Ready to go!

Today we collected our boxed up bikes, ready for the plane. We also bought a new computer - tiny, bright white, and weighing in at only 1.3kgs this will be our one lifeline to you from the middle of nowhere in America.
We have spent loads of time and money getting ready for the trip, but we are very nearly there. Only a few days until Will goes off to NY and I will be hot on his heels on the 20th. The only thing left to get is a tent, however we believe that we will get a better deal out in the states. Our depature gets closer and closer and we are both very excited about getting going!

Awesome day!

Today was the warmest day Britain has had for the last 150 days, and we were stuck inside looking for a computer. It was a pity that when were were cycling, it was the coldest weather England has had in 150 years (forgive a slight exaggeration - just agree with me - it was cold)!

We took the bikes back in to Evans Cycles to have them serviced and boxed up. Ready to go! T-Shirts will be with us by Saturday and I promise photos will be up soon!

And Home.

From Marsh to Molesey, a quick flit - 70kms down big roads. This brings to an end our practice jaunt around England. What we have done - 530kms in the last 8 days (give or take a couple of kilometres - our bike computers don't quite match) is what we will have to average per week in America.

This was a successful first outing - no problems at all with the bikes, and good distances covered in unfavourable conditions. We both have a couple of niggles (excruciating pain) - presumably to do with how we sit on the bikes - Alex under his right knee, and I on my left shoulder, and we will do our best to fix them.

Time to box up the bikes, and buy a computer.

Sherston to Marsh 110kms Monday

From one tiny village to the next, this was our longest ride since a crazy ride we did in Kenya a while ago. But despite having done 400km in the few days leading up to this, this was in fact quite an easy and uneventful day. We left relatively early - hitting the road at 8 - and made good time, with a helping wind and a straight road. We managed to cover the 50 miles to Oxford by 12.45, which is 20 miles further than we had got by that time on all the other days. The 20 miles down to Princes Risborough were also quick and uneventful - once we had navigated the Oxford bypass safely and in the right direction.

Contrary to the consensus of most people I know we find that it is easier and indeed safer to ride along small 'A' roads, rather than small 'B' or indeed unnamed roads. This meant that we spent a long time on the A420 cruising along at 35kph.

500kms of experience, for our bikes, our panniers and our legs. Now we just have to ride back to London, and send our bikes in to be boxed up for the plane. We also need to find a laptop so that we can keep you updated along the way in the States. Can anyone recommend any of the notebook computers? All going according to plan otherwise. It would be great if you could all keep spreading the word to widen the sponsorship base.

A "shorter" ride - Saturday

Cycling from just south of Bristol to a village near Malmesbury was meant to be 30 easy miles. We had done nearly 60 miles on each of the previous days so this ride was meant to be a relaxing one. But we didn't cater for the bamboozling roads of Bristol, or the large quantities of hills. However, despite these difficulties, we did succeed in reaching Shepton village, near Malmesbury, exactly at the agreed time (in order to watch Chelsea beat Man United) and we even included a trip up and over the Clifton suspension bridge.

All in all a successful day, and we are now looking forward to the rest day that Sunday will provide, giving our legs a chance to rebuild themselves.

On Monday we will ride from Shepton, to Princes Risborough - A village east of Oxford.

Happy Easter!

More Hailstorms - Friday

In cycling, there is either an atrocious energy sapping head-wind, or you are having a good day. Friday was a good day. At least it started well, going at an average speed of 30kph for the first hour. But then, the rain came and we got cold and wet. The issue with testing out our kit for America by bicycling around England is that the kit you need is different. If I was touring around Britain, I would invest in some leggings and some full length gloves, as well as a raincoat that is rain proof.

As it is though, our fingers freeze, our legs are tanned deep brown through over exposure, and we got extremely lost because the maps were all wet despite the supposed safety of my raincoat. Luckily in America, it should be warmer - the tan will be from the sun not the cold, and the maps (by the Adventure Cycling association) which we will be using are waterproof.

We stopped for lunch after 55kms and had a large burger and some soup, before setting off on the next 40kms through Bath and Bristol. Despite our navigation errors and the intervention of mother nature once again, we found our way to Backwell town by 5. This hailstorm had much larger iceblocks than the one the day before but luckily we found shelter in a petrol station, not a prickly hedge.

315kms now covered, in the past 4 days.

Hail in April!

Today we cycled from Oxford to a small village on Salisbury plain - 83kms in 5 hours of cycling. The morning was cold, but clear which made cycling much easier, and meant that I got the camera out a couple of times - to photograph interesting road signs - the photo's will appear some time next week. We had a good pizza and a long lunch in Hungerford, before setting out on the last 20 miles.

I cannot remember the last time there was a hail storm, let alone in April! After trying to outride what can only be described as a "severe" storm, which was an inevitable failure, we dived towards shelter on the side of the road in the form of a very prickly bush! After the storm had subsided and the hail had been replaced by rain, we set off again.

The last 20 miles, excluding the hail storm, was tough. A fairly strong headwind really took its toll on our usual "blistering" pace. Going the wrong way a couple of times over the hills of the south west didn't exactly help our cause. However, although it sounds as though we had a torrid time, all in all it was actually a good day. We got some good miles under our belt and tested all our gear to the max.

Tomorrow we will ride on to Bristol.

Alex and Will