The Route So Far - Google Maps


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Why?

We are doing this ride to raise money for Research Autism. We are aiming to raise £20,000.
We are supporting Research Autism because my cousin Jamie is severely affected by the disease, and I have seen its effects not only on him but on the whole family." He is 13yrs old, but cannot yet talk.
Just take a moment to imagine not being able to talk.
Imagine understanding everything going on around you, but not being able to comment.
Imagine having to be dressed every morning in clothes you don't choose, and then hurting your parents as you try to tell them you wanted the blue shirt today.
Imagine being swamped by having to hear everything that everyone is saying around you, and not being able to listen to just one thing at once. Jamie loves being in a swimming pool, just floating, legs held motionless by the weight of the water, while he keeps his ears underwater to just relax, hearing nothing.
He understands everything - he appears to have a photographic memory - but can’t get his thoughts out.
Frustration leads to despair, and anger, which is just one of the many things that his family has to deal with.
He has extremely specific eating requirements and requires round the clock supervision. Jamie is at the severe end of the autistic spectrum, but given that one in 100 people suffer from the disease (with varying severity), and that everyone has some autistic traits, it is shocking that so little is known about it'.
Click here to support our cause and donate to Research Autism.
Read the "Meet Jamie" post - the only post in February, for more information about Jamie, and a poem - painstakingly slow for Jamie to type, but ultimately incredible.

Photo Video - New York to St Louis

June 9, 2010

An Interesting Birthday

Day 44 - 50 Miles, Alex 1 year older, 4 more burgers - A CENTURY OF BURGERS! 5 more waves - Total 102 burgers - 4628 kms - 33 waves

Hanksville, UT - Torrey, UT

I'm sure that Alex will remember this Birthday for a long time. We took it easy leaving Hanksville at 2, after meeting many cyclists in Blondies, a great milkshake and burger place, perfect for aching legs. We got 10% off for each of the three meals we had there - thanks to Alex's Birthday.

Cycling was hot, but not as bad as yesterday, and it was interesting to see how our bodies have adapted - heat that would kill most of the old people in Britain and reduce the rest to a standstill, barely had us fazed. We cruised halfway up a big hill from Hanksville to Torrey, stopping often to take photo's of the beautiful scenery through Capitol Reef National Park, as well as a couple of other more interesting things - One of Alex's birthday balloons, happily riding along beside him, ended up tied on a flagpole, after we had had a great free pie from the fruitas historic district (clearly a district historic for fruit). **

Battery about to die so I will put this quickly up now - we are going over 9,500ft and then down past Escalante and Boulder, stopping near Bryce Canyon, where we will take a day off.

** Added later - One observation I have about America is that it is too big and too varied to be a country; but wherever we go, the names of things remain obvious. Having a country this big with only one language means that the names of all things are limited by the number of words in existence, when they aren't using the grid system - numbered streets in squares. Most towns have streets named after states, and most creeks are named after animals.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Will and Alex,

    We've been watching your progress with interest. Have a happy birthday Alex. Shame about leaving your phone behind! Will, we have a full compliment of kids for the All Africa IODA event and have raised Shs.3 million in soponsorship. Hope you'll be back here to help out? Nigel, Tonya, Siobhan and Annabel

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