Not an overly straightforward day today; and rubbish service at lunch meant we finished late and has therefore meant that I am also very late now as well. The ride today was good. Despite a few minor mishaps with the route heading off-road, it was enjoyable. I’m afraid I am beyond tired and my brain …
Day 169 – Mimizan to Pons
I had the first rain of Leg 8 today. It wasn't too bad but it was far from the temperatures I faced a few days ago. The day improved as it went on really. Around halfway we hit Bordeaux, and whilst there were some very nice bits, it wasn't quite as pretty as expected. The final …
Day 168 – Zumaia to Mimizan
Today has been a good day, although not everything went exactly to plan. The morning was fantastic, riding with someone else pretty much reminded me why cycling is so good. The scenery was, for the most part, very good as well. Riding through San Sebastián was pretty stunning but unfortunately I managed to fall off …
Day 167 – Briviesca to Zumaia
Today has been a really good day. My legs took 80 kilometres to wake up so the morning was bit slow, but after that, it was brilliant. Spain suddenly became a very nice place to ride and I'm almost sad that I'm leaving it tomorrow... almost. I have now been joined by my Dad and …
Day 166 – Valladolid to Briviesca
I woke up really tired this morning and it soon became apparent that the legs had not recovered from yesterday either. It's been quite a while since they've been that stiff actually. A pretty rubbish breakfast didn't help and once riding I instantly discovered that the wind was also doing everything it could to make …
Day 165 – Ciudad Rodrigo to Valladolid
I’m currently having to put in some longer days in order to get back for my planned finish date; so rather than me starting every blog saying: “I’m late again so this will be a short update”, maybe just assume that that’s the case from now on. Today was long, but nowhere near as hot …
Day 164 – Nisa to Cuidad Rodrigo
I got about 5 hours sleep last night and I’m keen to change that, so this will have to be another short one. Today was hard, I think due to a combination of heat and hills. It was by far the hottest day I’ve had with this much climbing. In fact, it had almost double …
Day 163 – Lisbon to Nisa – Start of Leg 8
I’ve had three days off and am now riding again. Lisbon was great as I got to see my mum and sister, but it was not totally without stress. Problems with the bike and Garmin (the latter of which is still not resolved) meant I had far less time than expected yesterday. It was good …
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Leg 7 – San Francisco to Boston – Summary
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 …
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Day 162 – Leominster to Boston – End of Leg 7!
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 …
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Day 161 – Bennington to Leominster
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 …
Day 160 – Utica to Bennington
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 …
Day 159 – Canandaigua to Utica
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 …
Day 158 – Niagara Falls to Canandaigua
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 …
Day 157 – Orangeville to Niagara
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 …
Day 156 – Bracebride to Orangeville
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 …
Day 155 – Jamot to Bracebridge
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 …
Day 154 – Espanola to Jamot
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 …
Day 153 – Bruce Mines to Espanola
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 …
Day 152 – Montreal River to Bruce Mines
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 …
Day 151 – White River to Montreal River Harbor
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 …
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Day 150 – Schreiber to White River
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 …
Day 149 – Thunder Bay to Schreiber
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. …
Day 148 – Grand Marais to Thunder Bay
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 …
Day 147 – Two Harbors to Grand Marais
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 …
Day 146 – Grand Rapids to Two Harbors*
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 …
Day 145 – Bemidji to Grand Rapids
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 …
Day 144 – Grand Forks to Bemidji
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. …
Day 143 – Devils Lake to Grand Forks
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 …
Day 142 – Minot to Devils Lake
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 …
Tom Davies RTW 