Plains sailing

Since we last wrote in the blog it has been an exciting period of milestones and breakthroughs and we now really feel like we have broken the back of the trip. The 2,000 mile point was soon followed by the halfway mark, we climbed to the highest point of the route (Hoosier Pass at 11,539 feet) then shortly afterwards broke out of the mountains entirely, we entered the sixth of our eleven states (Kansas has come after Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado), we are now in the third of the four time zones that we'll pass through, and, crucially, the saga of Rob's rear wheel is, for the timebeing at least, a thing of the past.

15/7: 42 miles, Saratoga
16/7: 89.5 miles, Rand
17/7: 56.5 miles, Kremmling
18/7: 55 miles, Breckenridge
19/7: 108 miles, Florence
20/7: 93 miles, Ordway
21/7: 121 miles, Tribune
22/7: 71 miles, Dighton

This brings us to a grand total of 2158 miles after 27 days of riding. We currently estimate our route to be a total of about 4110 miles and aim to finish inside 55 days, so we are pleased with the current situation.

Wyoming proved to be a slightly troublesome state for us as it was where Rob's rear wheel caused much grief. So we crossed the border into Colorado with hopes that the new state would bring a change of fortunes in that department. And although the bike mechanic in Kremmling, Colorado didn't produce exactly the product that we requested and he promised over the phone, the new wheel has thus far been a major improvement on the massively wobbly thing that Rob was riding previously. We are still in a constant state of mild fear that it's going to break again, but the further we go, the more relaxed we become. So that's good!

The Colorado mountains were stunning and a great area to ride through. The people up there were refreshingly active as well, and we found ourselves sharing bike paths with literally hundreds of people out enjoying the sunny weekend weather. It was, however, extremely cold at night up at that altitude and we do not joke when we report that icicles even appeared on our tents. That sort of thing really was not expected and we were rather underprepared. Despite wearing literally all of our clothes and being wrapped up tightly in our sleeping bags, we were still on the chilly side and found sleeping difficult. During the day the temperature was great for riding in though and cycling conditions were good. We did, however, notice the thinness of the air as we hauled ourselves up to the top of Hoosier Pass via several tight switch-backs in the road, but that just added to the great sense of achievement when we made it. The descent from the pass was fantastic as we fell 6000 feet in the space of about 60 miles. The fun was halted briefly by a thunder storm but fortunately we found a horse's stable to shelter in until it passed, then continued bombing down the road.

Most people associate Colorado with the mountains, but soon after the Hooiser Pass the scenery started to change dramatically. As we moved through Eastern Colorado and into Kansas first the hills disappeared, then the turns in the road, and then the trees. We fear our sanity may follow suit shortly. We now find ourselves in the plains of central America where, to put it mildly, there isn't much to see. The landscape is flat for as far as the eye can see, only interrupted if you're lucky by a grain elevator. It made an interesting change to the mountains for about the first, hmm, maybe 2 minutes, but after that the mind starts to desire a little more stimulation. It was telling that in the easternmost part of Colorado we passed three "Correctional Facilities" in quick succession. The land has to be used for something! As we drew out of Colorado we were flanked on our left hand side by carriage after carriage after carriage of stationary Union Pacific trains staring down on us forebodingly. They stretched for several miles at a time and Monkey Man Dan couldn't resist climbing on to the top of one for a photo shoot.

Occasionally we will spot an object standing out in the distance near the road and guess how far away it is. We always underestimate as you can see anything more than 10 metres high from about 25 miles away. We tried to refrain from pluggling into our I-Pods for as long as possible, knowing that eventually we would come to rely on them to stop us from falling asleep in the saddle, but within the first day Dan had succumbed. Rob joined the headphone gang the next morning. Rob has particularly enjoyed Lynyard Skynyard for his "motivational country rhythms" while Dan favours Avril Lavigne as he channels her anger to drive him on.

We have said all along that the wind in Kansas has the potential to either make or break the trip. The prevailing wind comes from the west and that actually played a significant part in our choice to cycle west to east rather than vice versa. There is nothing worse than cycling into a headwind, achieving nothing and simply knackering yourself out, whereas nothing beats flying along effortlessly with the wind on your back. Wind behind you and you can do 150 miles in a day no problem; in your face and you're fighting for 50. So far we've had mainly crosswinds, which is fine, but we're sending up prayers for it to shift round kindly. Fingers crossed!

So the complexion of the trip has changed quite significantly, but we like any sort of challenge and shall adapt accordingly. Previously it was more of a physical test to get up and over steep mountains. Now we need to find the mental strength to get across the long and barren plains. We are actually extremely excited by this new chapter and are going to give it our very best.

We have spoken previously about the many wonderful Americans that we have met along the way, but we should also mention the other cyclists that we have come across on the route. On most days we pass people coming in the other direction on the Trans America Trail (the name of the route that we are following), but it is those that are going in the same direction as us that we have been able to spend more time with. There is brilliant camaraderie among cyclists and those who have been to places you are heading to act as a wonderful source of useful information. Everyone we have met, without exception, has been great to hang out with and you meet all sorts, from Paul the 67 year old retired teacher/SAS soldier who has basically cycled everywhere in the world and told some incredible stories to Lewis, the 9 year old boy who is riding on the back of a tandem with his dad.

So it is pleasing to be able to sign off once again by reporting that morale is high and that it continues to be the trip of a lifetime. The life of a long distance cyclist is repetitive in many ways, but it is so exciting too, and we frequently say to each other "wow, this really is cool". What is also cool is how much money we have managed to raise so far, and we thank all our sponsors for their huge generosity. We're approaching our target of 5000 pounds, and it would just be smashing if we could pass it.

http://www.justgiving.com/robertdstevenson1/

Kisses and hugs from the two of us.