CT & Bugs Cross America

SF to NY - Done & Dusted!

2008-10-30T05:43:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is Chris' final word on what has been a remarkable achievement. No official word from Paul but I think he may be too busy with the business of pram shopping and Lamaze classes ... Yes indeed, in a move reminiscent of a group of drinkers sneaking in a double round before Last Orders, Bugs has managed to complete his 36 day trip just in time before the arrival of 'Baby Bear' - Lucy confirmed this news to him during the trip but he was able to keep schtum until now... Congrats to you both!

See the side panel for some great photos of the welcome reception - thanks to all who could make it ... Here's Chris...

"Hi Dave,
Its something of a thrill to be typing to you from my computer rather than via blackberry in a small town motel room with Bugola in the background oohing and aahing over news of a change in wind direction on The Weather Channel.

I can't describe how exciting it was to reach New York on Saturday evening. Even right up to the end there were twists and turns and the last day was anything but the easy run in we expected. This was due of course to our poor planning and unrealistic expectation more than anything else. We underestimated how much slower it would be cycling across dense urban areas and the huge city of Philadelphia didn't turn out to be too bike friendly.

We knew from Thursday morning that we couldn't make our target Friday evening arrival to NY. Like Eric Bristow on a bad day we hadn't left ourselves with a checkout when we stepped up to the oche on Friday morning, so we thought we'd lay ourselves up for a comfortable 'double top' New York finish on Saturday afternoon. So we'd planned to be north east of Philly by stumps on Friday leaving an easy Saturday run knowing the weather was turning but we ran out of daylight and ended up in downtown Philly on the Friday night. Despite not wanting to be there we enjoyed the fact that our last night of 35 on tour was in one of America's great cities.

The 100 or so miles up to Manhattan was well within our range on the flat so we felt ok, until we had a string of last day mechanical problems. We both had punctures and I don't know what I ran over but I had a bad tear in my back tyre that was rideable but not for long. This was near Princeton so we made a small detour to the delightful University town (and therefore guaranteed to have a bike shop) which is also home to that famous Study Group glamour couple, Peter and Madge "Lord & Lady" Lightburn.
Jay's Cycles sorted me out with a new back tyre and we were off again. It basically rained all day and by the time we got up to near Newark Airport it was blowing a gale and starting to get dark. Buggy went into another phase of his Crocodile Dundee 'instinct' navigating, and before we knew it, we were cycling in the middle of 6 lanes of the extremely wet and incredibly windy New Jersey Turnpike at which point we encountered our final brush with the law on tour.

I have to say that we found the New Jersey police to be infinitely more polite than their shirty counterparts in Delaware, where a diminutive, shoulder chipped, Napoleonesque jobsworth copper fined us for riding across a bridge and aggressively told us if he saw us there again he'd put us in jail (I know I do exaggerate sometimes but that is true). Anyway the more friendly NJ cop told us if we tried to carry on the short distance on this road to the Lincoln Tunnel we'd "definitely" be killed and that if we tried to go back we'd also get ourselves killed (now he was getting hip with the exaggeration thing but he did have something of a point). Well, on a Saturday night he obviously didn't fancy the paperwork involved with 2 deceased foreign cyclists so he called for a van to get us & our bikes through the tunnel and on to Manhattan. From there, we had the the glory run to the Triple Crown and our incredible reception committee.
We were staggered to see so many people there which was wonderful. The Study Group crew out in force, Alison & co, the Trumpton AFC lads.. We even had an official finish line tape courtesy of Sam and Joe who managed to nip out between the traffic as we approached and unreel a length of toilet roll across half the width of 7th Avenue for us to ride through (the type of inspired initiative that has made the SG IT dept legendary).
The rest of the evening (and most of Sunday actually) is somewhat hazy. We would like to say a sincere thank you to everyone who helped us along in our adventure. We had no idea that our 'holiday' would generate so much interest. It has been positively overwhelming really and all the messages of support and encouragement played a big part in getting us to NYC. This is largely down to blogmeister extraordinaire Dave 'DC' Crossen who has been fantastic with his creative blog wizardry and also as our general communication, logistics and PR guru. Thanks also to the solid South Wales crew down in Swansea, to the wonderful Erin and the whole extraordinary team at Study Group (its unimaginable that there could be a better group of people to work with) and our friends everywhere who have got involved.

Sincere thanks to everyone who has donated money to our two charities. The response has been extremely generous and the money is going to two wonderful causes. If you haven't yet contributed and would like to, the charity website pages will be open for just a few more days so this is your last chance...

Bugs is now tantalizingly just short of the thousand pound barrier at GBP 964.99
My Building Futures fund currently stands at $ 5920, and with the matching amount pledged by Study Group, my generous employer, we totalling just short of $ 12,000..

Those site links again:
Paul:

http://www.justgiving.com/sanfrancisconewyork2008
Chris: http://www.firstgiving.com/christaylor2008

Oh well, back to my day job now...
CT."

End of the Road?

2008-10-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in any follow up post this week.

Bugs has been flying home & assimilating back into life, CT has been shaving his 'beard' & I have been enrolled in a post-blog support group seminar ... suffice to say that they made it to NYC & had several celebratory drinks on Saturday evening/Sunday morning.

Chris is working on a summary & it will be posted here v soon. Expect some Final Day stories, thanks & acknowledgments & several never-before-seen photos of the trip ... Cheers.

Done

2008-10-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

A quick note to recognize that the Manahttan ticker-tape reception down 7th Avenue should be proceeding as planned as they emerge from the rainy late afternoon dusk. Thanks to Kingy for his local knowledge of Jersey City & environs, the boys should be arriving at the end of their epic adventure.

Here's some messages to relay from the P Evans/Bear fan club in Swansea;

" Laura: Congratulations Bear, very proud of you, looking forward to catching up for that celebratory drink or 10. xx

Lucy: Looking forward to seeing you with all the lovely pressies you've got me. x

Lindsay: Hey Bear, you've surprised us all by still being alive. Well done and congratulations. xx

Tom: having a few pints for you, well done! (ya c*&t!)"

Despite your use of erm, snooker hall language on a family site Tom, think I'll join you. Tune in over the next day or so for a report on how they chose to celebrate their achievement, the final puncture count and hopefully a few words of summary from CT & Bear.

Chow.

Mission Accomplished?

2008-10-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

Philadelphia, PA; Spoke to the boys tonight from Philly...they're so close that you can almost smell them...

For all of you (us?) who said that it can't be done...I leave it to the most powerful and f-witted man in the world to spell it out...Lets hope that this post is more prophetic than that which the image below foreshadowed*...

For all you naysayers out there...

Let it go Frank..

or put another way, as Frank would like to have sung it...

or possibly Kanye West..

one for Bugs

or Sumo

For those of you who can be there, get yourselves to the Triple Crown on Saturday from 5pm, if not feel free to show your admiration with a message or a charity donation... You know what to do & how to do it.

Cheers.

* This comment was brought to you by Jameson's Irish Whiskey and approved by the Obama '08 campaign

Ocean to Ocean!

2008-10-23T15:29:00.001-07:00

QUICK UPDATE - Thursday eve EAST COAST TIME!!

Just spoke to a jubilant CT who was at the Days Inn in Downtown Baltimore*, having made it to the East coast of the USA ... Sounded like a tough day on the Navigational front, but they plan to celebrate with a steak tonight & get cracking early doors up to Philly & then onto NYC for a Sat pm arrival.

NYCers, note that the tentative drinks time is now 6pm at the Triple Crown ... It would be great if the Lads could get a warm NYC reception...

* Special thanks to Gerald at Days Inn for his hospitality & interest in the Lads' efforts .. the latest member of the Random acts of kindness clique..

Readers Corner

A great entry here from the "K-town massive" Aka Peter, Tracey & George Wowk (& unnamed dog in surgical mask...?)

"Sumes & Bugs

Tremendously proud of both of you, an inspirational achievement. Devastated that we can't be with you for this weekends ticker-tape parade; instead we have sent a photographic tribute entitled 'Evolution of the Helmet'

Loads of love
the Wowkys"Blog Update - Due to travel, there may be limited entries in the next couple of days as the Lads showboat their way up the coast to New York. Rest assured that the key milestones will be noted ... & keep the Comments, best wishes & charity donations coming... Cheers!

Hancock, Md

2008-10-23T05:14:00.000-07:00

Herbie & Tony

Per the STOP PRESS>>> announcement yesterday, the Final Countdown nears...

" Yo DC! You prob have most of the info from our phone chat but thought I'd do some more notes while I'm waiting for Bugola to get out of the shower...Tough going in those Appalachian mountains today. Had to settle with stopping in Hancock, Maryland although we'd hoped to get further.

Looks like we've 1 more significant climb tomorrow morning then we should be clear of the big hills!Good luck to Trumpton AFC tonight in the NY 'metrosoccer' league. I hear the results have been going well the last few weeks lads. Should I be worried about getting my place back? I'm available for selection next week...

Special mentions today:Mike at "Cycles and Things" bike shop in Cumberland who gave us a service, new tyres and sorted my back wheel - he almost keeled over when he saw the state of Buggy's back tyre (which resembled the top of Tobsy's 'seymour' head) and possibly explains the puncture count which now stands at Bugs 13 - 3 CT for the tour.

Had a nice breakfast stop with Cheryl and the team at the "Lil Corner Market" in Frostberg, who took a surprisingly high level of interest in our expedition. A big hello from me to the formidable, stylish and simply sensational IAC (International Admissions Center) and all at the Study Group USA corporate office. Thanks for your messages, in particular the inspirational and profoundly motivational 'cheer-a-mid'. I'll see you all soon guys - you rock"

Good news CT as the famous TAFC secured a memorable 5-2 win in your honor featuring a very unSpurs-like (in fact, quite unRudy-like) display of finishing from Rudy 'World' Ceres (BTW, I just noticed an uncanny resemblance between him & Herbie Hancock), a solid defensive performance and, at the 'core' of the team, keeper Steve Apple who made sure that we didn't 'crumble'...

Readers Corner - Special Edition

2008-10-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

Due to an unprecedented volume of emails, I thought I'd put in a special post to recognize some of the tremendous support which is making its way across the ocean as the boys get ever closer. In true " Tony Hart/ Vision On" style, I don't have time to read out all your letters, but here is a representative sample, including a family appeal to FoBs* to cast a vote in our interactive poll (on the bar to the right... only 1 vote per computer & hanging chads are not counted).

* Friends of Bugs

" Hi DC,

Bugs's sister in law Lindsay here. Am sad to see poor Bear (as we know him) only has 2 votes. i have frantically been trying to vote for him over and over but alas my extra votes are not allowed it seems. So, I have rung round everyone to try and get them to vote for him as he can't come second to Sumo, it would cripple his ego.

Spoke to him last Saturday night and he said he was looking forward to the last couple of days but just wished above anything that the wind would turn round for them. Have been looking at the forecasts for the rest of their trip and they should be having nice sunny weather thursday and friday with much lighter winds (N/S) but if they don't get there before Friday night they will be getting seriously wet Saturday and Sunday, not nice to arrive in really.

Have attached some photos of Bear & Sumes for the site if you think they are appropriate that is! Have had a warning off Lucy that I am not to submit any photos of Bear looking like a tw*t! This has seriously narrowed down my choices.

Ciao for now - Lindsay x"

Thanks Lindsay - Your revealing of Paul's nickname explains why Paul had the ironic grin on his face for the Utah bear photo that was posted before (& here)... He's very subtle that way. I've added a couple of the photos here, including one with the aforementioned Phil "Valderama" Jenkins and his namesake, the irrepressable John Jenkins. Its a Jenkinsfest!

Also fromWales, Irene is back accompanied by the WAGs from Penllergaer with more wise words of motivation...

"Hi Guys

You are nearly at the end of your epic journey (with sore ass…’s I’m sure). But what a wonderful achievement, we would love to be there in New York to see you over the finishing line – but unfortunately the credit crunch has hit us hard – never mind, we will hopefully see you (Bugs) on Tuesday to a ‘Warm Welcome Back’

Your WAG colleagues at Penllergaer."

And long-time reader, 1st time caller John Dixon who is using this platform to promote a show on an inferior cable network than NBC...

" DC
As a massive fan of the "The Wire" (Greatest TV Show in the World Ever TM) I'm v excited about Baltimore. Dix"

And finally, after completing a full '180' in his level of cynicism for the trip, Gordy reveals that his scepticism is genetic...

" Having previously informed my parents of the TransUS cycling Tour, and the plan to cycle across in 30 days, which solicited a number of responses – mainly along the lines of “utter madness & its only a matter of time before one of you lot do yourself a serious injury” ; “nothing surprises me anymore” & “Such lovely lads, I do hope they look after themselves” variety. I then had a lovely conversation with my Mother last night. The upshot of which, on hearing they were bang on schedule and were in line to finish on Friday evening, was this.

(Fyi – bit of background, Bugs used to work with my Mother at Harrow Borough Council back when he was living in Ealing)

Mrs. McD ….“Unbelievable, I find it incredulous to believe that after 3,000+ miles of continual cycling across a continent, across 10+ states, with little discernable plan to speak of, they are on bang on schedule! Especially when you consider that in the year Paul worked at the council with me, he was never on time for work once when he only lived 3 miles down the road in Ealing”

"Late again Mr Evans..."

STOP PRESS>>> As I was blogging away, I got a call from CT & Bugs - live from the honeymoon suite at the Super 8 Motel, Hancock, Md. The conversation consisted mainly of more whining about the Appalachians " longer day than planned" "Killer Hills" " No switchbacks" "Really cold" "Appalachians blah blah blah" but I did manage to find out that they are one big hill away from a gentle descent to Dix's beloved Baltimore, from where its a two day trip to NYC ...

They are planning a minor champagne moment at Baltimore as that will represent the Ocean-to-Ocean achievement, ahead of a major champagne moment which is currently looking like Saturday in NYC, but stay tuned in case a gust of wind gets them moving for a Friday arrival....

Ohio-West Virginia-Pennsylvania-Maryland

2008-10-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

The title of this post may sound like an excerpt from Howard Dean's famous election trail rant, but it is in fact an account of one day's riding ... Seems like the boys are beginning to believe their own hype & doing some showboating as they cruise towards the Triple Crown Alehouse (See use of word 'Monumental' in Chris' note today..).

CT's blackberry is back in action ... The first bit covers Monday & may be old ground for those of you who are regular visitors..

" Hi DC,

A mixed day for us yesterday. We got an early dawn start and it was bitterly cold for the first hour or so. After it warmed up the riding conditions couldn't have been better - sunny and clear blue skies with no wind. We had a route problem however in that our road (Route 40) literally disappeared and turned into an Interstate Freeway for about 10 miles that we can't go on.

So we had to find an alternative road which wasn't very direct and we had to ride up a dirt track for a few miles (this is rural Ohio). Awful for cycling and I picked up a puncture and a slight buckle to my back wheel, which is rideable for now. Nowhere near as serious as the buckle that put Bugsys bike out of action in Utah.

So anyway, all of that slowed our progress. We did 90 miles and stopped just east of Wheeling in West Virginia. Great to see some communication from Southport, Lancashire. Thanks to Derek Macklam for trying to introduce my parents, Jim & Alice, to the technological 21st century. They're not too familiar with t'internet (as one says int' north of England) or blogging, as borne out by Mum saying "why does your sister tell us to look in the bog?".

Special mention to all the other good folks in Churchtown Southport who may be reading, inc the St Cuthberts crew, the Hopwoods, the Kirks et al. Bugola's mum, Gaynor, and my mum Alice are both exceptional singers and special hello's go out to all in their respective choirs: the impressive Morriston Tabernacle Choir in Swansea and the sensational Southport Bach Choir http://www.southportbachchoir.org.uk/ in Southport.

(Surely a "Sing Off" can be arranged?- Ed)

Tuesday evening: Monumental day today. We've just checked in at the Casselman Inn in Grantsville, Maryland after a very hard, and cold, 105 miles in the Appalachian Mountains. Dave - did I mention before how tough the Appalachians are? (Answer; YES) There's a lot of talk about Halloween this week but if you want something really scary try riding some of these Appalachian hills (Per my previous comment, you've told us that already). Long, steep climbs, and harder than those we had in the Rockies (Hello? Are you listening?). We were going up Jimmy and down Jim all day (poor gag for UK readers). Possibly the hardest day's riding of the trip so far. Some beautiful scenery though and tremendous autumn colours.

Hoping to get close to Baltimore tomorrow. We started in West Virginia this morning, moved into Pennsylvania and then sneaked into Maryland this evening.

Lucy: Christmas gift ideas for Buggy, number 1: A map folding course."

It makes you wonder what all the fuss was with Edmund Hilary/Chris Bonnington/Into Thin Air etc. when we have the Appalachians so close. I'm looking forward to the movie version of this trip as Chris & Paul (played by Eddie Large & Max Boyce) ascend the monumental Appalachians in biting cold with only a thin layer of spandex between themselves & an almost certain hypothermic demise brought on by sheer exhaustion & altitude sickness.

Thanks to Jurg & Adele (See earlier post from Nevada) who supplied some new photos, including this action shot to the left and the one which has replaced the long time blog header at the top of this page and ... A controversial change of branding which I hope does not drive traffic away from the site. Jurg & Adele are now back to their Safe European Home - it just shows you that doing this on a Harley is the easier (& arguably smarter) play. They didn't send a photo of themselves, but this is how I imagine them to look;

Country Roads, Take me home...

2008-10-21T05:06:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Oct 21st. Thanks to John Denver for today's post title and the following chorus of encouragement

Country roads, take me home

To the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain momma

Take me home, country roads

Got a call last night from Wheeler, West Virginia (apparently they have phones there now...), a rather tired CT was tucked up in bed after a bracing day through Ohio where they encountered a few navigational issues but managed to make good headway & got to WVa (I think its the 10th state so far...) for an overnight stop.

The last time they were both on a West Virginian adventure was on the legendary Gauley River Winnebago Whitewater Tour of 2000 ... Thankfully, as Gordy, Jonny Cook & myself can testify, it seems like Chris' pedaling skills appear to be superior to his paddling skills which can at best be described as 'Deacon-esque'.

A timely note of encouragement was conveyed this morning to Chris & Paul from Jim & Alice Taylor (Chris' folks - who apparently don't call him Sumo, who knew?). This was courtesy of Derek & Marlene Macklam - Southport's very own internet-connected webmasters - thanks v much. Keep the messages coming, as any Met fan will tell you, the last 10% of the season is the hardest (although Spurs seem to be making hard work of the first 10%... sorry Rudy/Bonner).

The countdown is unofficially ON with only Pennsylvania, Maryland (possibly) , New Jersey & New York to go. There is some debate about the best route home from where they currently are to avoid the treacherous Appalachians (Yeah, yeah, heard it all before...). Joe Corrals is now offering 5-2 on a Friday afternoon arrival in NYC with Betfair favoring a Saturday lunchtime return at 6-4. Either way, all NEW YORK AREA residents are hereby encouraged to join the Lads for their final isotonic celebration which will be at the Triple Crown Bar on 7th Ave & 29th Street - right in the heart of NYC's trendy fashion district where spandex pants & shiny helmets are all the rage... Stay tuned for date & time for this event...

STOP PRESS - Check out the mascots at tonights Champion League game ManU vs Celtic. Former blog birthday boy Rory Crossen will be featured, hopefully slide tackling Rooney in the warm-up!

3000 Miles - Show me the money

2008-10-20T05:11:00.000-07:00

Now safely into Ohio and through that renowned psychological barrier of 3000 ( see Pete Rose # of hits, Oil changes etc.) the Lads are daring to think about the finish line. Here's Chris' report from Zanesville;

" Evening DC! We're spending the night in Zanesville Ohio. Did 104 miles today. Nice ride - it was cold but sunny and totally clear blue skies. A very light headwind but calm most of the day which was ok. Forecast tomorrow looks good - sunny blue skies, cold and we may actually have some wind behind us!

We're hoping to get to the Pittsburgh area tomorrow. We go through a small slither of West Virginia before we cross into Pennsylvannia which will put another state in the collection.

Cheers,CT and Bugola"

By my calculations, they have about 500 Miles to go. Finally we get the chance to reminisce about one of the finest Scottish Ballads ever sung by a pair of dorks with tight jeans and jam jar glasses. In honor of The Proclaimers and their close friends Tom Cruise & Cuba Gooding, let me remind you that this is the last week that you can participate in this event through the power of the mighty greenback (or brownback in the case of those quaint British notes). On behalf of CT & Bugs ... One final time, if you have not already done so - Show them the Money!

(links to the charity sites are posted to the right of this panel).

FROM INDIANA TO OHIO (in 2 quick emails)

2008-10-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday October 19 2008. A veritable flurry of info from CT this morning. It covers a few days of action so here goes;

(From Friday) " We're in Greenfield, Indiana, about 30 miles east of Indianapolis. We had a low mileage day today (about 85) - slowed down going through Indianapolis. We decided to carve straight through the center, past the Indy Colts (who?) footy stadium and the impressive war memorial downtown and we also spent a necessary 3 hours at a bike shop (a good one too - Indy Cycles - thanks to Jim, Scott and the guys there) getting some mechanical attention for the bikes.

We also bought some insulated shoe covers as our little feet are getting cold in the mornings and in anticipation of colder possibly wetter weather in the Appalachians. (Whooo... there goes that Appalachian intimidation again - Ed)

Jim, who has cycled Transamerica before, gave us some valuable route advice and we've changed our current Indiana route - we're now going east on Route 40. Jim at the bike shop also made a generous offer of putting us up for the night, which we'd have gratefully accepted another time but we opted to get a few more miles in before dusk and made it to Greenfield.

Tobs - thanks for your inspirational call this afternoon when we were in Indianapolis. With reference to Charlie's donation comment about Buggy shaving his head (football tour, Bordeaux circa 1988), Bugs maintains that he played merely a minor supporting role and is very happy to grass up Turpo and Rashman who really did the damage.

Special mention to Jim Maschmeyer in Indiana who offered help with the Indiana leg of the trip and accommodation chez Maschmeyer. Since our route moved further north we couldn't take Jim up on it. Jim is cycling too this weekend in the "hilly hundred". Have a great ride Jim and hopefully we'll be able to meet up next time!

Gordy - thanks for your uncharacteristically encouraging phone message. Good that you're trying to shed your cynical image and distance yourself from Bonner.

Great message from Dixie also who makes the very good point that after drifting for years with no real purpose, DC has finally found his raison d'etre as a creative blog genius. But what will he do next? As a group I think we need to take collective responsibility for ensuring that Dave's transition back to a non blog existence is as smooth as can realistically be expected. Dixie is currently researching appropriate counselling for Dave. As for Bugs and I, we're just looking forward to spending some quality time on seats that are greater than 3 inches wide.

CT and Bugs"

Talking of saddles, additional thanks to John Dixon for reminding me of one of the best TV ads of all time ... Perhaps this is how CT got started with this cycling thing?

Then from Sunday morning;

"Morning DC!

We crossed into Ohio yesterday. Now in Springfield and we'll be heading for Columbus this morning.

We did 113 miles yesterday into a headwind. It sounds like a big moan on our part but even a fairly low wind makes a huge difference on a bike. We had 2 days of tailwinds after we cleared the Rockies and did 130+ fairly easily both days but we've ridden against headwinds ever since which means we have to work very hard to get to 100, so its probably cost us a couple of days.

Forecast today is easterly winds again but fairly low and at least its sunny and dry. Great dinner last night (probably knocking Duffy's Bar last week off the tour no 1 spot) at Casey's Steakhouse (Hello Shermo!!) in Springfield.

CT and Bugs"

INDIANA III

2008-10-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Spoke to CT & Bugs on speakerphone last night live from the Holiday Inn Express in Greenfield, Indiana ... Livin' the dream.

They had made OK progress - about 80 miles including a useful stop at a local bike store for a full tune up and chance to purchase several accessories and enough gadgets to make Pete Hart proud. They are clearly bracing themselves for the Appalachians which, according to Bugs' impressive cycling lingo, are tougher than the Rockies on account of the lack of "Switchbacks".

Beyond tales of a somewhat Cuthbert Cringeworthy moment when Bugs was invited to say grace before breakfast, they did not have much to report. Hands up if the following scene didn't just pop into your head...

Buggy at breakfast video

Readers Corner

Absent any other commentary, the public has stepped in and provided us with some quality diversions. First, the Sibley siblings got creative with their motivational message which quickly became the inaugural entry into the "Fan Zone" TM (see right). Within minutes, Erica Johnson and the IAC team at Studygroup were one-upping them with their "Cheer-a-mid". Surely its Irene & Hildred's turn to go one better? If anyone has any suggestions for Paul (& Chris') No1 Fans, then don't be shy.

The Lads were also stunned yesterday by a sincere phone call from a certain JEA Tobbell which apparently contained no mockery, profanity or abuse. I guess that there's a first time for everything when you're cycling across America. Hands up if the following scene just popped into your head;

Next up was the Sultana-esque Phil Jenkins, emailing under the pseudonym "Amanda" trying to get the following message of support to our spandex-clad superstars..

" Have been trying to send e-mails to Sumo but no joy! Go carefully as the Appalachians bear a remarkable resemblance to the hills around Merthyr Tydfyl. Although after 2000 miles the numbness will help. Doing a brilliant job! Keep it up. Phil Jenks"

Hands up if the following images didn't just pop into your head;

Hoping for an update today as they head towards Ohio.

INDIANA II - Featuring Troopergate

2008-10-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

Another missive from CT just hit the inbox;
" Forget Glastonbury, the Cannes Film Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe. We're in Rockville, Parke County Indiana and this week is the 52nd annual "Covered Bridge Festival". On its roadside welcome board, Rockville boldly announces itself as the "covered bridge capital of the world". I wouldn't dispute it, as the locals take it pretty seriously. At first glance it looked like a flimsy excuse for a hog roast and a few drinks. After having a look around it still seems like that. Unless you're a Rockvillian. It certainly makes up for missing the horseshoe throwing competition in Austin, Nevada by 1 day.

The Covered Bridge festival is so big that we almost got caught out finding a room. After seeing 'no vacancy' signs on a couple of motels we saw "The Bubble Gum Bed and Breakfast" (www.bubblegumbandb.com). It was also full but Elaine the friendly owner kindly offered to call round some other places for us.

She did and everywhere in Rockville (its small) was full. We sat and had coffee with Elaine's entire family, who were in the lounge watching Jeopardy, in between coming up with nonsensical suggestions for where we could stay, which ranged from the church (Elaine's mum), to the fire station (Grandad), and then Elaine actually called officer "Bob" at the police station to see if we could have a cell (no, she really did). Bob politely said that it wasn't possible. In the end by the time it got to 8:30 Elaine gave us Room 3 as the people who booked it had not shown up. I'm sure they're going to arrive any second now. Room 3 has 1 double bed, so we're forced into a 'Morecambe and Wise' situation tonight. Just what I needed...

Hard ride today from Decatur. Windy again. Just over 100 miles but we did about 10 extra because we got lost. On leaving Decatur this morning, Bugs said, "chuck the Illinois map, we don't need it now as we'll be in Indiana at lunchtime and its a straight road to the border". We did and it was but somehow we got lost on "the straight road".

Saw some stand up comedy in a bar in Decatur last night. The first act was truly diabolical. The 2nd, a guy called Dwight Yorke ( interesting career change from Premiership football) was reasonable. We thought we might have been out of the cowboy hat belt by now but most of the local Decatur men were 'dressed up' in their uniform of boots, jeans, unfeasibly large belt buckle, chunky cowboy shirt, oversized stetsun (worn indoors), goatee beard, bottle of Bud Light, swagger and oversize pickup truck outside. Mind you, in our cycling gear they clearly thought we were a right pair of top Leonards.

So another landmark day today. A new state and crossing into our 3rd (and final) tour time zone, Eastern time. Dave - we're not sure of the motto for Indiana. Is it "The Maschmeyer State"?

(Good guess CT, but as readers of last night's post could tell you, it is in fact the Hoosier State. However, the state legislature might consider a change if there's enough public demand. I am considering a campaign, using the readership of this blog as my base. The significant response to the 1st Poll (see right), suggests that there are people out there who want a voice on the important issues of the day).

Shortly before the State Line, we had our 2nd brush with the law. We got pulled over by a copper as Buggy sailed through a stop sign causing the police car (who had right of way coming from the left) to stop to avoid hitting him. Officer Troga of the Illinois PD stopped me and shouted "your friend needs to pedal his sorry ass back here immediately as he's looking at a $75 traffic violation ticket." Bugs didn't respond and kept going, oblivious to the fact that the cop car was even there because he was listening to Led Zeppelin 4 on his ipod, very loudly. A defence that held little water with Officer Troga. Where is PC Barfoot when you need him? (In fact Pete - what has happened to Barf?) Anyway, after a chat about the fact that we were just 2 dopey British guys who didn't know any better ("we weren't sure what the big red sign with stop on it meant - we don't have those in Wales" etc etc) and the bike ride, he let us off.

Special mention today for a key member of our support team - our in-house meteorological expert, Lindsay Dovey. Linz has been sending us strategic, in-depth tactical weather reports, from the Met faculty at Reading University where she's studying for a degree in Meteorological Studies, which now form the cornerstone of our strategic ride planning. Eg "Lads, you will get wet today, Linz". Keep them coming Lindsay!

CT & Bugs"

For non-UK readers, this is a picture of the only other famous Welsh meteorologist & is in no way meant to suggest any likeness between Ms Dovey and Sian Lloyd. Also note the level of detail and useful information that one can expect from a British weather forecast.

INDIANA

2008-10-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

Illinois, Schmillinois! Blink & you missed it. The Lads made quick work of that state. So quick in fact that Gordy didn't have time to point out that he used to work in Chicago, in an old department store. Fortunately, he doesn't work there any more, so its a moot point.

Here's CT's latest email which I think sums things up better than I could;

" We're in Indiana!"

I'm thinking that we might get a bit more detail overnight, but it signals good progress today. I thought I'd kill some time by charting out the phenomenal progress that they have made so far (See below). As you can see, they are very much on the back 9, as a note from earlier today points out;

"Yo DC! Just left Decatur heading east on the 36. We might make it into Indiana this afternoon..Weather looks good today - dry and sunny - hoping for good mileage. We're down to less than a 1000 to go now we reckon. The countdown's on..Our main concern is finding a easy route through the Appalachian mountains.."

I'm not exactly sure what he means by 'easy route through the Appalachians', I did some research & could only really come up with this image to point out some of the dangers that may lay in wait. Apparently, the Appalachian folk are so hospitable that they insist on entertaining any passers-by with some friendly banjo banter. Knowing Bugs, I'm sure he'll find it hard to resist the chance to jam with the locals, I just hope that it doesn't slow them down too much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyKvD-4IxOY

For now, they are in Indiana - the "Hoosier state". I am very familiar with Indy, so will be able to educate interested readers as our cycling heroes progress through the base of the WORLD champion Colts* and home of Motorsport (with apologies to residents of Silverstone and that place in Italy where they make Ferraris).

*2007

ILLINOIS Chapter 2, featuring food reviews

2008-10-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

Chris' thumbs must be sore after cranking out this one on his blackberry today;

"Morning DC1 (using your full name due to the welcome recent emergence to the blog of the 40 year old DC2),

Currently in Pittsfield, Illinois. We made a glorious crossing over the wonderful Missisippi River which forms the state line between Missouri and Illinois, in Mark Twain country.
The fall (autumn for you Brits out there) colours are beautiful right now and we had a great ride through some lush Illinois countryside.

Our exertions make breakfast an important daily event for us and I'm delighted to announce a new holder of the "best breakfast on tour" title and also a new entrant for the prestigious "nicest people we've met on tour" league. Let's hear it for Kemps Restaurant (www.Kempsrestaurant.com) in the town of Clarence, Missouri!

Managed by the charming Roberta Bichsel (think Felicity Kendal meets Jennifer Aniston) along with Travis and Roberta's elegant mum Barbara Kemp. (Pics to follow DC1). We had a blockbuster full breakfast and an entertaining chat with the team at Kemps, after which Roberta refused to accept any payment!

After hearing of our fundraising and looking at the blog she asked that our breakfasts be her contribution to the cause. Roberta didn't stop there. On hearing our clueless route conversation she called the local Highway police in both Missouri and across the border in Illinois to ask for route advice and Bugs ended up having a long conversation with the duty Sergeant about the best roads for cycling which he sent through and Roberta printed off for us (mainly due to her dismay at the fact that we didn't have a map that extended to Illinois, and that our Missouri map was at that point a screwed up ball of soggy papier mache in Bugs back pocket). To round off the breakfast Roberta called the local newspaper to interview us.

We also tend to eat big lunches too. The previous day after an extended 74 mile, appetite building morning ride we chanced upon the China Garden 'all you can eat' buffet lunch and comprehensively took them to the cleaners - somewhat reminiscent of the 'eat off' with Jumbo, Bonner and Tobs at the lunch buffet aboard the Harwich - Hook of Holland ferry, on football tour circa 1991.

I caught Mr Garden making a distressed grimace as we left his fine chinese eatery and cycled off down route 36.

After one last drink stop at the Railsplitter Inn in Hull with the owner, who looked uncannily like Eli Wallach in the Good the Bad and the Ugly, we made it to Pittsfield. (Pictured right after spending 20 mins talking to CT & Bugs - Ed).

Marriage congratulations to Liz Connolly (sorry I couldn't be there last weekend) and big congrats also to Nige Pamps and Chrissy!

Cheers,
CT"

So we're up to date ... One editorial note. It has been pointed out that there is something of a whiff of nepotism in the Birthday wishes that have been posted on the blog. I must confess that there seems to be an interesting trend in the Crossen family to have birthdays approximately 9 months after the traditional central heating switch off date of Jan 31st. However, I would point out that this is open to all & to prove the point, I am delighted to wish Gordy McDermid happy birthday for tomorrow (Oct 16th).

ILLINOIS

2008-10-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Update;

Quick call with CT last night revealed that they have made it to Illinois - State # 7 I believe. Staying in Pittsfield, IL after another 100+ mile day. I got an injury update which involved some quite detailed descriptions of Sumo's nether regions which I won't repeat here. The bottom line is that Sumo is beginning to show the inevitable signs of wear & tear that a normal person might expect after sitting on a razor-thin saddle non stop for 25 days. Bugs is fine.

$$$ SPONSOR SOME SPANDEX $$$

Tired of seeing CT decked out like some sort of washed-up TGI Fridays waiter at the end of a long shift?

Think that Paul is being a bit premature with his Tiger Woods-esque Red shirt before the final day?

Want to do some fine work for charity but not talk about it?

Or perhaps you're just plain generous and caring.

What better way to help out those less fortunate than you than making a donation to one or both of the fine charities that the Lads are pedaling for. You would also be doing a big favor to anyone who happens to be downwind of our spandex-clad duo. If we can collectively add another few hundred quid (or thousands in the case of the US peso) to these worthwhile causes, they have both promised to buy a fresh cycling shirt. And wear it.

Special Message to members of Trumpton & the UK Drivel Clique; There is a disappointing absence of familiar names & sarcastic puns/mocking comments on the charity sites. Dig deep & make the boys proud - in the words of my old Headmaster (when he had no idea who was responsible for a particular offence). " We know who you are".

Paul is riding on behalf of the Ed Evans Foundation & proceeds will go towards Brain Tumour UK;

http://www.justgiving.com/sanfrancisconewyork2008

Donations on Chris' site will go to Building Futures, a Study Group initiative in collaboration with Plan International;

http://www.firstgiving.com/christaylor2008

Thanks in advance...

MISSOURI - Day 2

2008-10-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

The Lads are making steady progress through Missouri. Here's an overnight update;

"Yo DC,We made it to Macon which is about 130 miles today. Should be in Illinois by tomorrow lunchtime (border town - Hannibal) Knackered - long day today and it rained for the last couple of hours of today's ride. Cheers mate - speak tomorrow, Sumes"

A couple of hours later, in came this important piece of info which will be a big relief for anyone caught downwind of these two;

" We're in Macon, Missouri. Breaking news - we did laundry yesterday which has boosted morale.. The status of riding gear was toggling between 'critical' and 'red alert'"

Readers Corner;

Further contact from the Wowk family today, who are obviously responding positively to the appearance of the Speaks Workwear logo on the the last blog. Fresh from a no doubt bracing trip to Whitby, they clearly understand the value of viral marketing & will keep getting positive mentions as the number one purveyor of tabards & other such quality workwear to the fine upstanding working population of the Greater Keighley conurbation. More info available through Wowkypedia.

Also, a nice note from Irene who works with Paul ... I guess that she's doing double duty with her own job & handling all of Paul's projects, so lets hear it for Irene!

" Had a short email from Paul it was great to hear from him – do tell him that we are keeping up with his blog page and tracking his performance – we are all routing for him. There is great speculation here that he won’t finish in time so do tell him to prove the sceptics wrong and peddle like crazy to make it to the finish in time.

Hildred and I are his No 1 fans and ‘Sumo’ is ok as well!!! There’s lots going on in the States at the moment –the election and what not! – tell them to keep their heads down, or they might find themselves on the Election trail, I’m told there’s a lady Rottweiler lurking around too."

I think by sceptics, she was referring to those naysayers who are casting doubt on the Lads' commitment & not the inhabitants of this great nation... I was pleased to see that her email (sent to Lucy) had the following warning at the end;

"Mae’n ddigon posibl y bydd unrhyw ohebiaeth drwy’r GSI yn cael ei logio, ei monitro a/neu ei chofnodi yn awtomatig am resymau cyfreithiol".

I believe that this translates as " When diving into a swimming pool after an afternoon of drinking, please ensure that there is sufficient water in the pool to avoid an accident." More to come on this story later...
And finally some activity from the previously quiet UK Drivel Clique .. The aforementioned cynics Gordy & Bonner (pictured above) continue in their cynical attempts to undermine the efforts of Irene & Hildred's heroes and questioning the diameter of their wheelbase (or "DW Count" as this is called amongst the cycling fraternity). Surely Chris will have something to say about that in his next message?

MISSOURI - The "Show me" state

2008-10-13T05:15:00.000-07:00

Overnight missive from CT:

"Missouri! 6th State of the trip. We're in St Joseph, Missouri, where we're staying tonight.

Tough cycling today. Did 103 miles but all in heavy winds. Frustrating as this is where we'd planned to be clocking up 130+ but its just not possible in this weather. Not even 'The Cynical Brothers', Bonner & Gordy (who incidentally refuses to pledge a cent of donation until we've completed the entire route to NYC), can claim we've been lucky this week.

We are quite glad to see the back of Kansas. I think we caught it on a bad few days with the weather but of all the states we've been through this is the one that is least how we expected it to be. Certainly tougher terrain for cycling than expected.

The people have been fabulous though. Met an interesting elderly couple this morning at breakfast - Chuck and Daisy from Kansas who were in Marysville to attend a sale of tractor parts and antique engines. He got his wallet out to show me some pictures that I assumed would be his grandchildren but no, he actually had pictures of all his tractors in his wallet. To be fair though, he also had a picture of his wife Daisy - in the background standing behind his favourite tractor. As we left breakfast thinking, could there be a worse way to spend a Sunday than at a sale of tractor engine parts in Marysville, Kansas, I imagine Chuck and Daisy were saying the same to each other about us cycling against the wind over the hilly route 36 to Missouri.

Cheers,CT"

KANSAS Sunday

2008-10-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

Here's an update from CT received Sunday evening NY time...

" Well, it turns out that big Steve Apple (Trumpton AFC goalkeeper and BBQ guru) was on to something with his comment that Kansas is the place for steak and BBQ.

We had the best tour meal so far at Duffys Bar and Grill in Smith Center. Their Prime Rib special was quite sensational and we got into a rather involved conversation with Ms Duffy, the charming owner about, well, prime rib. That might not be her name but she looked a bit like Jane Seymour - or more accurately, how I'd imagine Jane Seymour to look after cooking steak and eggs for Kansas farmers for 15 years. Maybe when Miss Solitare lost her mojo in Live and Let Die she opened a steakhouse in Kansas?

Ms Duffy-Seymour told us in some detail how their prime rib is slow roasted, seasoned and then grilled. Have to say I wasn't really that bothered (as I guess the blog readers aren't either) but for some reason it was a fairly critical issue for Bugs who recently seems to think he's some sort of Gordon Ramsey - Lucy what have you done to him?!

Anyway, a fine meal and when we left Ms Seymour-Duffy was as amused with Buggy's welsh accented "cheerio" as we were entertained with her Kansas "now you two boys come back again real soon now you hear, and I'll make some more of that there cherry pie for ya". I think she took a shine to Bugs.

Thanks for the mention of our 2000 mile landmark DC. Yes we celebrated at a gas station in Belleville with a pack of Skittles (our preferred 'wild berry' flavor) and a bag of Planters fruit and nut trail mix. Rock and Roll...

Stayed in Marysville last night in the ironically named 'Surf Motel'. Maybe its because there isn't a motel further from any surf. Hard ride yesterday, 119 miles. Against the wind again and who said Kansas is flat? Its not. DC, if your big posh clever company owns The Weather Channel, can you have a word with them about these easterly winds in Kansas? It was vaguely interesting for the first 3 minutes but after 3 days of constant east and south east winds we're not impressed.

Sunday midday - Just stopped for lunch in Hiawatha. Other than the name, its staggeringly dull.

Thanks to Wowky for the motivational phone message he left this morning which gave us a welcome and necessary lift in Hiawatha. Great to hear you had a nice day out in Whitby. I imagine its pretty much like Missouri. Love to Tracy and Georgie.

Cheers,
CT"

Hands up if you'd rather be eating skittles and cycling around Kansas vs. contemplating another week in the rat race...

2000 Miles

2008-10-11T14:43:00.001-07:00

BREAKING NEWS: Saturday Lunchtime, Belleville (Surely Belvoir?- Ed) Kansas.

CT & Bugs break the 2000 mile barrier for the trip & celebrate with, wait for it, "Lunch stop".

Who else could I turn to to mark this milestone than Ms Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30kXXTdmGCo

A 1983 classic from from the album "Learning to Crawl" ... apropos when one considers how the Lads will be moving around once this trip is over.

Here's the update from this morning for all you truckers out there...

" Thanks DC,

We'll ride easier with the Lukewarm confirmation.

We've met some great people along the way, many also doing variations of cross country journeys:

You might like to mention 2 other of the transamerica fraternity that we met recently.

http://www.Twobabesonbikes.blogspot.com

Molly and Stephanie gave us an unexpected lunch from their back up van at a deserted spot on Route 50 in Nevada a few days ago. We've just heard that they finished their trip going the other way from Boston to SF, so congrats to them!

The age of chivalry did actually die when Bugs took their sandwiches, drink and Molly's chair and sat and let Molly pump up his tyres. Of course their blog isn't a patch on yours DC...

Around the same time we met Jodie and Josh who are walking across America!

http://www.hugsforhumanity.com/

They are truly crackers - before their walk, Jodie actually drove through the remote parts of Nevada and buried water at 30 mile intervals along the route in case she got stuck!

We're making a dawn start now from Smith Center. Weather looks grim again but we're giving it our best shot.

Cheers for now,
Sumes"

For proof that they can make friends, see this picture> Nice of these two younger blokes to stop & check on the Lads. Note that the geezer on the left with the Chelsea away kit is riding some sort of foldaway bike - now that's impressive.

KANSAS Crop Report

2008-10-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

Morning Everyone,

Our pedalsome protagonists have been on rare form with their multimedia communications in the past two days. Emails (see below), text messages and even a couple of phone calls have helped me get up to date, so consider this a comprehensive post which should answer all your nagging questions and more.

Bottom line is that despite some bad luck on the weather front, the boys are using brute force and canny route improvisation to make steady progress and will soon be done with Kansas, allowing me one last Wizard of Oz reference.

Note: I also found the 'bold' function on the toolbar and figured out how to insert photos into different parts of the text. What will they think of next?

From Thursday overnight:

" Howdy (as they really do all say here) DC,

We're feeling a bit sorry for ourselves tonight. Been a bit scupperred by the weather.

We set off from Scott City planning to head east but were hit by strong (up to 40 mph) easterly headwinds all day. It was virtually impossible to cycle into so we made the bold decision to change our route and head north. We have to go north a bit anyway to get up to NY eventually but this wasn't the route we intended.

We watch The Weather Channel ( Now part of the impressive NBC Universal media portfolio) now as keenly as the Kansas farmers. We met some farmers at a lunch stop and a very engaging guy called Chip told us all about his underground irrigation system for his 2000 acre corn and wheat crop. Given the alternative was resuming cycling against a strong cross wind, we suddenly became phenomenally interested. Chip was a huge guy who looked like he's been on my current diet but without the exercise. He's a great guy and seemed perfectly comfortable not knowing where Wales is. "Hell I'm a Kansas redneck. Why should I care what Wales is?" Perfectly reasonable I thought.

You'll be relieved to know that the Kansas corn and wheat crops have been excellent his year. We made it to Oberlin and found the delightful Landmark Inn (the landlord, Gary keenly read through the blog Dave and was most complimentary') and a bar next door run by a bloke desperately trying to look like Hulk Hogan. Of course being in Kansas, our waitress really was called Dorothy. I asked her where her red shoes were and she was distinctly unimpressed.

The Landmark Inn, Oberlin, KS.

We'll be heading directly east on route 36 in the morning.
Cheers,
CT and Bugs"

Apparently Gary from the Landmark is the latest contributor to the 'Random Acts of Kindness' clique, as the following morning he drove several miles to catch up Buggy & reunite him with his gloves that he'd left behind at the hotel.

I for one was stunned that Paul would have committed such an absent-minded gaffe as forgetting an important item of clothing. If any of his friends and family out there have similar tales of f-wittedness that they would like to share, please get in touch.

Update at time of writing; On Friday they again had high winds to contend with, but battled hard to get ~100 miles done and came to rest in Smith Center (or Centre as you crazy Brits might say), Kansas. Sounding tired but upbeat, Chris was already asking for route advice for the Indiana leg of the trip, which is coming up soon... He had to cut his call short as Buggy was apparently toweling off in the hotel room and asking him for advice on whether to wear undies or 'go commando' ... I have spent the last few hours trying to unsee the mental image that was prompted when I overheard that question. Sorry, I think I just passed it on.

Believe it or not, I actually received the following question from the Lads... How those Kansas evenings must fly by...

"1 other thing.
Help. We spent all day yesterday trying to think of the name of the character played by Christopher Biggins in Porridge. The guy who worked in the kitchen. Its driving us crazy. Can you tell us?"

Well fellas, the answer is of course Lukewarm. Here's some background according to www.sitcom.co.uk/porridge

"Named in dubious honour of his cooking skills, Lukewarm is Slade's best-known 'iron hoof'. Opting for a quiet life with his knitting, his contributions to illicit schemes are usually limited to his skills in the kitchen. Away from his work, he fusses around cellmate Blanco, ensuring he's looking presentable for his parole appearances."

Finally some long awaited reader contributions;

" Lance Armstrong my ar$e ... these two really have got balls!"

M Sibley, London, England.

"Guys, Best of luck with your ride, the cycling community salutes you"

L Armstrong, USA Rising above the cheap jibes.

PS - Happy Birthday Rory Crossen!!

KANSAS Day 2

2008-10-10T03:41:00.000-07:00

Spoke to Chris last night. Not for the first time, he was complaining of wind problems. However, this appeared to be related to the prevailing Westerlies & not Bugs' early morning trumpeting. The headwind was so strong (up to 40 Miles per hour) on the Kansas plains yesterday that they decided on a bit of a route change & headed North ...

They made it to Oberlin, KS - which seems like a good effort in the circumstances. Here's hoping that the wind changes back to the more typical Easterly today & that they get back on track. If not, they could always switch to plan B, which involves 5 options;

A - Turn round & head back to San Francisco

B - Keep going North & go snowboarding at Whistler

C - Ditch everything, settle in Oberlin never to be heard of again.

D - Get to the nearest train station, hop on, get off in Pennsylvania & claim victory

E - Find a bar & get langered

Suggestions on a postcard please.

KANSAS

2008-10-09T05:08:00.000-07:00

Thursday October 9th, Captains Log. A short message from CT last night;

" We're in Wichita County, Kansas. Which is miles away from Wichita. Entering Central Time Zone now! 2 time zones on a push iron (push carbon in my case)."

I think that just about sums it up, apparently a time zone transition is a bit of a thrill for Transamerican cyclists. Its about all they have to look forward to as they tackle the country's flattest and least interesting state, famous for corn fields and a fantsay tale about a few muppets with no brain, heart, courage etc who go on an unlikely adventure.*

Thanks to all of you who have stepped up to the plate with your charity donations, I would thank you individually but I know that you don't like your giving to be highlighted - you know who you are!

Based upon Chris & Paul's increased use of their camera, we'll start to add some photos on the side of the blog here>. This space is also available for sponsorship ... If you would like to reach the lucrative consumers who are visiting this site (South Wales Government planners, NYC /Brighton Educational Services Professionals, Berkhamstead schoolboys, Keighley tabard wearers etc.), then what better place to see & be seen? simply email me an image or a message and I'll try to post it.

Any photos of Chris or Paul from before their "Famous for 15 mins" moment would also be good fodder for the masses I'm sure. If you want to go direct, you can post comments on any of these entries via the posting link below. Cheers.

*Any similarity between that story and the subject of this blog is purely accidental & the publisher accepts no responsibility for copyright infringement.

$$$ SPONSOR A SHAVE $$$

2008-10-08T06:24:00.000-07:00

Wondering what to do with your dwindling 401k?

Need somewhere meaningful to put what's left of your rainy day fund?

Feel like doing something for charity (without talking about it)?

How about sponsoring one or both of our hirsuite heroes & encouraging them to find the nearest slack-jawed redneck barber store/gun shop & letting them loose with a straight blade razor..?

The two links below are for the charities for whom Chris & Paul are raising funds with their trip ... So don't be shy, its a much better investment than putting it straight behind the bar in some City/Wall St drinking hole so that some pin-striped to$$er can waste it along with the rest of our hard-earned cash.

http://www.firstgiving.com/christaylor2008

http://www.justgiving.com/sanfrancisconewyork2008

PS - Happy Birthday Alison! xoxox

Day 18 Update ... Almost in Kansas

2008-10-08T04:41:00.000-07:00

So the Lads are back in the land of the living & CT was able to download a load of photos last night that can replace some of the improvised ones that have appeared of late. Here's a good summary of their latest escapades including a story that's perfect for the 'web'...

" Yo DC!
We just checked in to the Best Western Cow Palace hotel in Lamar, Colorado. Another big mileage day today - we did 131 from Walsenburg and finished at 6pm. Something of an animal theme to this bulletin.

Chatting to a local old timer last night who told us to look out for tarantulas on the road from Walsenburg to La Junta. Yeah right, I thought. But sure enough we saw 3 real life tarantulas. Just like in Dr No. One of the more bizarre sights involving Buggy that I've seen was with the first one. I was some way behind him at the time and as I approached I could see him stopped in the road with a rather odd stance. When I got up close I could see that he was actually trying to usher the tarantula off the road and to the safety of the roadside scrub, using his bike wheel. It was as if I'd come on tour with Dr Doolittle, or by Buggy's current bearded state,
Rolf Harris. After his valiant attempt for a couple of minutes to safe the directionally challenged octoped's life we had to retreat from the road to allow a truck to come through which comprehensively annihilated it.

On the subject of deadly species, we also came across 2 rattlesnakes in Nevada, one of which gave me a sudden burst of speed during an otherwise lethargic hill climb. We finished today in Lamar, which seems to be a big place for cattle trading. On the way in we saw the biggest herd of cows I've ever seen. I haven't actually seen many herds of cows at all to be honest but there were literally thousands of them.

Good ride today with great weather - cloudless blue skies. We're picking up some good mileage now we're out of the hills with over 260 in the last 2 days. We should hit our 5th State tomorrow as we move into Kansas. Don't know yet where we're heading for tomorrow because our map stops at the edge of Colorado. Need to get a map of Kansas in the morning from the gas station."

Route So Far - One for the Stattos

2008-10-08T04:28:00.000-07:00

Yes - this is Bugs in charge of the map ... What was CT thinking?? Here's his update of the route so far...

Day 1: San Francisco to Sacramento
Via Vellejo, Davis

2: Sacramento to Woodfords
Via Carson Pass

3: Woodfords to Fallon
Via Carson City

4: Fallon to Austin
Route 50

5: Austin to Eureka

6: Eureka to Ely

7: Ely to Baker

8: Baker to Milfield (Utah)

9: Milfield to Panguitch (Utah)

10: Panguitch to Boulder

11: Boulder to Hanksville

12: Hanksville to Cortez

13: Cortez to Durango

14: Durango to Pagosa Springs

15: Pagosa Springs to South Fork
Via Wolf Creek pass

16: South Fork to Walsenburg

17: Walsenburg to Lamar

No idea what's next..

Sumes"

Dare we tell him that its about 2000 miles of flat land?

Tap the Rockies - October 7

2008-10-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile, news of the Colorado capers is spreading as the world shifts its attention from Sarah Palin's expert debating skills and the global financial crisis to our very own dynamic duo ... Joe Sixpacks & Hockey Moms from Hong Kong (Go Knightsie) to Berkhamstead Collegiate School for Fine Young Men (Go Ed Sibley) are on tenterhooks to see if they made it through the Rockies with their scruffy beards intact.

Well its GOOD NEWS as I can confirm that not only did they manage to defy the local redneck naysayers and embark upon a foolhardy snowbound journey over the top, they tacked on another 130 miles the following day. After a night spent in a deserted Unabomber-style shack owned by a very accomodating bloke who has settled in Colorado after living in Merthyr Tydfil for most of his life... (Small world eh?), they peddled on & are now getting close to the dramatic landscapes & rolling hills of Kansas.

Here's a message from an eleated but somewhat 'cream crackered' Sumo ... I was on the phone with them last night but was cut off when a large plate of Mexican food arrived at their table, its not the first or last time that I've been second place to a bowl of chips & guacamole.

"Great to talk earlier.Just about to crash out after our monumental day today. We did 130 miles which is our new record including the summit of La Vetta at about 9500 feet. We're at Walsenburg tonight which is about 6500 ft elevation.

Tomorrow we have a 75 mile run to La Junta in the morning. We'll need to take some extra water and snacks as we're told there's nothing at all (no services, gas station, shop or anything) between here and there. We had that a lot in Nevada so we're used to it (famous last words!). Another flat for Bugs today so its Bugs 7-1 Sumo on punctures.

We don't know yet where we go after La Junta. We'll maybe ask some local advice when we get there but we're hoping to get close to the border of Kansas. As we're out of the hills we're looking to do 130+ miles a day now. We need to if we're going to make NY in time..

What's the link for the blog?Cheers,Sumes"

Number of times Sumo has asked me for the link to this blog; 5

Number of times that Sumo has proudly mentioned the puncture count; ~10 (Should we suspect foul play?).

There's no business like snow business...

2008-10-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

Great breaking news from Colorado today ... Just goes to show you that foolhardy 'derring do' trumps cautious reticence any day ... Remember that kids;

"Hi DC,Sorry missed your call last night.We made the bizarre impulse decision to go for wolf creek pass yesterday lunchtime. We made it but it was a struggle. Freezing cold. It snowed on the way up and there was snow all over he summit. Treacherous icy descent! Stayed in a log cabin halfway down the mountain - middle of nowhere with no phone signal.Just got to Alamosa and stopped for a drink break - first time we've had a signal since Pagosa. Aiming for Walsenburg tonight. Haven't had. chance to see the blog page yet. - sounds great mate. Hopefully there'll be a computer in Walsenburg. Haven't been able to get internet on bberry all trip.Speak later. Cheers,Sumes"

Holed up in Snow Bound Hotel

2008-10-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

The good news for the Lads is that there are some really friendly folks at their hotel.

COLORADO

2008-10-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

Difficult to tell, but it appears that the boys arrived in Colorado somewhat on schedule. Perhaps its a function of their superb route planning, thorough preparation and the intense support of their back-up crew - more likely to be the result of having not been able to find a bar in Utah.

Cellphone and blackberry service has been a bit spotty so I'm not sure exactly where they got to and when, but the big issue appears to be how they will traverse the Rocky Mountains with snow predicted to start falling soon. The picture here is of two random blokes who look quite well prepared for cycling in the snow & should not be confused with Sumo & Bugs.

Lets not forget that there are also other risks & sure enough, things started to 'kick off' on October 2nd - from here on to be known as the first real "Daybacle" of the Tour;

"Lads,

Massive day yesterday.
Disaster finally struck.

We broke down in the desert (Buggys back wheel buckled and pretty much collapsed so it was unrideable) somewhere around the Utah / Colorado border. We were 50 miles from the nearest shop or town behind us and 70 miles forward. Ironically this was the one day with the longest stretch of nothing - where the guide book says don't set off unless you're certain you can make 120 miles and have enough water, supplies etc. We broke down more or less in the middle. 90 degrees, baking hot and we were by the side of the road in fairly dire straits. Sultans of Swing mungus. Desperately dire straights really with no tent or anything to stay in the desert and we hadn't seen a car for well over an hour. Buggy hopelessly trying to mend something with his bare hands that was unmendable in,vI have to say, a remarkably picturesque setting (got some good photos..).

Eventually got picked up by the nicest bloke I've ever met, in a pick up truck who took us to the next town, then we transfered to the pick up truck of his son who drove us 80 miles out of his way (plus he had to go 80 miles back) to the nearest bike shop where we could get a new wheel. Plus on the way he insisted on taking a sightseeing detour to show us some indian settlement ruins in a canyon a few miles off the road. I nearly chinned him for making us clamber over rocks in our cycling shoes. Then he took us to the bike shop and then to find a motel!

So we went out last night and got absolutely langered. It had to happen sooner or later. At one stage we had the whole bar chumming in around a map planning the next stage of our route - just woken up with umpteen napkins and beer mats with alternative routes on. Buggy commandeered the barmaid's stereo, did his Jagger on the bar, rounds of shots with the local sherrif, etc etc etc

We're now somewhere near Cortez, Colorado with hangovers waiting for the bike shop to finish servicing the bikes (rebuilding in Buggy's case). From here its a big climb as we approach the foothills of the Rockies.

Buggy has just unveiled his latest master plan to reduce weight and increase daily mileage - ditch our luggage and the racks on the back of our bikes and just have a small handlebar pouch with spare inner tubes and passports and just wear our cycling gear in the evenings.. Bearing in mind we've ridden in the same gear for 13 days without washing it and we only have 1 set of 'evening wear' anyway there's not a lot of scope for movement. Might have first shave soon. Buggy now looks like Brian Blessed.

The debacle continues...
Sumes"

October 5th Update-

After making it through the above, CT & Paul have now arrived in the foothills of the Rockies in Pagosa Springs & it appears that the weather is not cooperating. Despite a trip to Walmart to buy some warm gear, the Lads are in feverish debate with each other (& several local so-called experts) about whether to take on Wolf Creek Pass which is at high altitude. Apparently during Winter in the US, you are more likely to encounter snowstorms on the top of a mountain than in the foothills - who knew???

Anyway - the debate seems to have polarized people into two camps. In the "Lets go for it - what do they know anyway?" camp is one P Evans. Everyone else is in the Captain Cautious, "Lets avoid a helicopter rescue" Wuss clique.

Doppler radar is now engaged to determine if they can ascend tomorrow... Stay tuned.

UTAH

2008-10-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

The 3rd state on the trip appears to be the proverbial "Terrible State" .. I think that this message from CT's blackberry says it all (or most of it at least..);

"...We're in the "no fun" State that is Utah, run by the Mormon voodoo mumbu jumbo people (no disrespect to Jumbs). Checked in at motel last night. Asked the bloke on the front desk where a local bar is to which he replied "Ain't no bar in this town. They tried to open up a saloon a while back and we ran em out of town. They even tried to open one of them tattoo places and we ran that out of town too. You boys need to know that this here's a good Mormon town."
Roll on Colorado and the Rockies. Just about to leave Panguitch, Utah. Heading for Boulder, Utah today. Then Hanksville - Blanding- Monticello (all Utah). Had a nice lunch in Beaver, Utah yesterday ...
About 850 miles done.
Puncture count: bugs 2-1 sumo
Instances of abuse from redneck pick up truck drivers: 5
People who've said "why are you going so late in the year - how are you going to get over the Rockies in October?" : about 15.."

They made it through Utah - lets hope that the last comment was not prophetic...The camera didn't appear to be working, perhaps it too was in a terrible state, so no pics for Utah. I did however find a photo of two Mormon missionaries cycling on the moon, so I though that would suffice. Roll on Colorado indeed.

Nevada...

2008-10-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

Chris & Paul made it unscathed to Nevada & got some serious miles under their spandex waistbands. Apparently, the hobo-style wraps that they have loosely attached to the back of their bikes is the sum total of their kit. Besides the obligatory toothbrush, credit card and tubes of preparation H, I'm not sure what else they have in there weighing them down. If you have any ideas, feel free to respond to this blog.

I lost track of some of the days & dates but here is a summary of Nevada;

- 1st night was in Austin Nevada (Sumes notes that those who are sponsoring him 'per state' now have more than 1 donation to make..)

- Visited places such as Ely, Eureka, Baker

Here's a message from Sept 27th;

"Yo DC, just stopped for lunch at "Majors Station", a bizarre pub at the junction of Highways 50, 93 and 6. Full of hunters and moose heads and assorted antlers all round the walls. A group of hunters just insisted on showing us the enormous elk that they just murdered (Bit of politics there - Ed).

The landlady said that they've a wedding party staying in an hour or so " We'll have the jukebox turned on and everything .."

Bizarrely a couple of people in the bar had already heard of us. We've met several people travelling the same route and everyone passes through the same places...there's the couple hiking across, the Japanese bloke cycling ahead of us going from Alaska to Chile who's chain broke near here, a guy called Dave doing our route close to us, the 2 girls cycling from Boston etc etc/. There's also a Swiss couple, Jurg+ Adele going across on a Harley Davidson who have stayed in the same motels as us the last 2 nights.

Stats

650 miles

Punctures; bugs 2- 1 Sumo

Hostile abuse from redneck pick-up drivers; about 4

Random acts of kindness from passing strangers; 5

Looking for a big night in Downtown Baker tonight.."

Captains Log Week 1 California

2008-10-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

Day 1 SF to Sacramento

Not much info from the Lads other than a detailed review of the All you Can Eat buffet lunch at Winters. CT has first flat of the trip

Day 2 to Placerville, CA.

100+ miles on 1st day. Climb up to 2000 feet with 76 miles on Day 2.

"All going great". Stay in log cabin. Carson Pass awaits (8000 ft)... "Buggy's fitness is incredible". Oo-er.

Day 3

at 7 Up Ranch in Sierra Nevada Mountains. Second consecutive landlady called Barbara.

Day 4

Made it over Carson Pass. Puncture count 1-1. "Most challenging day of my life so far, after the long day I spent hitch hiking with Tobs". Aiming for Fallon CA tomorrow.

Next Day

"There's not a centimetre of my body below the navel that is not aching". (Interesting use of metric measure vs. Inches -Ed.).

Other incidents reported this week;

- Bugs makes coffee in motel room without a filter

- CT sees some tumbleweed blow across the road - a poignant moment for him, apparently

- They hit the desert & appear a bit surprised that its quite warm

- Steak & gambling at Local casino

- Riding on the Loneliest Road in America

Hope that the movie version of this trip spices up Week 1 a bit...

Doing a lotta work for charity...

2008-10-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

They don't like to talk about it, but Chris & Paul are not just doing this for fun & to set the world Chalfont record ... they are both hoping to raise money for some very worth while causes.

You can sponsor either of both of them by visiting the following websites;

http://www.firstgiving.com/christaylor2008

http://www.justgiving.com/sanfrancisconewyork2008

Alcatraz Day 1

2008-10-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of Chris & Paul before they set off .. Note the back tyres have just been ceremoniously dipped in the Pacific Ocean waters of San Francisco Bay. The tight spandex outfits were purchased at a local outfitters apparently. I guess that the Golden Gate Bridge shot was not available due to fog. Or perhaps they forgot that one of the world's most recognisable images was about 500 yards to the left of them for this pic.