was probably fitter. He’d done some serious riding in his youth. He helped me over the first mountain. It was good to have some company. He turned around at the top of the first hill and I was on my own again. As I came out of a rest room two guys were looking at my bike. I got chatting to them and they seemed some genuine interested in what I was doing. That has happened a lot on this trip and its great to chat to these people.
Up to now I didn’t really find the Rockies that difficult. Yes there were some hills but nothing serious. That was to change when I reached Loveland Pass. It was a massive 11900feet high and every inch a bugger. As I reached the ski resort at what I thought was the summit. I asked three guys where the summit was. They informed me that it was a further four miles up the hill. I was gutted. One of the guys very kindly asked me if I wanted a lift. Over the last couple of days I’ve been offered a lift at least five times. This was the only one I gave a second thought to. I was hanging out my pants as they say and for a second very tempted. I declined and kept going. I had to walk the last two miles and it hurt….but I didn’t get the lift…I’m so glad now.
I had another puncture today and two of my spare inner tubes were damaged so I looked for a bike shop in the town I’d just entered. The town was called Silverthorne. The bike shop was a godsend, again. I bought four new inner tubes and a new tyre. A guy called Bob help me and we had a good chat about everything.
As I was in the shop paying for my stuff, which turned out to be ridiculously cheap I got chatting to a couple that were also in the shop buying stuff. Brian and Sephora asked me what I was doing and where I intended to stop for the night. I told them that I was aiming for Denver, but I might not make it because of the mountain that I had to climb as well as it being over seventy miles away…it was afternoon by then and I’d already done thirty five miles that morning. Sephora said that if I got to Denver I could pitch my tent at their place, which was very nice of them. I set off to do the hill and eventually started to build speed up as I came down the other side of the mountain. I was conscious of the fact that I had somewhere to stay and was a little worried that it would be late when I got there. I cycled like a madman and was doing really well on highway 70. In full flow I was pulled up by the police and told that I couldn’t cycle on this stretch of the highway. The policeman was very nice and courteous and told me I had to get off at the next junction. I looked for highway 40, which would take me to where Brian and Sephora lived in Golden, a suburb of Denver. I got lost….the directions in the states are not very good. I went to a petrol station to ask the way, but didn’t have any luck. As I cycled back to the main road, the way out was not clear. I cycled down a steep road to what I thought was the exit. It wasn’t. In fact it was a closed road with a large chain across. Because of the direction of the setting sun I didn’t see it. I nearly did a summersault with my feet still in the peddles. I hit the floor like a sack of s**t. I jumped up really embarrassed and had a quick check over of the bike. It was perfect….the thick chain was snapped in half…that’s how fast I was going. Gusher can put up with anything, thank God.
After looking around for the road I asked another guy which direction I needed to go. He told me that I would have to go onto Highway 70 for two miles to get to highway 40. This was worrying as I had already been stopped once, a second time and they wouldn’t be so understanding. I wnt for it and peddled like the clappers for two miles. I eventually arrived at Brian’s and Sephor’s house, which is very nice. They had cooked something for me, let me have a shower and had made a bed up for me to sleep in…amazing. I certainly didn’t expect all the trouble that they had gone to and it was very much appreciated. They are a really nice couple and we had a really good chat over dinner. They even planned my route out of Denver, which like all cities is very busy for cyclists. It’s moments like this that make this trip worthwhile…great people.

Into Denver

Day fourteen
Distance Travelled: 92.1 Miles
Time in saddle: 8hrs 2 mins
Overall distance covered: 1,261 Miles

I had a terrible nights sleep last nights. I actually woke up looking for someone in my room. Obviously no one was there…. do you think I would be that lucky? It wasn’t that I had heard anybody but for some reason I had to look for them. Weird hey.
It was starting to get hot as soon as I woke up, which was a little worrying. I seem to have got used to the hills but the heat does get to me now and again…. perhaps I should do it naked; purely for ventilation reasons…try explaining that to a patrol officer.
I wasn’t really looking forward to today as I had some real climbing to do…. it turned out not to be that bad. Either I m getting very fit or people have been telling me ‘porkies’. Yes I did climb but it seemed to be gradual. I kept waiting for the big hill but it didn’t seem to come. Saying that tomorrow will be a definite climb…up to eleven thousand feet…I can see some walking and pushing coming on. I forgot to mention, yesterday a guy actually offered to give me a lift on a bus….yes a bus. I asked for directions and he said “hang on a minute and I will give you a lift…I’m going that way” It was very kind of him but I told him that I was doing the ride for charity and didn’t was to cheat.
I think that the other reason the climbing has been less noticeable is the views, they are unbelievable. Every corner takes my breath away…or is that the peddling? Seriously it is sensational. I want to stop to take photos but even the camera cannot do the scenery justice. There are a series of cycle paths that you must take on this section of the highway. I cycled down one today and had to turn back after three miles, the river had flooded the path. I eventually retraced my steps and continued on the highway….sod it. Let them put me in jail, at least the water will be colder than the stuff in my water bottle.
The Colorado River is very powerful and quite frightening to watch close up. Do you know when you are near the beach and you can smell the sea. Although it is fresh water you can still smell it…it’s strange but hypnotic.
I cycled along with a guy called Larry, another fellow cyclist. He was here for a wedding and decided to stay on longer to get some cycling in. He cycled with me into Vale. It was very pretty. It looked like one of those Swiss chocolate boxes you get at Christmas. It seemed very exclusive. I suspect that my Lycra attire would not be appreciated, especially pushing my bike into the lobby of one of the classy hotels. It was probably very expensive too. I cycled further expecting to camp by the side of the road, but it would have been difficult as everywhere seemed to be private property. I eventually came to a shop and asked if there were any campsites around the area, there was…. about two and a half miles down the road. As I stopped to film some footage of me riding up the road another cyclist called Al stopped for a chat. He gave me directions to the campsite and that’s where I am now.
It’s in a densely wooded area and there are signs that there are bears about….Well I’ll be bare in my tent tonight so they had better watch out too. If it wakes me in a morning it’s in for a surprise. You know what happens to us guys first thing in a morning don’t you?.......yes bad breath. The sign says to put your food away from your camp….I’ve put it next to a tent down the road that should keep them bears busy…only joking. I am the only tent in the area….the rest of the ‘campers’ are in RV’s, which probably cost more than my house…roughing it hey. I bought some yoghurt from a shop down the road. I haven’t got any cutlery so I used my fingers to eat them…fantastic. I’m never eating yoghurt any other way in future.
I’m outside my tent composing this blog. It’s going dark and the mossies are biting me to death. I don’t mind, it’s a beautiful evening, the sound of the river beside the campsite is very comforting and I’m ninety miles nearer to home. I’m very tired, but it’s a satisfying tiredness if you now what I mean. I’ve grafted today and for the first time I feel that I’m getting there. I’ve got a long way to go but I am absolutely one hundred percent sure that with your continuing support I will be home on Saturday 22nd August at 12 noon precisely…..count on it.