Wednesday 14 May 2014

Last Post

Northwood, UK, 15 April 2014




Kate met me at Heathrow on Tuesday 6 May, with a bottle of bubbly which we immediately drank outside Terminal Three - perfect!  Note tidy bicycle box, this time with front wheel, saddle and handlebars separate. The wheely suitcase I found in a thrift shop, so packing up was very easy in the end.

So, back home, still dreaming and waking up 'on the road' ('Where am I? Will I get there? Which turning?'), but time to conclude with some thoughts on the trip, from Daytona Beach Florida


to Santa Monica, LA, California, with the obligatory and fantastic swim


Total distance 2671 miles, in 36 days of riding and 40 days in total, an average of just over 74 miles a riding day, and about 470 a week overall.

So:

1.  Would I do it again?  No. But I would strongly urge anyone considering it to get out there, because if an itch needs to be scratched, it is a super trip to do.  But I have regained my bug for long bicycle touring, perhaps just not that long or that solitary!
2.  Did I enjoy it?  Yes and no: it got better the further west I went, but at the same time more challenging, not least in terms of distances, shelter and water.  I think one of the dangers of doing it on your own is that you can become prey to your fears, and quite often back-mind concerns about punctures, finding motels/campsites, water supply on some days, and the wind became more dominant than they would have with some company.  But the sheer scale and the endless landscapes are powerful memories.
3.  The Americans were extraordinarily courteous and the driving was really very good (almost without exception they gave me huge leeway), but at the same time solo bicyclists, especially with white hair, are seen as distinctly odd, almost hobo-like.  I met 4 cyclists with luggage in that entire trip, which makes us a rarity.  And a big thank you to Jim, Gene, Angela, Fred, Leanne, Steve, Ben, Ned, Maria, Chuck and others who really picked me up.  
4.  The tent was great, especially in the west (it would have been difficult crossing the Mojave without one) but the weight was more than I really wanted.  The sleeping bag, tent and stove added about 9lb which I would have liked to save.....
5.  18 days continuously in the saddle from Austin TX to Santa Monica perhaps overdid it.  I had planned a day off every week or so, but the headwinds began to get to me, and so I cracked on every day (I had a flight booked, and that really gave me a fixed aiming point - useful when things got hard.....).  There were also very few places where I wanted to spend a whole 'spare' day, and I found that when I got match-fit I wanted to bicycle - a sort of 'drang nach west'.  In fact, even now at home I miss the literal exhilaration of pedalling all day and seeing distance slide past. Compelling (compulsive?).
6.  Gas stations (for the restrooms, coffee and the chat) and Walmart (for the telephone, decent food, brilliant service, ubiquity, air conditioning and anything else you could possibly want) were unexpected heroes and saviours.
7.  I really missed a national newspaper.  I still love beans n' rice and Hostess Glazed Cherry Pies.
8.  Just brilliant roads - there can be few if any countries in which a decentralized system, with counties  responsible for their roads (almost every county line meant a change in surface), can produce such consistently excellent quality.  I might have occasionally muttered about the broken bits on some shoulders, but overall 98% were great.
9.  A short and final plug for Virgin Atlantic (who could not have made the flights any easier or nicer, carrying a huge extra box for free, and being so unfussy about it) and Continental Tyres, whose Gator specials lasted all those miles with a full load, with just two punctures (four in total, but the other two were my fault due to under-inflation in the early days), and still with wear left in them.  Worth every penny.
10.  And well done to Claud Butler, who 35 years on provided just the geometry, quality and reliability I needed in a bicycle.  In fact, my panniers, tent, pots n' pans, and even some tools were of that time.  You don't need everything to be new, just serviceable and reliable. The rear wheel was the only point of failure, but even that held up for another 400 miles without distorting further.

Signing off.  I hope these missives have provided some breakfast diversion, but it was therapeutic writing and posting them.  Thank you all so much for your support, especially the 'commenters' - it connected me to a bit of reality!

Saturday 3 May 2014

The Insurmountable Problem Arose

At the back of my mind, I knew that this obstacle would be a problem I could't get around - and so it proved......



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The Pacific Ocean, 1314 PT Saturday 3 May 2014, at Santa Monica California!  It was, curiously and rather surprisingly, a very emotional moment.  I will sign off with a final update in due course, but in the meantime:

-  so many thanks to all of you who have posted comments and otherwise kept me going.
-  and the absolute star of the show is on my left.


Friday 2 May 2014

Photo Update Globe Arizona to Indio California

PC appears in motel reception, so a chance to post some photos, to spare you all more prose.  Really cracking on, thanks mainly to the lunatic 100 mile day which got me halfway across the Mojave.  Now in Indio, California (just next to Palm Springs, which really does have 1000s of palms, masses of watered grass, lots of medical centres, and things like bike lanes. You might as well live in a biosphere.


One knackered chain, for the nerds, using any radial rule you like..... fitted spare.



I thought getting this selfie in under 10 seconds was quite cunning.  Climbing out out of Globe on one of the best stretches of road yet.


Corny (and a bit Monty Python) but had to get one in.  About 40 miles from Phoenix.


It really does exist!  But it was right here that I discovered the ripped rear rim.



A deserted RV park with just me. Sunset.

The mandatory state crossing shot.  In fact, Arizona had also been Pacific Time....


You're not joking.  50 miles to go, across Mojave.



Mojave Desert.  The most uncompromising, unpleasant and hostile desert I have ever encountered - rock, gravel, stone, nothing.


First sign (just outside Palm Springs) that California really is aiming for carbon neutrality.  These huge farms, together with vast PV fields, were repeated over several miles.


Out of sequence. but this is one of the very few times I have been worried, with driving rain and a dramatic drop in temperature, with miles to go.  I carry most things, but not decent cold weather clothing.  I was frozen, and hands lost all feeling - not good.



These are critical for water, so it always pays to carry enough in reserve to cover the next 30 miles (thank you, Camelbak).  Very hot day, about 30 miles from the Palm Springs area, and you can just see the dip ahead that takes one from 2500 feet to -7 feet at Indio, with very exciting, swooping descent.

Wednesday 30 April 2014

Still hanging in....

30 April. Hope, Arizona to Joshua Tree NP, California!!!!

Another very windy night in my tent, dawning on the third day when the wind hasn't dropped at all, day or night. Today's big decision was whether to run 50 miles to California border, or to try for the ton to an RV park in the Mojave desert. Nothing in between, and once I had set off I was committed. Forecast said strong wind NNE (cross wind or even just better) and so it proved....until the last 40 miles when it backed NW very strong. With temperatures just below 30, it was a very hard day and I completely ran out of gas. But: wheel held, LA now under 200 miles, and just another 50 mile unsupported stretch finally to cross desert. Forecast N/NW strong and very hot, so probably another 5.00 start. But a little time in hand.

Will try to keep ahead of schedule as I swing NW towards Palm Springs and on to LA. Contact made with Chuck so cold beer could be looking good for Sunday lunchtime!

Now sitting in completely deserted RV park, having had mah beans n' rice (for third consecutive evening). Early to bed.

Thanks for tips on preserving wheel. It is no worse, but really there aren't many options but to 'press on'.


Tuesday 29 April 2014

Hanging in there

Tuesday 29 April

Wheel holding. Trying to put minimum pressure on pedals, moved weight forward and am dropped on bars. Cannot deny a little anxiety. California tomorrow....... Camped in middle of nowhere. Wind up (nearly brought tent down last night) and forecast to continue, with temperatures climbing. Might cross Mojave tomorrow if get away early. Hooah!

Monday 28 April 2014

Short Update from W Arizona

Monday 28 April

Sitting in rocking chair in fabulous RV park that loves cyclists, on lovely evening in Wickenburg AZ. The last few days have been great: across the Apache Reservation (although got caught in foul storm when temperature dropped to 50 F in heavy rain and strong winds - but it snowed at Flagstaff, so mustn't grumble, and didn't a tornado kill someone in Little Rock,Mark P?). Then great route through mountains and back down to desert floor at Phoenix. Phoenix interesting (epic university campus, for anyone considering Master's for themselves or children......), and on towards California.  Even passed 'Los Angeles 348' sign.....

However, just to throw spanner in, spoke has ripped clean out of rear rim, distorting wheel. Have balanced it as best I can, but if rim begins to collapse then I fear game over, as 27 x 1 1/4 replacement definitely unavailable! Watch this space, as I will be watching wheel every minute. Curses!

No PC for photos, but (wheel permitting) California Wednesday a.m.


Friday 25 April 2014

Arrival in Arizona

 
 Deming NM to Safford AZ 23-24 April.  Two great days of light wind, hot sun, super roads.  Now 2082 miles down, with about 600 to go.  Yee-hah!


 

 Maria and Ned (keen cyclist), from Austin TX, whom I met in the motel and who then screeched to a halt when they overtook me to take this photo.  Hope you found the blog!

 Just the tracks...



I wasn't quite sure this child presents the right image for Dairy Queen - he just may have had too many already....

More endless vista


Of great significance - in fact, a party of about 10 people arrived last night to walk this latest trans-con trail, from Mexico to Canada - about 4-5 months!  The two other massive trails are the Pacific and Appalachian, but this one has by far the biggest logistical challenge - not least water.




 For train spotters  - rail survey the Union Pacific way!



 Sometimes a bit of 'commercial' is a sight for sore whatnots....



 More endless sky and open road - this is just short of the Arizona border


 And here we are - spot the time zone shift.  No, it isn't there, which confused me for most of the rest of the day.

 A spot of shade, midday.


And, finally, lunch under the sole tree.  Brilliant country for cycling, and the roads remain fantastic.  This is the business!