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 12, 2010

Windy!

 

If the wind howls more often like it did today, this rock will be blown off its precarious perch.

Day 46 - Calf Creek Campground to Bryce Canyon (Ruby's Inn), 70 miles, bad head winds. 7 waves Totals - 52 waves, 4826 kms

We set off quite early, it was amazing how early the campsite emptied; we were among the late leavers at 7. We cycled up for a while to Escalante for breakfast, with some photo's along the way taken by Carl, who we had met in Calf Creek. After a great breakfast, we headed into the wind for 30 miles, taking nearly 5 hours to get to Cannonville. The wind was so angry it was howling like Kevin Pietersen does when the hairdresser gets it wrong. But though the going has been slower the last couple of days, we have met a whole lot of interesting people, and many more cyclists - some great, some odd, and some crazy!

The going from Cannonville was much easier, despite a 2000ft hill to climb - climbing hills is easier than fighting the wind - at least when you are working hard up a hill, you get a nice downhill afterwards - with the wind, a headwind doesn't mean you'll get a headwind to compensate. The worst thing with the wind is that you are expecting to be going so much faster, and its those expectations which take their toll - both mentally and physically.

When we reached the top of the hill, we found Ruby's Inn and the campground, as well as Carl and his family (from Calf Creek). The campgrounds were expensive, so we shared a site, and they then very kindly took us out to dinner, after a short trip to Sunset point in the park above Bryce Canyon. At dinner we dominated an "all you can eat" buffet, our first for many thousands of miles. We will have a rest day tomorrow, before heading southwest towards Cedar City and hopefully Zion National Park.
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