Following the shortest leg of the trip, this has been the longest (unless I get very very lost in Spain) Distance: 4497.81miles / 7238.52km Riding Time: 305 hours, 41 minutes Av. Speed: 14.7mph / 23.7kph Riding Days: 42 Rest Days: 0 Mechanical Problems: North America has trumped everywhere else by a long way in this …
Continue reading "Leg 7 – San Francisco to Boston – Summary"
I have now cycled across America! I don’t think that has really sunk in yet. Although to be perfectly honest, I don’t even think Australia has sunk in. I haven’t really stopped moving and I still feel as though I’m yet to let everything catch up with me. I also think I have to be …
Continue reading "Day 162 – Leominster to Boston – End of Leg 7!"
A day of ups and downs - literally and figuratively. I started off today with a 15km climb, and with tired legs and no chance of a warm up, it went about as quickly as you'd expect. The descent down the other side was fantastic though. A wide, steep road produced the fastest speed of …
I’ve been extremely unproductive in the mornings and evenings the last few days, and today is no exception. I think a lot of it could be down to complacency - which is something I really should have learnt to avoid by now. I have 150 miles left and honestly, there is a large part of …
Today has mostly been a good day. The weather (including the wind) was kind to me and I have decided that I actually quite like New York State (excluding Utica). The legs felt much more lively this morning and the relatively hilly terrain didn’t pose too much of a problem… despite having to stop half …
I woke up this morning fully clothed, lying face down on top of the bed with all the lights still on. I think it’s safe to say that I’m a bit behind on sleep… The ride today was good for the most part, but unfortunately I was wet for the majority as it rained for …
I'm much later and more tired than usual this evening, so I don't know how long this'll be... The first 70 kilometres or so were actually quite good, despite the unpleasant roads. The weather was perfect and I started off in a much better mood than I have done the last few days. However after …
Heading towards Toronto, things were always going to get busier and I spent much of the first couple of hours on a dual carriageway so it was lucky that it was Sunday (tomorrow will probably be worse). Until I started to approach Barrie, it really wasn’t very nice riding. Thankfully I then turned off the …
Today has been a bit mixed. I managed to get to sleep without too much trouble last night, but I woke this morning to find a mosquito (or four) had had a bit of a feast at my expense. The rain held off today thankfully, but visibility was still restricted to about 200m for the …
Today started off damp and got progressively wetter throughout the course of the ride. That's pretty much all there is to mention about today - I got wet. The roads I was on for the majority were busy and had a very narrow shoulder, so it wasn't particularly nice riding either. I realised the other …
I was really tired this morning and I think I'm in need of an 8 hour sleep. My legs are feeling more and more fatigued in the mornings, but I'm not sure whether that's purely down to lack of sleep, or if that is an inevitability after 33 days without a break. Speaking of my …
The first 45km or so today weren’t that great. My legs felt completely empty and apparently did not want to have anything to do with cycling 100 miles. Nevertheless, things improved after that. I wasn’t originally planning to stop there but given my lack of energy I figured it was a good idea. Luckily it …
Much like yesterday, I was woken up to rain this morning. However rather than waking up to the sound of rain, I was woken up by the rain... at 3am. Despite pitching my tent under a roof, I still got hit very hard by the storm that arrived. It was the wind that was the …
Continue reading "Day 151 – White River to Montreal River Harbor"
Waking up to the sound of rain pretty much set the tone for the day this morning. Long story short - I got wet, I had a headwind and the prospect of camping in this weather was pretty much making me as miserable as possible. Mentally it was one of the hardest mornings I've had …
Having spent more time stretching and working on my knee last night than any other day, I was a tad frustrated this morning to find it the most painful it’s been for the last three weeks. I’m not sure why that was the case and I'm now slightly apprehensive about doing anything with it tonight. …
I didn’t get loads of sleep last night (surprise surprise) so I wasn’t feeling overly fresh when I woke up this morning. It’s been another shorter day, but unlike yesterday, it didn’t really feel it. I lost an hour as I crossed over into Canada so I guess that didn’t help. The weather today was …
A shorter day today. I felt good when I set off this morning, and thankfully that lasted all day. The weather was good and I spent the majority of the first 40 kilometres on a very pretty but quite hilly bike path. I started to feel the odd twinge in my knee towards the end …
15,000 miles! It was nice to hit that earlier. Only 1/6 to go - I should be home in about a month. I’ve still got a lot of cycling to do and a few nights in a tent to endure (primarily tomorrow), but I really am starting to feel like I’m getting close. It’s still …
Today has been another uneventful day. The scenery has become a fair bit more interesting but still wasn’t anything that exciting. I’m struggling to think of anything to write about this evening. Whilst a boring day is better than having a spoke break - or something else along those lines, it does make writing a …
Once again, I woke up this morning feeling more tired than when I had gone to sleep. I actually fell asleep again for about half an hour after eating breakfast (not deliberately). Much like yesterday, I felt a lot better once riding; although this didn’t happen until a fair bit later than I had planned. …
I didn’t get much sleep last night and waking up this morning was a real challenge. It took me ages to get out the door, but once on the bike - as is generally the case - I felt a lot better. This morning was actually reasonably cold and I don’t think it went much …
Today was the first rain I’ve had in America.. I think it was anyway, the last couple of weeks are beginning to blur together but it was the first time I’ve needed a jacket. Now although I am now out of the 40 degree heat, today still wasn’t cold and I found myself facing a …
Ok it's another late night so this has to be another quick update.. Today is the 4th of July and I had been slightly apprehensive about whether that would make things harder; but instead the opposite happened. The roads were almost empty all day, so riding on the main road wasn't actually that bad. The …
Today has been a bit dull. To be honest I’m not overly upset about that given yesterday’s events but it does mean that this will be a short update. I also lost another hour today so it is already rather late. Unlike last time, I knew the clocks would change as I crossed the state …
Today has not been a good one. It’s annoying that despite 3 fairly straightforward days, I’m instantly on the back foot again after just one bad day. I’m not going to get much sleep tonight, and quite frankly I don’t really want to dwell on the details of today too much so this probably won’t …
Today didn’t really hold much of anything. It has been another early finish but that is almost entirely down to the fact that there was nothing to stop for. Apart from a few clusters of deserted buildings I didn’t pass anything. There was a lot of low-lying cloud today so mercifully, the temperature didn’t reach …
Today couldn’t really have gone any better. The difference the wind makes when it is actually in the right direction is amazing. I got another good sleep last night and felt good pretty much from the minute I woke up. The ride today has been the fastest average speed of the whole trip, and considering …
Continue reading "Day 137 – White Sulphur Springs to Roundup"
A shorter ride today… It’s amazing how much difference 25 miles can make. I finished not long after 2 o’clock this afternoon so I’ve actually spent more time doing nothing than I have riding today. Over the course of this trip, I have discovered that I’m actually quite talented when it comes to resting, so …
Continue reading "Day 136 – Helena to White Sulphur Springs"
Today was another hard day in the saddle, and the first 90 miles or so were not that enjoyable. The road headed gradually uphill for the majority and the wind wasn’t exactly making it easy. Once again the heat was pretty draining. I have come to the conclusion that 40 degrees is more or less …
I think America is trying to kill me… Today started off fairly well. I was making good time and I had it in my mind to push for an early finish today so that I could get my wheel looked at without any time pressure. The first 60 miles went very much to plan and …
