The Route So Far - Google Maps


View X-America by Bicycle in a larger map

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 8, 2010

Sweat, Blood and HOT HOT HOT

Day 43 - 104 miles - to Hanksville, UT - total - 98 burgers, 4547kms - 1020miles to go!

New Challenge - $1 for every driver that spontaneously waves at us. Backdated 3 days - previous days totals: 8, 5, and 15. Total:28
- To add a new challenge, or add money to an existing challenge, just email me.

The day with 15 waves was out of a total of 24 cars - yesterday - mostly feeling sorry for us struggling on in the heat!

We were on our bikes by 6, heading the last 2 miles up a massive hill having camped by the side of the road the night before. Then, 40 miles mostly downhill to the only services in 50 miles any direction. We relaxed there a little bit (there was air con in the very limited shop), and put up blogs, before taking off again.

We rode from 11.30 till 2, when we stopped and lay down in the shade for 3 hours. Now this didn't bring us much relief - it was 43C in the sun, and a shade under 40C in the shade... Small mercies though, and I slept soundly for two hours.

At 5 we set off again on the last 35 miles to Hanksville. We covered the miles very quickly, despite large uphill stretches and 40 degree heat until 7.45 that evening, when it cooled down a bit. We arrived in Hanksville 10 mins later and went straight to Blondies, for a milkshake and a burger.

That it was HOT, I am sure you will have worked out, and that we were sweating you will have no doubt, but where was the blood from?! We both had nosebleeds, caused by the extreme heat - one of the bodies more extreme reactions to cool you down. Alex's was ok, and then I had a really bad one, by which time we had run out of tissues. I was leaning over on the side of the road, blood pouring off my face, and luckily looked so bad that the first car to pass stopped immediately, and pulled out a wad of tissues, asking if I had crashed. The tissues stemmed the flow, and the kind stranger then offered water, which I asked him to take to Alex instead and to say what had happened. He was 2 miles further on up the road, with not much water left.

When we arrived in Hanksville, we met Alex and Evan, two cyclists travelling the other way, raising money for cancer - www.willwemakeitacross.blogspot.com. We had a burger with them before going to the campground and managing to get a free place to stay with Showers, wifi, and electrics. They carried on eastwards this morning, and we will head westwards shortly. I have just been on a full tour of hanksville, searching for Balloons for Alex's birthday - eventually after seeing the 4 shops, I went to the post office, to ask if she might know anyone who would know where to find balloons. After 7 phone calls, we found the one, and Alex now has some balloons, and happy birthday ribbon, to tie to the back of his bike!

Time to head out - above 34C already - going to Caineville for lunch, before visiting Capitol Reef National Park. But first, just one more milkshake!

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