Day Thirty - Back To The Grind.

Waking up this morning felt like a Monday morning. I knew it was raining without needing to look out of my window. I got going at around 9:45, which is later than I would have liked, but I was only going about 50 miles today so I didn't mind too much.

The first 10 or so miles saw me go back into the wide open space that I was in the day before yesterday. I also crossed the Mississippi River, signifying my transition from Illinois to Missouri. I don't know if you know/have noticed, but cars in each state have the state they are from written on them. The reason I mention this is because when I go from one state to another, ALL the number plates change. I've gone perhaps 1/4 of a mile out of Illinois to Missiouri along the exact same piece of road, and there is not one Illinois plate in sight. You'd think there would be some sort of crossover..

Anyhow. While I was pondering this, I was pedalling through the vast planes that I'd been in, in the direction of a hill. Once I reached there, it was pretty much non stop up and downs all day long until I reached Farmington (Not Farringdon as I keep calling it) at around 4pm. After going round one way systems and whatnot, I found the obligatory commercial district that I've come to know and love. I booked into a room to seek shelter from the forcast storms (they definitely aren't here, I'm going to write to the weather channel to get my money back, the weather is beautiful), and went accross to a sports store in search of a Buff. Alas, they too had no idea what they were, they seemed far more clued up on guns and crossbows in there. I've decided I'm going to have to try a bike shop to buy one, which is in a few days time I think.

I'm now writing this in a restaurant called Cici's Pizza, where I would be kicking myself for coming to if it weren't for the fact that it's all you can eat for $7. (I managed 15 slices if you're interested, before getting bored of getting up and so retired.). It was a choice of coming here, or a place called 'Steaks and Shakes' that I wish I had opted for, I like both steaks AND shakes, or my trusted friend 'White Castle', but I didn't feel like burgers. I hope by the end of this trip I am sick of junk food, so I can go on with my life living healthily, and not be tempted by it. We will see how that goes.

Anyway, I'm off either for a dip in the pool, or to watch round 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It's so ridiculous. In the UK you would have one final, where all of the hype is around that one game. Here, they play best of 7, with games on every other day. The overall NBA finals start on thursday, and there might a winner by mid june sometime. hahaha.

Day Twenty-Nine - Rest Day Two.

I tried to have a lay-in as best I could this morning, but 8:30 was the best I could manage. I went for my complimentary continental breakfast, and proceeded to do very little for the best part of the day. I did walk into town for about an hour, where I picked up a set of iPod speakers for $19 from a mini-Walmart (which was about the size of a normal Sainsburys), and a Popeye sticker from the Popeye shop.

It was here that I spoke to a Trans-America cyclist called Dave, who was doing the trip on a more racing-style bike with a trailer. He wasn't staying for long in Chester, so I left him and went back to the hotel. On arrival, I saw a tandem recumbant bicycle parked out the front. I don't know who it belongs to, but it's an amazing looking thing. I wonder if they are more comfortable/ efficient, they look it.

Tonight I went back to the buffet place I went to last night, where I stocked up on some more foliage. It cost me about $4 more tonight than it did last night, I think there was a whole load of fish on offer tonight, but I didn't have any of that.

I'll hopefully be able to write up tomorrow night, I'm staying in motels until I get out of this thunder-storm complex that seems to be plaguing this area. If I had a dollar for everyone that's said to me 'I bet you've got rained on quote a bit..' I'd be rich.

Day Twenty-Eight - Headwind.

I woke up feeling lethargic this morning, partly becauase I'm just generally tired at the moment, and partly because I'd set myself up for a rest day today. I decided that where I was wasn't somewhere I wanted to spend my day off, which meant going 40 miles down the road to Chester, a town right on the border between Illinois and Missiouri, which also happens to be the home of Popeye the Sailor.

I had the choice of taking two routes today. They were both the same distance, but one was hilly and the other was flat. There was no real choice for me, and I went for the flat route. I set off at around 9:30, and after a few miles I found myself on vast open farmland, that had a strong wind coming from the West. As you can imagine, a fully loaded bike isn't the most streamlined of things, and I struggled to cycle faster than 12mph. what's more, the blowing of the wind past my ears began to give me an earache, but I managed to get back to the main road before it became too bad. The main road into Chester was a nightmare, I was being overtaken by coal trucks every couple of minutes, with drivers giving varying degrees of space.

I eventually arrived in Chester, where I met another westbound cyclist, who was cycling the trans-am route via St. Louis. I chatted to him for a bit, including asking him if he'd come past a hotel, to which he replied no. I then spent the next 45 minutes and 7 miles looking for said hotel, where I eventually found out that he had in fact gone past it. I booked in to a Best Western, where I THINK the person only charged me for one night, I'm not sure.

Since then, I've basically done not a lot other than handwash all my clothes. It wasn't until afterwards that I realised they have a laundry room here, so I may go and tumble dry all that tomorrow.

I went to eat at a Smorgasbord tonight, basically a buffet. I managed to get a plateful of salad though, which made a pleasant change.

I will reply to all emails and stuff tomorrow, I've got all day to do it. :)

Day Twenty-Seven - Little Ozarks.

Today was a lethargic start, and set off at around 9:30, after checking a couple of emails back at the bank.

I knew today was going to be tough, as the terrain was much like yesterday, roller-coaster up and downs. Other than this fact, the cycling wasn't hugely exciting. After spending more time in Illinois, I've decided it's very much like Western Kentucky. I did spend time in a state park this afternoon, which made for some very nice scenery.

I arrived in Murphysboro after 6 hours of riding, and eventually found my motel. There have been storms forcast to hit in the afternoon, which I managed to miss by about 15 minutes.

I was planning on spending two nights in Murphysboro, but I've decided I'm going to go 40 miles down the road to Chester, the hometown of Popeye, because my shower doesn't work properly, the wireless is tempremental and there isn't a heater, which I need to dry my clothes. I have the choice of staying in a Best Western, with a pool + hot tub etc. for $80 (or $71 if I can blag an AAA membership), or a cheap bog standard motel. I'll decide if I can spare the money tomorrow when I arrive.

Sorry for this post being so short, I'm really tired as I write this. I'll probably edit in some more tomorrow afternoon, but I need to get some rest for now.

Day Twenty-Six - Hello Illinois.

This post refers to Tuesday 26th May.

I woke up at 6:30 this morning to my sweltering room. I'd left the heating on all night to try and dry my stuff from yesterday, which nearly worked, but some things were still damp. I got going by 8:45 after eating, and rode the last 12 miles of Kentuky to the Ohio River, where I had to get the ferry accross to Illinois. The transition between states this time was a lot more of an occasion. As I got on the ferry, I imagined the Crystal Maze tune, I felt a bit like I was on there.

Anyway, within 30 seconds of touching dry land again, I was chased up a hill by a little mutt of a dog, past smoking barrels. Not great first impressions, and they got worse when I found myself on the side of roller-coaster hills. I spent the next 30 or so miles going up and down over steep 'rolling hill's. I'd heard that they didn't put switchbacks in the roads to save money on concrete. I was pondering this today, and decided it was probably more likely that the hills aren't high enough for them. They only apan a few hundred feet maximum, so they wouldn't really serve much use other than taking up space.

I arrived in Golconda at around midday, and found the motel I was staying at. There was no one there, and I had to call a number to get in. It was then that I had no signal, and I couldn't get any in town. After thinking of what to do (including looking for a payphone, there wasn't one), I decided to look for some WiFi. I found some outside a bank, and contacted home, to try and contact the motel from there. After that failed, I went back to wait for the german cyclists, who had reserved a room. It was 2pm at this point, and I had to wait until 2:45 to be let in.

I relaxed until about 6:45, where I walked back into 'town' for food. The only place I found was a diner, where I got an 8oz steak for $6. Unfortunately, it came between burger buns, but of course I ate it anyway.

Tomorrow Im headed to Murphysboro, where I will be exhausted if today was anything to go by.

Day Twenty-Five - Subway, Sunshine & Storm Clouds.

I find myself writing this from Subway in a town called Marion, about 12 miles from the Kentucky / Illinois border. I've managed to guess the WiFi password,which is pretty handy seeing as my Motel doesn't have any.

I set my alarm for 7:20 this morning, but it felt like 8:20 because of the time difference. I felt a lot better because of this, and I was in a good mood knowing that this was my last full day in Kentucky. I got out my room at about 8:45, and went to this place called White Castle. This is a fast food restaurant that I saw a film about when I was waiting in my hotel room in Yorktown for my bike to arrive. I don't know if it was a promotional film, or it was made by chance or what, but it was about these two guys that had a craving for White Castle, and their adventure in getting to it on a Friday night. This theme was evident when I went inside, they had all sorts of stuff about satisfying your craving 24 hours a day. I think it's appealing to the American 'Doner Kebab' market. The interesting thing about there though was that they sold small hamburgers in large quantity, rather than large individual ones. I ended up having three, though I only ordered two. He made too many or something, I don't know. For $15.99, you could buy a briefcase of 30 hamburgers. I'd love to give that one a go one day...

After all this, I started on my way. I got distracted after cycling half a mile though having spotted a shopping mall. I've been wanting to buy this thing called a buff, something that is very difficult to describe what it is. It's essentially a piece of headwear that I can wear under my helmet to keep the sun off my head/neck, but also I can wash it, something I can't do with my helmet. I failed miserably at describing what they were to the various shop workers, and concluded that they don't sell them if they don't know what they are. One guy was interested in my trip though, and gave me some energy chewy things. :)

At last, I got on my way, and took a road that would join up with my route further up (If you remember, I had to come off my route to find somewhere to stay). This worked out well in my favour, and I didn't go much further than I would have had I started where I was meant to. These first 20 miles or so were easy, and I did those in not a huge amount longer than an hour. I stopped at a service station to check my map, when all of a sudden the heavens opened. I was under the shelter so didn't get wet. I put my rain gear on nonetheless, by which time the rain had stopped.

Fast forward another 20 miles, and I stopped at a diner for a rest and an Oreo milkshake. By the time I came out of there, it was starting to rain slightly, but I didn't think it would be much more than that. I was wrong though, and after a mile of drizzle it absolutely poured for about 10 minutes. This was enough to soak me through, and so by the time it stopped I was forced to remove any non-essential clothing. By non-essential, I mean my 'over clothes', a t-shirt and shorts I wear on top of my cycling shorts. I don't like wearing just Lycra on it's own, mainly because there is no hiding the fact that it makes you look ridiculous, but I had no choice. After a further 10 minutes, the sun came out on full blast, and I was forced to stop to put on sun cream and get my sunglasses out.

Time went on, and to cut a long story short it absolutely poured again. The rain this time was so bad I couldn't see where I was going and I sought shelter under a tree at the side of the road. A flash of lightning as bright as a camera flash and a deafening clap of thunder made me decide that under a tree wasn't the best place to be, and I pedalled back to a house about a quarter of a mile away where I'd seen children playing in the rain. When the parents saw me at the end of their drive, they ushered me into their garage, where I waited for the storm to blow over. It did, and after declining the offer of food and drink, I set back off.

The last part of my ride was uneventful, it was fairly hilly though, something I didn't really appreciate after spending all day on relative flats. It was made worse by the discovery that my waterproof overshoes aren't in fact waterproof (partly because I've worn a couple if holes in them, and partly because it all got in through the top. Either way, my feet were damp and horrible. I finally arrived at Marion, and found the motel I planned to dry out at after a bit of hunting. I saw a tandem bicycle parked up there, meaning I've caught up some more people in front of me. I didn't get their names, but they are two Germans (different to the other two Germans that I'd met), who are having to stay in Hotels the whole way accross after finding their trailer was too heavy to pull along. I chatted to them for a bit (the owner of the motel had a note on the door of the office saying 'back in the afternoon', they had been waiting since 2pm), and after about 10 minutes the owner arrived. I tried to explain sods law to them, but they didn't get it.

Tomorrow, I'm heading for a town that is only about or so 30 miles away. This is partly because I need a rest, and instead of taking a day off, I can have a half day, and partly because Murphysboro (where my map changes) is too far to go in one, and there isn't another proper town west of where I'm going. I'm yet to decide whether to get up early and get there fast to relax in the afternoon, or take it easy in the morning and get there later in the afternoon. I expect I'll do the former so I can speak to home without it being too late, a problem exacerbated (good word!) by the time difference. I'll also reply to emails and messages then, I havnt forgotten, I just havnt found the time. This mammoth post has taken nearly an hour and a half on my iPhone keyboard, and I think I've got my moneys worth on the free refills. :)

Day Twenty-Four - Damp.

I managed to stay fairly dry last night, having put my tent under the porch area of the store. I got up and packed all my things away, had a nice cooked breakfast, and got going by 9:30.

The first milestone of the day around after around 30 minutes of cycling, and that was crossing into the next county/time zone. This was a huge anticlimax, there wasn't even a sign that said I had entered a new county. The only reason I knew I'd gone accross was because there was a thing thanking me for driving safely through the previous county.

It was along here that I met a cyclist who was headed eastbound, having started in Kansas. He lives in Sacrememto, CA, somewhere where I've been looking forward to visiting. He's also rode the Western Express, which is what the route is called between San Francisco and Pueblo, CO. He gave me some tips for that part of the ride, and gave me his name and address if I needed somewhere to stay when in Sacrememto, something that I hugely appreciate.

The next milestone of the day was my computer going over 1000 miles. I stopped to take photos, and carried on my way.

The cycling today was fairly uneventful, a lot of ups and downs. The weather was the main factor at play today, there was a slight cool breeze, but it was ridiculously warm and humid, with plenty of showers thrown in for good measure. This meant that it was fine on the (relative) flats and downhills, but uphills were tough.

Dogs were again very little trouble, I'm going to stop mentioning that fact now to be honest, I think now I'm in the West of Kentucky the situation is unlikely to get worse. I did have one dog that looked as though it was going to give a good chase, but it just ran along the side of the road chasing it's tail. Made me laugh.

I had planned to camp again tonight at a place callled Utica. I had two choices of places to camp, either at a Fire Station, or an Elementary School. Today is Memorial day in the US, which is like rememberance Sunday only it's a 4 day weekend. This meant that the Fire Station was deserted, and the School had closed for the summer holidays, and I couldn't see anyone there either. My only option was to come 9 miles off route to Owensboro to get a room. I didn't mind too much because I could dry out properly and sleep well, it's just a pain coming off route. I can take a road to cut the corner off tomorrow morning, so hopefully it shouldn't make a huge difference.

Where I'm staying is a basically FULL of restarants, almost all of which are fast food. I opted for the Chinese buffet, because I can eat my body weight in protien & carbohydrates for less than $10.

I'd love to tell you where I'm going tomorrow, but k havn't looked at the map yet. I think it was called Marion, which is just inside the border between Kentucky & Illinois. I should hopefully have internet though, The weather is forcast to be bad again tomorrow.

Day Twenty-Three - A Day in the Country.

This post refers to Saturday 23rd May.

Today started out being a bit of a drag, but turned into a pretty good one as it went on.

I got on the road from Bardstown at about 9:30 after having a boring continental breakfast. It had the potential to be a good breakfast, there was a waffle making machine, but a biker (motorcyclist) got in there before me.

Anyhow. I got on my way and went round this roundabout i'd found. It didn't work properly and everyone was giving way in the wrong places, I suppose I should admire the American effort for trying.

That was probably the most eventful thing that happened in the morning, other than the fact that I took a slight shortcut that cut out about 4 miles. It wasn't really a shortcut, the route tried to dodge a road that really didn't need to be dodged, it was deserted.

I got to a town called Sonora at about 2:30, where the weather started looking as though it was on the turn. I don't know the early signs of a tornado, but it got cooler and darker in the space of 20 minutes, and a hole in the clouds opened up above my head. I waited inside for this to blow over, which it did after about 30 minutes. It was still looking fairly grim, but the scary hole in the sky had gone and that was good enough for me.

I arrived at my camp spot 20 miles and an hour and a half later, which is in the middle of absolutely nowhere (though apparently there is a walmart 10 minutes away, but it'd be hard not to be I suppose). I'm also about 10 miles from the time zone line between Eastern and Central time.

When I arrived at the store where I had to check in, I was expecting to be pointed to where to put my tent, and left to it. Instead, I was greeted with a Popsicle and ushered inside, where I met the family that owned the store. It was set up so that it was mostly shelves of things (like a normal shop), but one end had a seating area and kitchen. Before long, I'd had a shower and was being cooked an evening meal. While the meal was being made, I went over with the father to pick some vegetables (yes, I am eating vegetables here!), and also shifted some hay bails from point A to point B. We went in a pickup truck that could be driven on both sides (he is a postman, so needs to be on the right of the car), which was so bizarre for me because I felt like I was meant to be driving, only the steering wheel was turning on it's own!

After all this, we ate, and went down to a creek, where I was told about how it used to be a popular place around the 1900's, but nothing from then is there anymore. We went back, and I got into my bed at about 10:30, absolutely exhausted. All this cycling lark is tiring, and although I don't need another day off just yet, If I reach 1/3 of the distance in less than 1/3 of my time, I probably will take another day off.

Day Twenty-Two - Business as Usual.

Today was a fairly routine day as far as this trip is concerned.

I woke up with a headache, which put me in an unmotivated mood straight away. I knew I wasn't going to be going that far, so I went back to sleep for a bit. I eventually got on the road at about 9:45. The hills didn't seem to be as yesterday, though I don't know if that was just me being used to it. Anyhow, the riding was fairly uneventful, with the scenery consisting of lots and lots of fields. The sun was hot today, and the greenery made it fairly humid.

Again, dogs weren't too much trouble today, I did have a couple of chases but nothing too big of a deal. Of all creatures, birds and bees seemed to be the theme of today. Birds, because they jump out at you when you go past, and bees, because they seem to all fly into my face at about a million miles an hour.

Another thing that I noticed from today were these little streets that are in the middle of nowhere (I say the middle of nowhere, they tend to be within 15 miles of towns). I've seen them about before, but today I noticed them because there were a few. They're difficult to describe why they look weird, I think its because they look so normal. I know that sounds stupid, but you have to imagine how I see it. You've been cycling through sparse countryside all day, and the only buildings you go past are barns, or old country houses on the road you are going along. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a perfectly formed street of detached houses, back gardens and polished cars on the drive. It's as if the street has been lifted straight out of a city suburb somewhere. I hope you know the kind of thing I mean, I've explained it as best I can. If I see any more, I'll get a picture.

I'm starting to not mind this part of Kentucky so much, the surroundings are a bit nicer than the eastside. I'm currently in Bardstown, which from what I've seen is a nice place. It's special for two reasons - firstly the first full leg amputation in the US took place at a hospital just down the road, and secondly because there is a roundabout (of sorts, it just about works, only you give way to the right at one point...)

Tomorrow, I'm aiming to head to somewhere in the middle of nowhere to camp. It's about 7 or so miles outside of a small town called Hudson, and an even lesser distance to the time-zone line between eastern time and central time. I'm also about to pass the Quarter mark tomorrow, which is roughly 950 miles. :)

I doubt I'll get to update this tomorrow, perhaps not the next day either. After tomorrow, I'll head to Utica to camp again, and then Marion, which is just short of the border to Illinois. That's the plan anyway!

Day Twenty-One - Deceptive Hills.

I find myself writing this from Harrodsburg, roughly 45 miles from Berea, though my total for the day is closer to 55.

I got out of by room at about 9:00 this morning, and went to have breakfast. Somehow, out of all of the restaurants that were around where I was staying, only one was open before 10am, which happened to be a proper restaurant/diner rather than fast food. I didn't have much choice but to go here, so I didn't actually get on the road until about 10:15.

I planned to stay in a town called Springfield, which is between 60-70 miles from Berea. However, I missed a left turn after 18 miles that I was meant to take, and took the following left. I was blissfully unaware that I was going the wrong way, until a guy on a tractor coming the opposite direction stopped me. He told me in typical country drawl how he'd stopped three cyclists that week going down the same road. In my defense, my cycle computer distance said that that was the right turning, I've come to realise that the mileages on my maps aren't always 100% right. Anyway, I had to go backwards about 5 miles until I got to the 'black top', then take a right.. Apparently black top refers to the road surface, which to me are all black.. I eventually found the turning, with the signpost bent flat to the floor. I later learnt there had been a tornado, which may explain why everyone was having their roof tiled today.

Dogs weren't too much of a problem today, I went the first 25 miles without hearing so much as a bark. I had a couple of encounters later on, but nothing too bad. The biggest challege I faced today were the hills. They aren't the long, drawn out mountains I've been going over recently, they are short, steep ups. They don't last for very long, but there are lots and lots of them, one after the other. You know the Windows default wallpaper with the hills? it's very similar to that.

Tomorrow I'll be heading to Bardstown I think, which will be of similar distance to today (or what today would have been had I not gone wrong. I realise now that it's not flat enough yet to make up any more of the time I lost in waiting for my bike, I think I'll leave that until I reach proper flats.

Day Twenty - Day Off.

Today was spent doing very little, which I definitey needed to do.

I had a nice continental breakfast in bed (though I had to go and fetch it myself, but no big deal), and went for a walk around Berea. There isn't an awful lot in here besides a historic College, and about every fast food place going about 1 mile out of town, where I am. Oh, and a Walmart.

I enjoyed another Chinese buffet this evening, and I'm now watching an NBA playoff game (Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Caveliers in case you're interested), which makes me want to go see an NBA game live. It looks so fun!

Tomorrow I'm either headed for Harrodsburg (45 miles away), or Bardstown (about 90 miles away). I'll have to see how it goes before I decide, 90 miles seems like a really long way right now..

I also go round a town called Springfield tomorrow, but in order to stay there I'd have to go a fair bit off my route to get to it. It's midway between Harrodsburg and Bardstown though, so it's possible. :)

Day Nineteen - Two in One.

This is most likely going to be a brief post, because I'm absolutely exhausted.

I left my motel in Hazard in good time, and went to try and find somewhere to eat. I got on my way just before 9, on my way to Booneville, about 45 miles away. The ride to here was pretty easy, it was a bit up and down, but nothing too phasing.

It was on this stretch that I met my first East-Bounder. He had come from South California, and left on April 4th. This means that he'd been on the road for about a month and a half up until that point, so I can half-predict that it shouldn't take me any longer than that for me to get to Calofornia.

I got to Booneville at around 1pm, and bought lunch from a service station. I was feeling good at this point, and it seemed a bit of a waste of time to sit around waiting until tomorrow, especially seeing as there wasn't much at all there. So, against peoples advice, I ploughed onwards to Berea. It was about 50 miles away, which I was fairly sure was reachable without too much trouble.

Well, I did make it, eventually, but I'm absolutely shattered. A combination of being in the sun all day, dehydration and overall fatigue made the last 20 or 30 miles a struggle. The land fluctuated a lot more than the map let on too, which didn't help. 106 miles was too far to go in one day I've decided, though I'm glad now I'm here in Berea, there are far more restaurants and stuff.

The dog situation was awful today. Not a lot to say really, but I must have got chased on no less than 20-30 times today. The whole thing is such a pain. Some of them can really shift too, one particularly large one chased me for half a mile at 25mph... I do have spray, but my first reaction is to get away rather than fight it, so I've not used it yet.. I hope that the situation gets better the further west of the state I go.

I went round the corner to another Oriental buffet, which coincedentally I had the last time I finished a map. Where I'm staying at the moment is like a service city, on the junction of an Interstate. I'm planning on having a rest day tomorrow, so perhaps Ill have a look around downtown after I do all my washing and stuff. Also, Ill reply to all my emails tomorrow, I'm too tired to do all that now.

Until next time...

Day Eighteen - Part Rest Day.

After my marathon of a day yesterday, I was not up for going far today. I therefore decided that instead of taking a full rest day, I'd cycle for a couple of hours to the next town, and take the afternoon off.

With that in mind, I cycled the grand total of 24 miles to the town of Hazard.

I arrived here at about 12:30 or so, after looking around the first Wallmart I've come accross since being here. I have to say, they are HUGE. Bigger than any Asda I've been in. I had no need to buy anything, but still.

I booked a room at a motel, and spent pretty much all day with my feet up. I've had a bath too, and am feeling a lot better than I did this time yesterday.

Tomorrow, I'm headed for either Booneville or Berea. Berea will be a LONG ride away, and I'm basically deciding whether to take two days or one over it. I'm keen to do it in one, but if my legs are shot to pieces by Booneville, I'll stop.

I'll me you know where I end up tomorrow night, hopefully there will be internet in either place, but to be honest, it's a lottery. If I end up in Booneville, I'll try and get to a library.

Day Seventeen - First State.

This post refers to Sunday 17th May.

I woke up early this morning, I knew I was going to have a long day ahead. After a service station breakfast, I set off. The first stint was predominantly uphill. I went over the state border after about 12 miles or so, and the transition wasn't immediately obvious. After a few more miles, it was. There wasn't a bricked house in sight, everyone lived in 'trailers', or static caravans. They almost all had too much property than they could fit inside too, so the land surrounding their plot was filled with all their stuff. I was quite overwhelmed & intimidated by all this at first, I felt as though I had left my comfort zone of Virginia.

I later had good reason to be intimidated. Kentucky is FULL of dogs. Thankfully, a fair few are tied up / restrained somehow, but a lot weren't. This means that you have to be on your guard the whole time, in case you have to outrun them, or try and stop them somehow. I've found that by shouting 'NO!' at them works fairly well.

I've decided that I don't much care for Kentucky, nor the Appalacians anymore, so I'm planning on hot-foooting the next bit to Illinois, where I should be by this time next week. Seriously, the dogs get you down, it's just added stress when you're exhausted, or going slowely up a steep hill.

(I realise lots of people reading this will be revising towards exams of some kind, and so complaining about being chased by dogs seems somewhat trivial. I'm not really a dog person at the best of times, and it's just a nuisance I could do without.)

Anyway, I'm in a Motel outside of Hindman. I will be changing onto a new map again in the next few days, which is exciting. My maps will go even faster when I'm on the flats, which is also exciting. I'm not wishing my trip away by any means, but I like to see progress. I've also got a new time zone soon, which is CRAZY.

I'm going to bed now, I put 91 miles on the clock today, though 3 of them were spent cycling back up the side of a mountain I'd just flown down, thinking I'd missed a turn when I hadn't. ugh...

Day Sixteen - Nearing the Border.

This post refers to Saturday 16th May.

After I made my last blog post, I went for a walk around Damascus to see everything that was going on. There were basically two lines of stalls, with a lot of them either selling tie-dye clothing or hammocks. One table caught my eye because they were selling stickers about bicycles, so naturally $5 for 5 was an offer too good to pass up upon. My bike now features slogans such as 'Bikes not Bombs', and 'I <3 my bike'. I regret it a bit now, but at least it'll remind me of Damascus. Perhaps I'll pick some more up along the way.

::Edit:: Since writing this, I've peeled a couple off. Since I can't be 100% sure of the political stance of the towns I'll be going through, I thought it'd be best to not advertise any 'anti-war' slogans.

Anyway, I managed to find some wireless in a subway in town (even this sleepy town has a subway), and so ate in there. I thought about staying on in Damascus for a bit, but I decided that this wasn't really my scene, since they were all hikers in their little groups, so I went to my tent and got an early night.

I woke up at about 11, 12, 2, 4 and 6:30, when someone cycled past with a horn shouting 'wake up everyone, these mountains aren't getting any closer!!'. As I resented being woken up again, he had a point. I collected my things together, went for some blueberry pancakes and hit the road at about 9am. Today was going to be tough, I had two steep hills that went up over 3000ft. My day started out with the same old countryside that I've become used to, fairly same old same old. I then had an almost deja vu of yesterday afternoon, I had another similar downhill section that was almost as good as the day before.

The first big hill was killer. It was about 4 miles long, but when you're struggling to go faster than about 5mph, 4 miles is a LONG way. Coming down the far side was satisfying (if not slightly steep for my liking), but I knew I had more uphill to come.

If you're a cyclist (or perhaps if you're not), you'll know that dogs chase you when you ride past. As I cycled past a house on my way up to my second big hill of the day, I had two unrestrained dogs that saw me coming. The road I was on was relatively busy compared to what I had been on that morning, which meant that chasing me wouldnt end well for one of the dogs. It bolted straight out in front of a truck / trailer that was overtaking me, and got hit square on. The driver who hit it didn't stop, and I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news to the owner, it could have landed me in a whole load of hassle, so I too continued.

I made it to the top of the second hill after about 45 miles, and pretty much coasted to Council. I looked at the map, and it was another 18 miles to Haysi, which I decided to head for after much umming and ahhing. The road was mainly downhill, but not so downhill that you could freewheel. I arrived in Haysi at about 4:30 - 5pm ( I can't really remember) and was gutted to find that where I was staying was at the top of ANOTHER hill. I had no choice but to stay there, as the next town was unreachable, and I wasn't going to go back to Council. I finally got to the top, paid my $31 and got my room. I was disappointed to find I had no phone signal or room phone. I almost always send a message to let them know I've arrived okay, and I felt bad I hadn't done this. I had a shower and walked back into town to see if I could get any signal. I found some wifi, sent a message out and went for some fairly disappointing enchiladas at a Mexican restaurant. I was slightly bizarre for there to be a Mexican restaurant in the middle if absolutely nowhere, but it was run by real mexicans so I let it go.

I'm not 100% sure where I'll be headed tomorrow, but it'll definitely be in Kentucky. :)

Day Fifteen - Change of Scene.

Okay, I apologise if the following is a little brief; I have a 15 minute window in which to make this post (I will explain in a bit).

I woke up, etc etc and got onto the road at about 9:45 again, I need to stop being so lazy and start getting up / heading off earlier... Anyhow, I knew that today was going to involve a lot of uphill, so in the same way that I prepared myself for the day when I was cycling the blue-ridge parkway, I decided that it didn't matter how long it would take me to do the miles, and I would take my time on the hills. I've now decided that I hate short and steep hills, but I would quite happily go uphill at 8 or 9mph indefinitely. The countryside was the same as it had been for the past two or three days, lots of farms and country houses. There were a lot of run-down looking houses and farms today, some that look as though they hadn't been occupied in years. All of the animals were looking a bit thin, I guess this part of Virginia is poorer than where I've been before.

There was an absolutely god-awful smell about this morning too, and I'm 100% sure it wasn't me. I'm quite used to holding my breath whilst going past roadkill, but this was kind of like a manure-type spin-off. Whatever it was, it was awful.

Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, everything about where I was changed. I went into a deep forest area, which was gradually climbing uphill. As I said before, I didn't mind inclines like this, so I quite enjoyed this part.

I went upwards for what seemed like ages, but the coming down from the top was amazing. The last 15 miles or so were almost all downhill, and the roads were the stuff that Top Gear would dream of. The only thing I can compare it to would be the roads on The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift, when they're racing up in the mountains. The roads were smooth (though there were parts that had been really awfully tarmac'd, and wouldn't be uncommon on something like Rogue Traders), the air was fresh from the river that was running along side, and everything was good about the rod that I was going along.

I'd better skip forward to where I am now, as my time is running low. The town that I am in now is called Damascus (no, not in Syria), and I stumbled upon like a massive hikers convention thing. There are people with long hair, massive beards and more tye-dye than I've ever seen in one place before. The people all seem really friendly, and in the first hour of me being here, I've inspired someone to go to the A.C.A. to do a trip similar to mine. Cool.

So I'm currently in an 'internet cafe', where I get 15 minutes of internet time to do this.. Though I've been more like 20 by this point. I can justify it though, I've had a lot to talk about today. It also makes a welcome change to type on a real keyboard, my iPhone keyboard drives me insane when I'm writing on this.

Tomorrow I'm headed to a place called 'Council', which is another fairly long day away. I'm coming to the tail end of the aAppalacians though (I THINK), and I hope that by this time next week I'll be on flat ground, where I can start racking up the miles.

Note for the Parents - I get awful signal here, I'll try and send a text later on if I can find somewhere where I can get some bars. :)

Day Fourteen - 'Rolling' Hills.

I woke up this morning at about 7:30, after a much needed good nights sleep. I had some cereal and a bagel, and got on my way at about 9:45. The weather today was very humid, but not too hot.

My planned day today was slightly shorter than usual, mainly because the weather forcast for tonight is thunder and rain, which I could do without. I'm therefore staying in a $35 motel in Wytheville, about 45 miles from Radford.

My day was very similar to yesterday, fairly up and down without any flat. A lot of the countryside in this part of Virginia is farmland, which doesn't make for the most exciting riding, or interesting stories about my riding.

I was overtaken by a girl (no jokes please, she had no panniers) who was cycling down the east coast, finshing up in Damascus, 50 miles from where I am now. Apparently there is some kind of festival-fair type thing there this weekend, geared towards the Appalacian Trail. I don't think I can afford a rest day yet to go to to the whole of the Saturday, but ill definitely go down tomorrow night. I was hoping to stay in a hostel at a church there, but it's fairly likely that it'll be full, so camping it is. I'll just have to put my
tent somewhere where Ill actually get some sleep.

A couple of people were asking me how I found out about the Lee's where I stayed last night. I got their address from the Cookie Lady, and they said that they were more than happy to have cyclists stay. For any cyclists that are reading this and are interested, email me and I'll give you their address + number, it's not really my place to post it on the Internet.

Anyway. I arrived in Wytheville at about 3pm, booked into my motel, spoke to home, then went for a walk. This town is like a lot of American towns I've been to so far, there is one 'main street' where everything is, and not a lot else.

I'm sorry these posts from the last couple of days have been a bit boring, once I get past these hills in a week (or less with any luck), Ill be moving a lot faster and will be going further, so hopefully that will be better. Tomorrow I have the option of going about a mile off the route to go to Tennessee (sp?). If I'm making good time, I might well just do it, just so I can say I've been there. :)

I don't know if I'll be able to post tomorrow. I'm headed to Damascus tomorrow as I said, and then a place called 'Council' the night after. After then, Im not too sure, but it'll be in Kentucky. :) I'll try my best to update you on my progress asap.

Day Thirteen - Map Change.

Today is an important milestone as far as this trip is concerned because I went from map 12 to map 11 (they go down to 2 or 3 I think because of the route I'm going). A sure sign of progress. :)

I woke up this morning at around 7:30, and went down to the buffet for breakfast. It wasn't as grand as I had pictured it, the only hot item on offer were eggs, which I didn't fancy. I stocked up on cereal and mini-bagel type things, and was on my way by 9:30. I'd love to tell an interesting story about my cycling today, but to be honest, it was pretty straightforward. I was on the same country road for about 40 miles, and it was very up and down. I've since caught a glimpse of my new map for this week or so, and the elevation profile much resembles a heart rate monitor, so I won't complain for now.

I arrived in Christiansburg at about 2pm, and went to a grocery store for a spot of lunch. By stroke of luck, I found some WiFi floating about, so I got a chance to reply to some fan mail, go on Facebook, all the important stuff. I then phoned Sarah Lee of the Lee family, where I was hoping to stay tonight. They were glad to have me, so I headed down to Radford to find their house. After a fair bit of searching, I found the house, but it was empty. I decided to go up the road to watch some little league baseball, which reminded me of under 11/14 hockey - the parents were more competetive than the people who were playing. I watched about 4 innings, and headed back to the house. They were in this time, and I was that they were buying me dinner at a Mongolian Buffet. I couldn't believe my luck, and went upstairs to shower and get ready. The buffet was massive, about 5 times (at least) of a buffet at a curry house here, and had all of the 'usual' oriental type dishes. After eating my fair share, we came back, and I now find myself here writing this. I'm probably going to head to Wytheville or Rural Retreat, depending on these forcast scattered thunderstorms.. I probably will camp though, I can dry myself out at Damascus the day after. :)

Day Twelve - Downhill.

Today was a walk in the park as far as my days have gone on this trip, with not all that to report. I had a fairly good nights sleep for the first time in a while, but I couldn't motivate myself to get going once I was awake. I managed to get myself going at about 9:45, and to my delight the first 20 miles were predominantly downhill. I managed to get to the town of Buchanan after about 2 and a half hours, where I stopped to have some leftover pizza I'd strapped to the back of my bike (in a box of course).

I wanted to stay in Troutville this evening, but when I arrived, I realised that the nearest campsite was way back off the route, back where I came from, and I was NOT going to cycle up that big hill I rolled in on. I decided to move on to the next town about 6 miles away, which is kind of a town based upon services, it's right on an I81 intersection. I'm now in a hotel that probably should cost $59.95, if the pool and hot tub had water in them.

Tonight, I ate at a diner over the road, though I have no idea what the place was called. I had a kind of flat burger, which was all of the components of a pizza, but you eat it with a knife and fork. Genius.

I'm sorry if this post is a little brief and not very informative, today was about as uneventful as they've been. Tomorrow, I head to Christiansburg which is about 50 miles away, where my first map goes onto my second one. hurrah!

Hopefully Ill be able to update this tomorrow as Christiansburg is a big place, but really, who knows.

Day Eleven - Uphill Battle.

This post refers to Sunday 11th May.

I'm going to be an American freight train driver when I'm older, that way they won't wake me up throughout the night. I woke up at about 6:45, and made a tin of spaghetti + meatballs. About 5 minutes before I planned to set off, the heavens opened. I decided that that the rain wasn't going to subside, so I departed. The first 6 or so miles were tough, the roads were very steep up to the blue ridge parkway. While going along here, there were quite a few hills that were long, but not all that steep. Most of the morning involved me sitting in my lowest gear and plodding up hills that finished at over 3200 feet high. I didn't mind the hills all that much if the truth be known, the rushing downhill on the far side tended to be a bit hairy with wet brakes, and the blowing of cold air on wet hands was FREEZING. Anyway, I finished the 20something miles of the BRP in about 3 and a half hours.

Coming down from the ridgeway, I went through a town called Vesuvius, which was where I had first planned to stay. However, It was only about 30 miles into the day, there was NOTHING around there, and to be honest, I wasn't up for camping in the rain. I decide to keep on going to Lexington, on the basis that it was fairly downhill from there, and I could get a motel room to dry out all my stuff. I walked into town to buy some groceries, and ordered dominoes to the room.

Im starting to feel physically tired, and my legs are beginning to feel weary, and I think a rest day would be very welcome in the coming week. I am about on schedule, but I need to go a bit further each day so I can afford to have a rest day.

Day Ten - The Cookie Lady.

Really sorry about the lack of updates recently, it's hard to find Internet access.. especially seeing as I have an 11 digit phone number, and places like Starbucks and McDonalds require you to register with a 10 digit one, or be an AT&T customer. So basically I rely upon Librarys and Motel wireless access to do all this stuff..

Also, thankyou everyone for your messages and emails, I'll try and reply to them all tonight after I catch up on blog posts.

Anyway, the following refers to Sunday 10th May.

I woke up this morning after a fairly disturbed night due to my acquired roomates snoring, I slept in until about 7:30 or so, got all my stuff together and went out in search of food. Before I left for the US, Taco Bell was reccommended to me, and i've wanted to try one on a number of occassions, but never have. This time was to be no different, it was shut. After a wrap thing from burger king (it was that or McDonalds.. not that much is open early on a Sunday in my defence..), I set off. I'd heard that today was meant to be particularly tough, so I went with the mindset that I had all day to do the distance and speed east hugely important. I find myself getting frustrated if I get stuck going 6mph up the side of a hill, and so by knowing they're coming helps you plan out timescales and distances better. During my cycling, I spoke to quite a few people who were interested in where I was going etc. I also found time to eat some frozen yoghurt from a fruit farm, which was both tasty and hugely satisfying. I had about 6 miles to go until the Cookie Ladys house from here, and my pace didn't go above 10mph. The last two miles were ridiculously steep, if I had stopped moving the I'd have to have pushed. I met Bert again at the top of the hill having set off before me this morning. We walked over the bridge to the cookie ladys house. I should explain who this is for those those who don't know - she is a lady who has lived on the trans-am trail since it's creation 30 years ago, and basically gives water, food and shelter to cyclists passing through. We sat and heard her stories of all the people she's met (she reckons over 12000 cyclists over the years). She then took our polaroids which will eventually go on the Internet, and gave us the keys to the bike house.

This house is where I am now, and it's basically a shrine to the Cookie Lady and the Trans-Am. People leave something here as they pass through, be it a jersey, a postcard, a note, a newspaper cutting, you name it, it's here. There is also a load of tinned food which we can help ourselves to, and sofas to sleep on. I also found out that the outdoor shower is a cold one, which was a necessary but somewhat unpleasant experience. You would be surprised at how cold water can stay in a hosepipe when it's hot outside...

I decided that this would be an ideal time for me to do all my laundry, and I did just that.. ALL my laundry. I got it all hung out to dry by 4pm, where it was still hot, but definitely cooling. I've since brought it all inside, time will tell if I get it all dry in time, or I start tomorrow with wet socks.

Tonight I've eaten a tin of macaroni + chili, which was tasty, but burnt my mouth. I'm going to get an early night tonight, tomorrow may well be even harder than today. Not 100% where I'm going, either a really small place called Vesuvius, or onto Lexington, about 18 miles further.

Day Nine - The Calm Before the Storm.

I'll pick up from when I last left you, yesterday afternoon.

After going to the library, I went back to the firestation to set up my tent for the first time since being here. I found the Dutch person who I mentioned, he'd already set up his tent and was playing with a stove. I went into the fire station to have a shower, then set up my tent. I went over to a local diner for some grilled chicken, and returned to find two more cyclists had joined camp. They were in their mid-twentys I'd guess, and came from Florida. They are going at an overall slower pace than I am, so I'm not sure if i'll run into them later on.

Anyway. My first night under canvas was disturbed. Partly because my gamble on 50% chance of rain didn't pay off, and partly because of the freight trains that ran through Mineral at night. Now I understand that freight trains need to exist, and I understand that they probably need to run through the night. Fine. But I draw the line at them honking their horns (which are LOUD) repeatedly at both two and four o'clock in the morning, when there are perfectly functioning level crossings. That annoyed me.

I got up at about 6:30, and went over to the store to get some food. I bummed around for a bit, and finally got going at 8:45. It was pretty obvious that Today was going to be harder, the weather was ridiculously humid and the fact that I'm approaching the Appalachans meant there were lots of ups and downs.

I arrived in Charlottesville at about 3:30 or so, having caught up with the group in front of me. I now know that this is a led
tour by the Adventure Cycling Assosiation no less (the people that made my maps and the route). I was having a small problem with my bike, which (with the help of the tour leader and an english cyclist, determined that my lower bracket ( I keep forgetting what it's called) was loose. I managed to go to a bike shop that was open until 8pm, so I got that fixed easily, for the costly price of $5.

Tonight, I went out for Chinese with Bert the dutch guy, who I am also going halves on a room with at the moment. I like it here in Charlottesville, it's the home of the University of Virginia so the age demographics are the closest they've been to my age since being here. Its quite a big place, and I half wish I had more time to stay and explore. However, I'd like to get a few more miles behind my back before I start all that kind of stuff.

I'm almost 99% sure I won't be able to update this tomorrow, I'm camping at the 'Cookie Lady's' house. She's lived way up in the mountains since the route was built, apparently it's a must see. I'll let you know as soon as I can how it's all going.

Day Eight - Settling into a Routine.

I woke up several times last night, due to trains going through town. The train itself I could bare, but it honks it's horn the whole way through so that people don't drive over the tracks when it's coming. I didn't like Ashland that much anyway. I officially woke up at 7:15, showered, and got all my stuff together by 8:30 or so. I was watching the weather this morning, apparently the chance of rain = 50% for tonight. The weather has been anything but overcast today, so I'm going to take my chances and camp tonight.

Not a lot to report as far as cycling is concerned today, and although my route was hillier than my map would have you believe, I reached Mineral, my stop over at about 2pm. The weather was really hot today (pushing 30 degrees C). Actually, I tell a lie. I encountered a group of about 8-12 (they were fairly spread out), who are also cycling the trans-am, though are finishing in Oregon. They are staying at a private property tonight, and I am going faster than they are, so I left them behind.

I seem to have got into the routine of feeling a bit homesick in the morning, and feeling really motevated in the afternoon. I'm sure / I hope that will get better as time goes on.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Charlottesville, which is another short day away. I'd like to go on further, but there is a massive hill / mountain (over 3000ft, what does that make it..?) right after it, and I want to set off first thing in the morning to tackle that.

It's now 3:30pm and I've spent the last hour and a half in this library updating this, checking emails, etc. I am very disappointed to report that facebook is blocked in this library, so updating all that will have to wait. Tonight, I will either go to the Mineral Restaurant (which looks quite run down, but looks can decieve), or I think I saw a takeaway place somewhere here too. I'm camping outsde a volunteer fire service, a dutch cyclist I spoke to earlier said they have showers, but when I went over there they didn't offer them to me. When I go back, I'll see if he's there.

That's all for now folks, I'll hopefully be able to update tomorrow, Charlottesville is fairly large.

Day Seven - The Morning After.

(This post refers to the Thursdat 7th May)

I had a fairly disturbed night, yet felt pretty refreshed in the morning. The weather was awful last night, TV reports show that there was a tornado somewere at one point. Weather is/will improve as I both travel west, and time goes on. I think I might camp tomorrow night, if the weather forcast doesn't predict storms.

After a breakfast of eggs, burgers and biscuits (muffin type things), I managed to get away at about 9:30. I set off to go to Mechanicsville, where I planned to stay in Richmond. However, I decided that the 8 mile detour wasn't worth it, and so I stuck to my route for about 15 miles or so, ending up in Ashland. My day today was spent going around the edge of Richmond, Which was a bit annoying because I was heading North for a fair amount of time. I arrived here at about 3:45pm, and booked a room in a very cheap ($45) motel, more storms are forcast for tonight. I phoned home, had a shower and went out in search of food. I decided upon a pizzaria, and managed 2/3 of a pizza, the last 1/3 will do for breakfast.

As I write this, my legs feel as though they've done some excersise, but not completely exhausted. I'm hoping to set off earlyish tomorrow, even though I'm not going very far. Charlottesville is about 100 miles away, which is too far for one day (at the moment anyway, my backside can't take that kind of distance quite yet), resulting in two shorter days. Oh well, at least progress is being made, and if I keep on feeling how I do now, I shouldn't need a rest day for a little while yet.

Day Six - Started.

(Sorry for the lack of updates, this post refers to Wednesday 6th May.)

Today, I am happy to report that I have started cycling! I checked out of my room at about 10:30am, and got a taxi down to where my bike was being rebuilt. Luckily, it was ready for me on arrival. Perhaps it was the prayer my taxi driver said for me before I got out (he took quite an interest in my travels). I cycled up to Old Yorktown, In particular Victory Momument, and set off at 1pm on the dot. (don't ask me where all that time went, because I have no idea either). It took me a while to cover the first mile, as I had to stop for the obligatory 'dip my rear wheel into the Atlantic'. I set off down a road called 'Colonial Parkway', which had a single lane either way, with an overtaking lane in the middle, which made the whole thing more pleasant than cycling on a normal road. I arrived in Williamsburg, which was like being transported backwards 100? 200? 300? 400? years..? I have no idea about American History, but there were people on horse & cart, and women carrying around pales. I wasn't sure if it was a tourist attraction (there were tourists everywhere, but I don't know if it was how they really all live, or if they're just pretending. It was pretty surreal either way.

I for lost around here for quite a while, I didn't realise where I was was the entirity of the place. I eventually found my way, and continued towards Jamestowne (with an 'e' apparently). I stopped for a quick rest here, but regretted it (sort of) afterwards. There were flies EVERYWHERE! It was probably a combination of me smelling, and being close to water. I left here and headed to Charles City, my stopover point. This was my first taste of how straight American roads can be, and straight they are. So straight that you can still see the car ahead of you that overtook you about 10 minutes ago. I was flagging at this point, my saddle was hurting me (that's what you get
for not riding for a while) and my legs were aching. Since I set off at 1pm, I needed to make sure I made it to Charles City before dark, which I did do, though I don't know what time. Before 6 I think. It was just as well too, because as forcast, the heavens opened, rain thunder and lightning throughout the evening and night. I am staying in a B&B, which is essentially a ladys house with a spare room. She was kind enough to make me cheese on toast earlier, which was nice of her. I can't remember where I'm heading tomorrow because I left my map with my bike, but I'll have more than 5 hours to complete my days cycling. I went about 50 miles of my route today, and about 10 miles getting to my start point. I'm suitably tired, and so will be going to sleep now (9:15pm) in order to be up for breakfast at 8:30am, hopefully on the road by 9.

Day Five - Turn of Events.

I slept in until about 8:45 this morning, and headed back over to Bojangles for Jambalaya (kind of like a Mexican risotto). Having got back to my room, I found out that my bike status had gone from "we don't know where your bag is" to "your bag will be delivered to your hotel in the next 12 hours." Hurrah!

No sooner had I found this out (literally during the same phonecall), I had a knocking at my door. Sure enough, there was my bike, box (nearly) intact. I therefore decided that I'd go down to the bike shop and get it put together as soon as possible, so I can get going. I went down there, and the earliest they can get it done for is tomorrow, so I'm planning to head down at about 11ish and hope it's done, if not I'll pester them so it gets done. If it gets done in good time, I'll try and head as far as Charles City, which is about 40 miles away, if not then I'll only be able to make it as far as Williamsburg, which is only about 10 or so miles. We'll see how it goes. Rain is falling heavily at the moment, thunder is... well present, if it's really really bad then I won't go far.

Not a lot else to report to be honest, Ive just spent my evening trying to make my two front and two rear panniers equal in weight. My room is like a sauna at the moment, I'm trying to dry my clothes out that I put on to wash earlier.

I'll let everyone know how my first afternoon of cycling goes tomorrow evening, Internet access permitting.

Day Four - A Slight Revelation.

I spent today in a fairly similar way to how I spent yesterday - waiting to hear about my bike. I woke up at around 6:30ish, so apparently I'm not quite over the jetlag yet. I walked about a mile up the road to a diner which I found on Yelp - a really useful iPhone app. I ordered a cheese and bacon omlette (with the obligatory fries), which filled me up for pretty much the whole day.

I came. back to the room for a bit, and spoke to the parents. I had been having trouble contacting Atlanta airport + Delta to try and track down my bike (my room phone likes to call random people instead), and it's proved easier having them do it for me. The upshot of that was that the bike was checked in at Heathrow, but not at Atlanta, so it's suspected that it's been stolen by the baggage handlers. You can read more of that in a comment below. It looks like i'm going to be setting off on friday at the latest, be it on my lost bike, or my new bike that I will have bought.

So after all this, I went for a walk for a couple of hours, during which I saw a tortoise about to get itself run over so I turned him
round. :)

Not a lot else happened today to be honest. I went to a place called Bojangles to eat tonight, where I had a chicken burger and some very tasty chips (again), I can only compare them to the spicy ones you get in Nandos. I also got the most ridiculously large cup. it's MASSIVE.

Anyway, I'm getting tired, and I'll no doubt have another hard day tomorrow. Speak to you all soon!

P.S. - I feel I should add that I'm using my iPhone to write these, and it tends to decide on random words / spellings to throw in every so often.

Day Three - The Waiting Game.

Okay, so not a lot to report about today. Went to the supermarkt in the morning to get some general stuff, including some much needed vitamin C. I've decided that the best thing to do is pretty much conserve my money and wait by the phone for anyone to call about the bike.

The only news I have is that it definitely boarded the plane at London Heathrow, so i'm pretty sure it's at Atlanta, I'm pretty sure it isn't at Newport News, and if it is, it'll be sent over soonish. Customs at Atlanta were called too, and it would have definitely got through there (so they say) so it's not there. How many different places could it be?!

Day Two - Finding My Feet.

I woke up at about 6am this morning feeling a bit better about things. I watched teleshopping for a bit, before heading out to McDonalds for breakfast. I should probably mention that my Hotel is on an intersection, and there are fast-food places on every corner, sink had no choice really.. Anyway. I had a McSkittle Burrito (I think) which was basically steak + other stuff wrapped up like a fajita.

After more mooching around, I got a taxi down to the 'mall', only, some of the shops were the size of a Lidl. Outside of this mega-mall were more massive shops, which were a bit more than a stones throw apart. I feel like I've walked quite a long way today, even though Ive forked out about $45 on taxis. Seriously, you need a car to get ANYWHERE. Having said that, I sat in the front of this taxi that had chrome rims, and we listened to loud rap music. At first I was anxious because it didnt have a meter, but it was cheaper overall anyway. Big up Derrin. :)

My meal tonight consisted if a chicken manderin salad with honey Dijon dressing, which looked and sounded nice, but it was pretty grim tbh. Take it from me, oranges don't belong in salad.

Not a lot else to report to be honest, other than there is still no news on my bike, having waited until the time they suggested to call back. I'm not really sure what to do know, I'm going to call at 11:30ish (if I can stay up that long), as that was the time my flight was yesterday. everything crossed it's on there.

will report back tomorrow with progress.

First Day'n'Nite

I find myself writing this at 22:10 EST, which is 03:10 BST. I am EXHAUSTED. We took off to go to Newport News about 25 minutes ago, on a tiny little Canadair jet. I'm in row 14 of 14, with a jet engine in my left ear. Making general small talk to my fellow passengers around me - they love my accent, I love theirs, conversation goes along those lines.

Leaving this morning was harder than I thought. It really hit home when I went through passport control on my own. I kept thinking what the person who cut my hair said to me yesterday: "what doesnt kill you will make you stronger". I'm finding a lot of truth in that.

Flight to Atlanta was okay, 9 and a half hours of flyingplus an hour of taxiing in total (no exageration). Spoke to a guy who was flying to Colerado to be a rafting instructor for 6 months, having just spent the last 6 leading dives in Thailand. What a life... So I watched A whole host of films, including Quantum of Solace in Spanish - I didn't realise you could change / I had changed the language on my remote thing.. ah well.

After disembarking I spent an hour at immigration queuing. A flight just got in from Honduras before us, and they took AGES. I finally got through, and found my bag on the carousel. Fine. Went round to the oversize. bag collection, bike was nowhere to be seen. 45 minutes of panicing later, and I was assured by a guy at the airport that it would be sent to me tomorrow. This has put me a day behind already, but I've just got to stay optimistic about it, and hope for the best.. The guy who checked my boarding pass said that it might be on this plane, and I should wait for it just in case. As it stands, I don't know. I was really up for an alcoholic beverage earlier, found the perfect bar too, but of course, I'm not old enough. guh..

Hope all is well at home. :)

::Edit:: this didn't upload last night, got it working now.