To Summarise…

Actually its impossible to summarise this trip in one paragraph as there has been so much that has happened.  This blog has been a summary as there was so much more that happened that hasnt been included.

For me this trip was firstly a focus to get me through the placement year.  It then became more than that and not only a journey physically but also mentally as I could break down the last few years of my life and really think about it and what I had learned.  It made me realise many things I had overlooked in the past and hopefully I have come back a much better and cleansed person.

I know Christian had a great trip too and he was a fantastic travelling buddy, we had many many laughs along the way and never did we once fall out.  So for that I’d like to thank him and hope he got as much out of the trip even now as he did at the time.  I know it was a very personal journey for him.

This trip would have been nothing had it not been for all of the people we met and especialy the people that really helped us out.  Throughout the journey I made a list of our ‘Guardian Angels’ so will just give them a quick thank you now:

The Enck family in New York, Charlie in Phillidelphia, Tom in Philidelphia, Cathy in Delaware, Polly and Karen, Jim in Baltimore, Tom + Bess in Mt Vernon, Mr + Mrs Inskeep, Mr Peters, Mrs Catron+ Chris Catron in Rural Retreat, Mr + Mrs Jim in Rural Retreat, Mark, Joni and Daniel in Danville, Gill and Pat, Sally McGehee, Bob and Violet in Sebree, Norm, Bill in Pittsburg, John Darla, Thed and Dan, Birthday Boy + wife, Joe in Leoti, Mike+ Teri and family in Leoti, Mike+Amy and kids in Placerville, Rich in Sacramento, the Schunk family and finally Jonny and Eleanor, a HUGE thank you to each and every one of you!

So its the end of one journey but now the start of another, 4th year, cant wait!

22nd August, Day 54, SAN FRAN! – 85 miles

I woke up knowing this would be the last day, the end of the journey of a lifetime. 

It was 04.30 and so I thought I would be very tired but the excitement and apprehention of the last day meant I was fully awake.  I packed my bags for the last time and we headed outside to load up the bikes.  It was still dark as we made our way to the metro to get the train to where we got on it yesturday.

The distance to San Francisco from the centre of Sacramento is 85 miles.  78 of these are to a city called Vallejo, from there we get on a ferry to Fishermans Wharf in San fran, and from there its 6 miles to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The ferry leaves at 2.00pm from Vallejo so we had to do 78 before then.  Thats why we started when we did.  Once off the train we got some breakfast, the last stop before Vallejo.  Where else did we have it but a McDonalds, it had to be really, good old Ronald.

The going was fairly good and the roads treated us well, we went through lots of orchards and saw many other cyclists enjoying their early morning Sunday ride.  After about 30 miles my arse really started to scream out.  I dont want to go into detail but I had a big sore on my left cheeck! Whichever way I sat in the saddle it was rubbing against it and I really thought I wouldnt be able to cycle the whole distance.  This meant drastic action and I got out the vasaline tub and dug deep into it hoping a thick layer would ease the pain.

On a normal day the task we had set ourselves would have been impossible but knowing it was the last day we did the 78 miles in rapid time.  The last 10 of these miles suprised us with some big hills but after everything we had been through we wernt going fall at the last hurdle. 

We made it to the ferry station by 1.30, we had done it! My arse had done it! It almost felt like the finish but had to remind myself there were still 6 miles to do.

The ferry ride took an hour and at the ferry station in San Fran we were met by Christians friend Jonny and his wife Eleanor.  They had both rented bikes so we could do the last miles together.  It was great fun and Jonny filmed a lot of the way.  San francisco had its first sunny weather in ages so its was crammed with people outside. 

The 6 miles took us longer than any other of the trip but we enjoyed it and at last we made it to the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was a slight anti-climax getting there but it was a huge relief more than anything.  Christian sprayed his champagne and me my water and we did finish photos.  It was amazing to be here after picturing it in my mind for so long. 

My bike had made it, I had made it.  It was impossible to know what to do now as this had been the focus and now I had accomplished it my mind felt kind of empty.  We all cycled back to Jonnys hotel room where we would sleep on the floor.  I was very relieved to take off my cycling shorts as the sore was now the worst it had been and there was no way I could have cycled another day, it was like my arse knew when it was all over too!

We celebrated with some of the hotels free wine and went for dinner in Bubba Gumps Shrimp restaurant.  At the end of the meal Jonny wanted to embarress us so told the waiter what we had done.  A little bit later he came back with 2 ice creams and made us stand on a chair whiles he shouted to the whole restaurant what we had done, we got a cheer and a clap from everyone!

Later on we went to a bar where I met up with an old family friend who I hadnt seen for ages.  He also had some mates with him so there were quite a few of us.  But by 11pm I was so exhasted and tired that all I wanted to do was sleep so after saying goodbye we all went back to crash out.

It had been an amazing day but I knew it would take a while for everything to sink in.

21st August, Penultimate day! – 52 miles

I got to check my emails last night on Mike’s laptop and Christian had sent an email to say he was in Jackson, 30 miles away!  We agreed to meet at the public library in Sacramento at 1, problem sorted!

I got up at 6 and sorted my stuff out quietly so as not to wake the family.  I didnt want them to feel like they had to feed me so I snneaked out quietly and left a note to say thank you.

For a lot of the day I could follow a bike path which was great as I wouldnt have to worry about traffic and lorries.  It was the longest bike path yet and it started 30 miles out from Sacramento.  Half way through the biggest guy I have seen on a bike came alongside and said I could draft him (follow behind him so that his backdraft pulls me along.)  We chatted most of the way and when we got into the centre he showed me where the library was.  I was quite early so went inside the library to kill some time.  As I was locking up my bike a tramp came up to me and he was holding some paper like a rolled up scroll.  He held it up to my face and asked me: ‘Do you want me to cast a spell for you?’  A very kind offer but I turned it down.  In hindesight I wish I had asked him a few questions; where is your wand? Do you know Harry Potter? Whats Dumbledore like in real life?

After killing a bit of time and then waiting around for even longer Christian eventualy turned up.  He has an old friend who lives in Sacramento and we could stay at theirs for tonight.  We got the metro there and would get it back to the same place tomorrow to start our final day.

His friend was called Kara and the family were lovely.  They put on a huge meal and looked after us and it was a really fun evening.  We had planned to get an early night but in such good company this didnt happen and we went to bed at a shockingly late 11pm!

20th August, Riding solo again, accidently – 102 miles

It was a bit of a windy morning which was strange for such an early time in the day.  The first 10 miles of the day would be all uphill to a height of about 8,500ft.  We stopped at a cafe after 6 miles where we had breakfast served by, for the the first time in a long time, a very attractive waitress. 

I enjoyed this hill climb as much as all the others, not at all.  There was no shoulder to cycle on so had to constantly be on the lookout/hearout for lorries and would have to stop and pull over if they passed.  According to the gradient maps there was one peak then a couple of smaller ones.  Got to the big peak and was happy to be at the top but I knew it wasnt over yet.  The remaining smaller peaks were hellish, it was never ending and at the last one I was very excited for the 6000ft of descent ahead of us.

We had a break for lunch after the first 1000ft and had a quick glance at the maps to check which road we had to take to get to the bottom, we both thought it was the 80.  So with that in mind we took off, Christian going first.  It was a pretty good and fast descent.  After about 8 miles I realised the places we were going through were different to the maps.  After a closer look at the map I realised it wasnt the 80 all of the way and instead was a turning off the 80 which I had missed.  Not knowing whether Christian had taken it or had followed the 80, I decided to stick to the maps so made my way back up the 7 miles of downhill I had just done.  I was absolutly fuming with myself for making such a stupid mistake.  On the way back up I used a phone at a bar to try and call Christian to check where he was but couldnt get through.  After an hour I made it back to the turning, which to be fair was not obvious.  From here it was about 40 miles to Placerville and during this I stopped at a few places along the way to borrow phones to try and call Christian but still couldnt get through.  It was obvious now that he had taken the 80 and we would be spending the night in different places.  This was fine though as we are big boys now so can look after ourselves. 

I arrived into Placerville quite late and went to a restaurant to try and call Christian one last time, again I couldnt get through.  I went back outside to go and find a motel when a family came out.  I stand out a lot in my lycra and big bike so they asked where I was headed and if everything was ok.  I quickly explained that I had taken a different route to my friend and couldnt get through to him.  They wished me luck and got in their car.  So I went to the gas staion opposite and got a drink.  By the time I came out the same family were there waiting for me and said that if I needed a phone for Christian to call me on then their house was only 2 miles away and I could wait there?  Now becasue it was a family I felt safe going to their house so I followed their car.  They were called Mike, Amy and they had a young son and daughter.  It was incredibly kind and open of them to let a stranger like me into their home, I could have been anyone!  I spent the evening getting to know them and they were really nice pople, they even fed me and let me have a shower, I am extreamly grateful to them for helping me out.  They said I could stay there so settled onto the sofa in my sleeping bag.

19th August, California!!! – 98 miles

Today would be the day we would enter our final state, quite a big moment of the trip for me.  A signal that soon it would all be coming to an end.

The terrain had started to get a bit greener and less deserty, it felt a little bit more like english country side.  The morning was cold as normal and for once it was reasonably flat.

As the bike shop was closed yesturday, my priority for the day was to get to the bike shop in Carson City before my wheel fell apart.  We were there by lunch time and I was spoilt with a choice of 3 shops.  We went for the nearest and my luck was in again as this one didnt charge for labour which is very rare.  So the guy spent a good half an hour with the wheel and put on new brake pads and it came in at less than $20! Bargain.  We had lunch in the city where I couldnt get full and after a meal an extra cheeseburger and a cheesecake I couldnt bring myself to buy more as I was getting low on money.

The last miles of the day would take us into California, to the lower part of a mountain we would have to climb tomorrow.  After a few days on a wobbly bike, now it was fixed it felt great, plus my back brakes worked so now I could stop in a distance of less than 10 meters, what a treat.

The last miles were incredibly hard, the last 6 even harder, and the last mile I had nothing left.  We made it to the restaurant we would eat at but it was shut.  The next one was 6 mile ahead, all uphill and we didnt know if that would be closed too so we would have to eat the last of the food we carried, some very dry bagels with peanut butter, possible the driest meal in the world.  We also had no water at this point but luckily after a bit of rooting around the closed building there was a hosepipe, the water looked clean enough so we filled our bottles up.

The camp site was only 1 mile ahead of the restaurant.  It was ok but had no showers so with nothing else to do we went to bed at the usual time of before 9pm.

18th August, Happy 26th Birthday Christian! – 110 miles

The alarm went off at 2am, a large part of me was very tempted to ignore it but this night ride would be a once in a lifetime so I forced myself awake.  Even though we had no tents to pack up it still took us an hour to get everything ready.  So with every piece of warm clothing we had we stepped out into the night.  The stars were amazing, they really were.  It was just an endless sparkle of dots shining in the sky.  I kept having to remind myself to look where I was going and not to stare for too long into the sky.

We had one ascent to do in the dark.  It was a very wierd sensation.  Normally in the day you can see the top, and see the road leading to it.  But in the dark you can only see a metre or 2 infornt so you carry on climbing up not knowing when it will stop, it was very odd. 

At one point a shooting star or meteor flashed across the sky infront of us leaving a golden trail, it lasted for a good 4 seconds and was an image I will never forget, stunning.

After what seemed like an age we got to the top and had a break to stare into the amazing sky, the sun started to come up at that point and it was beautiful. 

The decent down was fun but bitterly cold, my hand and feet went painfully numb and I wished the sun would hurry up.  After about 60 or more miles we got to the only town for miles.  It was so small it only had 12 people in it, 12!!  They put on a good breakfast though and Christian had a pint to celebrate his birthday, a pint of milk.  It was here I managed to attach an ‘Old Fart’ sign to the back of his bike, he didnt notice all day which kept me amused.

A couple of days ago I broke 2 of my back spokes at the same time.  This isnt disastrous but it does leave my back wheel a bit wobbly and occassionaly it will lead me to swerve a bit in the road.  The next bike shop was at our target for the day.  We got to Fallon and set about looking for the shop.  We found it but it looked shut.  I went to the house next door to inquire.  Turns out it had been shut for 6 years, no idea why it was still on the map.  It would have to wait.

Again our only option was a motel which was quite cheap.  We found an Italian restaurant for dinner.  The lady asked what I would like to drink.  I said ‘water please.’  She didnt understand, I had to repeat it 2 more times, still a blank look on her face.  So in my best American accent I said ‘waadderr please.’  She understood.  It is baffling how hard some Americans find it to understand the English accent, we pronounce all the letters unlike Americans so would have though it would be clearer to understand but obviously not.

It was a long day but we got a lot done, I think I was asleep by 8pm!

17th August, Eureka to Austin – 68 miles

Another early cold start, very cold infact which is such a contrast to how it is in the day, I had my super cool rolled up trousers on again, not a bad as Chriatins gay leggings though.

The cycling was much the same as the past couple of days.  Lots of nothing inbetween some mountains.  The mountains today though were much harder than others and I almost felt like I was back in Utah having to stop every few hundered metres after exhasting myself.  Even so we got to Austin really early so we searched around for the cheapest motel but didnt go for it as Christian was desperate for the toilet so he took the first on offer!  A fair price to pay for unsoiled shorts! 

Tomorrow we plan to do a night ride starting at 3am.  Its something we had been recommended as the stars are meant to be amazing and a must do.  So we had an early dinner at a restaurant we had been recommended back in Utah, best burger yet.  Went to bed at about 8pm ready for the early wake up.  I was excited for the night ride as I had no idea what to expect.