Merry Christmas Everyone!

Here is a little video to amuse you all and reminisce about the fun we all had in the summer.

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/CBjT1H1QCPHTeGSVL1wk

Life is pretty dull now the forces have been divided.  Kirsty went back to Portsmouth to finish her final year at University while myself and Amy have both moved back in with our parents. (Ramsgate and Birmingham) We all keep in regular contact and I am sure there will be another crazy trip in the pipeline soon enough!

 

Just want to thank you all for your support and hospitality throughout our trip.  We had the most amazing time and miss it everyday. We raised in the region of £2500 for the Alzheimer’s Society which we are very proud of.

Katie 🙂

Welcome to Hollywood! What’s your dream?

Yet another greyound journey, this time just 8 hours but still lots of crazy people and we arrived in Los Angeles. Our journey was made better by meeting Brendan, an english guy from Chichester and we swapped stories about our adventures in the US and also the fact that we had a party to attend when we got to Natalies house!  After a trip to the store to stock up on beer we headed back to the house.  We got to experience Pat’s bar on the first night where Kirsty and I beat a guy called Noel at pool even though he came equipped with his own cue.  Due to such a late arrival Pat’s closed and we took  the party back to the house where we played 10 cup beer pong, quarters and attempted to teach them touch cup (unsuccessfully).  The night ran away from us and the sun came up so thought we best head to bed, Natalie got about 30 minutes sleep that night before work.  Amy had the hangover of death so she spent the day on the sofa too scared to move just incase she was sick so we got $5 pizzas from Little Ceasers and watched movies.

Sunday was our sightseeing day and Natalie took us down to Hollywood as we had arranged to meet Nathan (due to his lame phone this was quite an effort). We went to a chinese restaurant then strolled down the boulevard in search of Nathan.  In true Hollywood style our eyes met over Matt Damon’s star through a sea of people and we both shrieked like little girls and scared everyone.  True movie moment! We then took in the sights of the Kodak theatre and Chinese Theatre before we took a break in Maui’s for some liquid refreshment.  Natalie had to head back but we kept our spot in Maui’s  for a little longer until Nathan complained about getting cold. (he climatised quicker than us!)  A quick trip on the metro back to North Hollywood.  Another visit to Pat’s and we were given free ‘shots ‘ (they were about 100mls!) due to the bartender being a cyclist too and played some pool to karaoke (not the bad stuff you get in England most of these people are awesome singers) before going back to the house.

The not so amazing public transport took us to Venice beach (it took 2 hours) where the nice weather decided to stay in Hollywood and the clouds greeted us at the beach and so did an excited Nathan! We strolled along the beach and paddled in the ocean.  The cold weather did not bother Kirsty as she went for a little swim.  As it was too cold to spend the day on the beach we strolled down to Santa Monica and watched a guy get arrested (well Kirsty did!) seeing as it took so long to get back we didn’t hang around too long so headed back via Venice beach to get nathan’s stuff as he was also being accomadated by the new International hostel in North Hollywood.  After such a busy day we just chilled out for the evening.

After some googling of the local area we managed to find a pool not too far from the house so Christian gave us a lift 2 miles down the road to the outside pool.  This pool was amazing but the lifeguards did not allow you to have too much fun so a lot of the time was spent sunbathing and watching a guy in stars and stripes nut huggers due some pretty impressive diving on the high boards.  Nathan was desperate to go play to and dragged Kirsty up with him.  After a quick pencil jump from Nathan it was Kirsty’s turn but she made an error of looking down at the water and clung on for dear life before taking the stairs back down (chicken!) With my (katie) stomach rumbling we decided to head back but the bus we got on broke down so walked back instead. 

Our dinner choice was a place called Tin Horn Flats after being highly recommended by Natalie, they had the most amazing burgers and possibly the largest portion of onion rings ever!  We needed to move on as we had planned to go to the Dodgers baseball game and it had already started.  So after 2 buses and 1 train we had arrived at Dodger Stadium in the 4th inning.  Every ticket office was closed and security seemed to be sending us on a wild goose chase until we finally found a reception desk.  After smling sweetly at the lady and Nathan telling her the reason we were late was because ” We are from England!”  This worked a charm because not only did we get free tickets but were VIP at the side of the field by 3rd base! Result!  Even though the Dodgers did lose we had a great result and Amy even managed to get a foul ball as the guy that caught it behind her dropped it! Natalie picked us up and we went to In ‘n’ Out for late night munchies, this burger was amazing! You could even see them chop the potatoes for the chips, so awesome! It was quite late when we got back so went straight to bed.

Next tourist stop, The Getty Centre and another adventure on the ‘great’ public transport.  The Getty was amazing such a range of exhibits and we didn’t have enough time to explore them all and the gardens but we all split up so got to see the things we wanted. To be fair Kirsty and I spent most of our time taking in the beautiful views surrounding the centre.  Back on the bus to Hollywood to treat ourselves to some new clothes (we discoverd the delights of American Eagle) as we wearing heading out tonight and some fantastic Thai food (Kirsty said it was just down the street, more like 2 miles away!).  So we got back and got ready before going to Tony’s for a large selection of IPA’s and board games.  Amy and I stuck to Connect 4 whilst Kirsty and Nathan took eachother on in chess and battleships.  Anne, the European and newly crowned American champion of Connect 4 challenged me to some games and she destroyed me (but I did beat her once) a quick game of gumball roulette in which pink was my winning colour, with Amy in at 2nd with Natalie coming in 3rd.  Our routine late night fast food stop was Jack in the Box and then back home for some shut eye.

Nathan needed to some ‘banking’ so Amy, Kirsty and I went into Universal City to explore the city walk.  Such a more pleasant experiene than the hords of crowds in Hollywood and we yet again did some shopping (I got probably the best tshirt in the world EVER!) We headed back before my bank account got too much of a beating and got ready for Friday night fun.  After a few games of washers we got the metro to Hollywood for a relaxed evening in Maui’s where beer is $3 and the company was great.  Nathan got cold yet again, so took this as a reason to get the jumper he really wanted in American Eagle.  We got the last metro back to North Hollywood and still had time to get to Pat’s before it closed. 

Saturday was a  day planned at the beach but Nathan was far too hungover for this adventure so we set off on the mission of the delightful bus journey.  It was just our luck that the weather took a turn for the worse so ‘forced’ us into the shops to buy warmer clothes. (we are not going to survive in the english weather!)  We headed up to Hollywood to buy some souvenirs and do a little more shopping 🙂  We were strolling around the kodak centre and decided to take a comfort break, kirsty and amy take longer than I do which resulted in them missing an encounter with Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester from Glee) but unfortunatly I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough so just grinned at her! Too cool!

We got back to the house to the starting of a party, we played a few card drinking games but opted to play Grey’s Anatomy drinking and Jersey Shore games.  When we finally decided to venture into the sociable rooms there were not many people left but plenty of space to play flip cup! As it approached 5am we opted to go to bed.

Sunday – our last day in the United States 😦 we packed up our stuff  and went to the store as Amy in her drunk state offered to cook a roast dinner.  I have discovered a new skill of being good at washers and beat kirsty 8 times straight then beat Natalie 🙂

Our flight leaves LAX at 9am so no crazy antics tonight just a relaxed evening in before we head back home.  We have had so much fun staying with Natalie, Anne, Christian and Donald and meeting all their awesome friends. It’s going to be strange going back to reality as we have had such an amazing time in the US and want to thank everyone that has put up with us along the way so cheerio for now but we will be back 🙂

Love to you all,

Katie, Kirsty and Amy

Its VEGAS BABY!

We arrived on the 7th of September after a 21 hour bus journey with a crazy lady who talks and argues with herself and had about 5 changes of clothes, one for every pit stop! We had booked into what we thought was a cheap motel, Denise had text us the number of the Plaza motel..it turned out to be THE Plaza Hotel! Katie was so shocked at how cheap we had got it that she asked if there was another Plaza.

We got the boxed bikes and all our gear up to our room past some confused looking staff members (after a 21 hour journey we definatly didntlook like we belonged there!!) we showered and went off to discover Fremont street, that evening and the next day we discovered a very drunk santa, pints for $10, Ribs bigger than any of our stomaches and an all you can eat salad bar for under $10, a videoscreen ceiling along the WHOLE of Fremont street, a pint is NOT a measure in America, that Katie looking about 12 years old WILL get you chucked out a casino, even guys who have a t.v channel want photos taken with crazy cyclists, McDonalds are EVERYWHERE!

Missy picked us up that evening at the Plaza who are storing our bikes for us after we sweet-talked some bell-hops, we are not even sure they understood us.

Friday we got dropped off at Mandolay bay at one end of the strip and we meandered and got lost in every single casino up too ceasers palace which is about the 3rd of the way up the strip, and that took us 9 hours! the Bellagio fountains were broken but we did get the wonderful sight of a big bellied black guy in a pink fairy/belly dancers outfit who slaps his belly at frowning people saying ‘hey smiiiles you in VEGAS!’ There are lots and lots of photos as each casino has some sort of attraction like aquariums, shows, fountains (even chocolate fountains) and food samples in most food courts 🙂

Missy and Bill left us that evening as they were going to a concert so when the door went at about 9.30 and I opened the door to a guy who says he is the son of Missy and Bill I take him for his word (turned out it was thier son and not some randomer!) we chatted to Nick and his girlfriend Julie for a bit but I think they could tell how shattered we were so they left after 20 minutes and we all fell into bed.

Saturday Missy took us to Red Rock Casino for an all you can eat brekkie for under $5! Katie had her plate of hash browns, I had my plate of meat and Amy had made a fry up but was severly missing her baked beans which all americans think is crazy to have with breakfast! Then Missy took us too her 3 year old grandsons minileague bbaseball game, they all wear helmets that make them look like bobble heads and they all look soo cute in thier kit! Katie says that if baseball was this cute they would have a lot more followers! Then we spent the evening in Nick and Julies pool and then everybody came over to Missy and Bill’s for hambuurgers.

On Sunday we got taken too Hoover Dam and Memorial Bridge, they are stunning! we also came across chinese people in a yellow car going the wrong way just off memorial bridge :s somehow they did make it to Hooverdam as we saw them later! Then it was home for a potroast 🙂

Today Bill took us too redrock casino for our all you can eat breakfast – the reason we all now wear basketball shorts is for the elasticated waitband! Then we went for a drive around red rock canyon, its absoloutly gorgeous! then we got taken to the mall which is ridiiculously huge! loads of outlett stores like hurley/billabong/quicksilver meant that even I enjoyed being dragged around shopping for once!

Our plans (for those parents that worry) – yes we are leaving vegas eventually! we go back to the plaza midweek after we have seen the rest of the strip as its cheap, we leave for about midnight Friday to arrive in the morning, we will be staying with Natalie, Missy and Bill’s musician daughter, we then have 9/10 days to see the sights around there and then fly out  on the orriginal flight schedule, we decided not to change it.

Love to everyone out there, our cycling may be over but we are still in high sprits and enjoying the rest of America with some amazing people!

xxx

Kirsty, Katie and Amy

Reluctant to leave Quinter

We leave Quinter, KS today and will arrive in Las Vegas tomorrow, its about a 21 hour bus journey so we are taking lots and lots of food!

We have all had the most amazing time with the Wittman’s, they have looked after us like thier own family and Quinter really does feel like home! We were so lucky for these people to find us and invite us in, we didnt exactly smell great when we met them but they let us in anyway. They have shown us the sights of Quinter, introduced us to all their friends and helped us organise the rest of our trip.

We got to see our first ever AMERICAN football game, scaled castle rock (well I (Kirsty) did), had a candybar education, so dont be expecting any weight loss when we return, laughed a whole lot untill tears rolled down our faces.

I think if the greyhound tickets were refundable we would all be torn between the rest of our journey and staying here with Denise and Randy so its probably a good thing for our families back home that we cant get our money back!

Love to everyone back in England

Kirsty, Katie and Amy

well I suppose we can all shave now

From Lincoln  Amy busted some spokes so we pulled in at Sylvan Grove, a place so small it doesnt even have a convenience store but it does have a town hall! Amy spoke to the local garage owner and I (Kirsty) spoke to a couple of mums at the park we were camping near, having been given permission from town hall, which is opposite the barbed wire museum!? By the morning it seemed that everybody knew about us and our trouble and enquired as to our situation. While we were in the local cafe giving Katie her fix of hash browns for breakfast the cafe owner Ronda Mishler offered to take us too Hays after work, the nearest town with a bicycle shop.  So we spent the day in the library and Ronda our Sylvan Grove hero appeared with a bicycle rack on the back of her car and we all got a taste of travel in comfort!

While in Hays we made friends with Mark, an awesomely sunburnt biker who worked in The Hub Bicycle Shop. He fixed Amy’s spokes when Ronda ushered us through the door and showed us his recumbant bikes which he promised us were a whole lot comfyer than ours, they definatly looked it! We left the Hub that evening with a fixed bike and a promise of being let loose on a recumbant if we turned up the next day. Which we did 🙂 they are definatly the most comfortable bikes we have ever ridden once you get past your fear of just cowtipping sideways when you stop! We spent a few more days in Hays for me to get over my backside issues, I was even banned from the pool after the second day just incase that was hindering my healing. I was NOT a happy water baby! We spent our days in Hays wondering around their university campus noting how they seem to get things right and how rubbish all English uni’s are in comparison, we even broke in during some sort of open evening and wondered around (Katie had needed the toilet). Katie and Amy watched a soccor game, we all had another Steak! 🙂 we went to the cinema, went bowling, saw lots of cowboys as there was a rodeo, got lost in an art exhibition and found a love of soda shops!

We left Hays on the Old 40, well, eventually as Amy got a puncture 200 yards from the motel! the 40 is basically a sand track which can be a hairy ride with the weighted backs of our bikes! We stopped just before WaKeeney as we found a place to camp free, it was on the grounds of a church and the pastor left the church open for us so that we could use the restroom and shelter inside if there was a storm. As we left that morning it was my time for a puncture 2 yards from where we had camped, a local came up as i was changing the innertube and gave us all a morning coffee and we chatted as i put my bike back together. so we left full of caffeine and made great pace to WaKeeney where we saw a minature bull and a giant dog, I swear we are not kidding! we also filled up on hash browns at a roadside cafe so katie was full and friendly! We still followed the 40, I did come off in slow motion as I hairpinned a corner and the back slid out which made us all chuckle because of how slow it was. We got to Quinter at lunchtime and settled for the Q inn restaurant for food and then to the park for some shade. A lady (we now know as Denise) talked to us from her truck for a bit and afterwards we pulled off again, we made it half way to Park, the next village barely 10 miles on and my knee starts to really play up, we watch as it starts to swell and I can no longer push down on the pedal with much force. We head back to Quinter knowing that we can camp in the park for free and its a bigger town. We camp there for the night with bugs as big as bats swarming around untill the sun goes down. We wake up and decide on the Q inn restaurant again for a brunch, my knee has not improved and so we go the the cafe and discuss our options.

I am sorry to tell you who are reading this that for this year at least we will not be completing the ride. Its far too dangerous to trek the rockies with a dodgey knee and if one of us cant make it then none of us do.

We spent the day trying to find some sort of transport to get us the rest of the way when a lovely man from the restaurant Sam Chestnut called up a lady, it turned out to be Denise in the white truck! who offered us a room in her house untill we can get our bikes and ourselves sorted.

 

Hills, Rashes and a whole lot of CORN!!

We left Topeka on a massive high, particularly due to the Marmite that I (Katie) now has safely secured in my bag. We cycled at a great pace  along the 24 past many little towns which have giant pin points in the form of water towers.  We had a snack break in Rossville which had a very small population of people but a large population of ants so we kept it short.  We got to Wamego for lunch and much to my ‘delight’  McDonalds was on the menu again!  We had set our sights on Pottawatomie State Fishing Lake as our home for the night it was only a few miles down the road.  Again the heat had sky rocketed to the 90’s and Kirsty now hates the sun and heat! The cycle was going well until we had to turn off the 24 and the road seemed to sap all energy from our legs but we pushed on with good humour.  Until……the gravel roads……and they were uphill 😦 not happy cyclists at all.  When we thought it was safe to climb aboard our saddles within 3 feet Kirstys tyre blew, and this time not just the inner tube but there was a massive tear in the tyre too so that needed replacing.  Kirsty is adament that she didn’t throw a tantrum but I am sure if her bags could talk they would definatly disagree with her.  A few miles of the gravel and the heat and we pitched our tent and cooked our steak that we had bought followed by cheese and marmite crackers.  Who says you can’t have fine dining on a cycle tour.  Then off to bed by the lake before it got too dark!

 

Kirsty loves to snooze the alarm in the morning so when we finally got out of our coccoons we were back tackling the gravel roads.  I think they are worse when you go downhill to be fair.  We went via Manhatten as I wanted some Kansas State souvenirs 🙂 We decided to go the 18 as it does not go as far north as the 24 but Kirsty did not seem to be doing to good so we stopped in Ogden for some shade and to get some food.  This is where a great discovery was made…..the Ogden City Pool! That is where we spent our lunch break and the waterbaby (Kirsty) had a smile restored to her face!  Anthony the lifeguard gave us directions to Milford Lake Park, this biggest lake in Kansas to camp at.  We had to cycle through Fort Riley, a military base which was a very strange experience but gave us a massive short cut.  Kirsty had rubber legs by this point but we got her to the park as her diaper rash is playing up too.  The campsite was free for the night which is always a bonus plus it had showers and toilets! We decided to occupy about 3 camps too.  After updating our journals, stressor sheets and a chicken noodle dinner we were struggling to keep our eyes open. The tent was as hot as it is when we are on our bikes but we were so tired that we eventually got to sleep.

We needed to get some water so take a detour east for some water as we did not want to risk going 15 miles with little water.  Kirsty’s diaper rash was really raging today so we were taking it easy today and the rolling hills kept us entertained for the morning until we finally found some shade at the side of a Church 3 miles from Talmage.   We all must of had a poor nights sleep as we all fell asleep not just Kirsty!  We decided that Kirsty was not going to make it the 21 miles to Bennington with her butt on fire so we went to Abilene to re-assess the situation.  We opted to stay in America Best Value Inn as it had a pool and hot tub and HBO films.  I think our film education has increased a lot due to motel’s cable.  Kirsty still had the bum of a toddler in the morning so we decided to give her a day off the saddle for the day and she went to the pool whilst Amy and I opted for more sleep after breakfast. So the day pretty much consisted of sleeping, eating and going to the pool 🙂 great day!  I really wanted to steak so found the nearest steak house only 0.3 miles away, I was very happy.  The steak house was very busy, which is really good sign and the crowds were right.  Kirsty and I had the surf and turf and Amy went for the sirloin, and it was fantastic.  I certainly was very happy.  So back to the motel and Titanic was our entertainment for the evening.

There was no avoiding the bikes today (much to Kirsty’s disappointment) and we decided we were going to get to Lincoln, which was about 60 miles away. The hills kept sprouting out of the horizon until we decided to find some shade in a town called Trescott after a failed attempt in Bennington where we met 2 cyclists training for the senior olympics.  America does not really exist on a Sunday every town is a ghost town and there are no shops open 😦  After a few hours in the shade we managed to convince Kirsty that we needed to do 15 more miles.  The heat likes to get high in the afternoon which we dislike very much but we made it to Lincoln and actually found a store that was open!  Kirsty was pretty much ready to fall asleep on the sidewalk so I went to look around the town to find some life.  As I reached main street a lady, called Susan had gone over to speak to the others and offered a space in her yard. So we followed her on her moped less than a mile north of the town to her house.  The house is amazing, it is a 1950’s house and she has 4 lovely grey cats who are very shy.  She has washed our clothes, let us shower and is even cooking us dinner 🙂 We are so very lucky, I think it’s because Kirsty looks like she is going to drop dead by the end of the day.

 

We are all ok.  Kirsty has a smile restored to her face even though her bum still hurts, I am pretty much covered from head to toe in heat rash and Amy has random giggle fits mid afternoon (an extreme difference to her mood in the morning!)  We love you and miss you all and thank everyone for their continued support.

 

Katie

xxxxxxxxxx

The rolling hills and katies horse pills

sooo a while since we actually blogged sorry about that!! We finially got out of Athens after finding an exit road that wasnt an interstate and we put the peddled our wares across to Chillicothe, Cincinatti and headed towards Springfield all pretty much uneventful and full of campsites, sore legs, bums and bugbites. After arriving at springfield Katie finally surcombed to admitting to a bad back and so we coached to the nearest big town, Kansas Missouri. We got her sorted out and on some horse pills for a kidney infection and we have to say that we love the hospitals in america though we would be grateful to not see one again!!

We left Kansas and stayed in a campsite just outside of fairmount and had to stay there for and extra day due to storms and the tornado warnings, we all felt a bit safer in our now rather muddy tent! (Dad Loveridge would have a heart attack at the state of it!). Katie got bitten by a duck. Kirsty got chased by a flock of them and Amy who FED them laughed. 😦

the view from our tent was amazing! a senic lake and lakeside house….i think this trip is more househunting than anything else!!

we left yesterday morning and managed to get to Ozawkie before lunchtime however after lunch the temperature once again soared to over the 100’s and so we managed a few miles to rock creek before calling a break at a golf course. after contemplating stealing a buggy and jumping in the lake we were spotted by a passing pastor Brian Harde, immediatly after he learnt what we were doing he was on the phone and sorting us out a place to lay our heads tonight! After a few photo’s we got given directions to Hazel and John Stricklands just north of Topeka who were amazing and entertained us with stories and pizza untill our eyes would no longer stay open and our waistbands wouldnt expand anymore 🙂 Katie also got entertained by Einstien the african grey parrot who knows more movie phrases than most school kids! we awoke this morning in an amazingly comfy bed and reluctant to leave however breakfast got us up and we are now on our way! Kansas is possibly the widest state we will go through but the rolling hills entertain us and racing up hills without peddling has now become our favourite sport!

its so not all downhill after backbone mountain!

we accidentally climbed backbone mtn the other day looking for an inn which we found out at the top had been burnt down :s after talking to some people on the porch of backbone mtn sports shop we got taken in for the night at a lovely retired couples home who fed us untill we were fit to bust (fresh corn on the cob!) and then took us out for a drive to see the amish community. once we got got back in we hit the sack hard!

we awoke in the morning while the fog was lifting and as we got dressed they were cooking us breakfast! after another stuffing ourselves with some wonderful home cooked food and wrapped up some extra corn on the cob for our travels. We managed about 7 miles of no peddling overall down the mountains but there were definatly some more climbs and our tired and heavy legs managed to take us to grafton somehow! we then had to double back on ourselves a few times to find the campsite where we crashed out for the night (tygart lake stake park) and mutually decided that after the mouthains (with more to come) we set no alarm and are now having a rest day on the lake because its such a hard life!

comments on travel journal no longer cost us to recieve so some uplifting messages would be wonderful! we do miss the comments! also no signal for a while probably so dont panic about the lack of notices, its just the mountains!

love to and miss you all

kirsty katie and amy

Lots of ups and downs!

We left Jersey City bright and early and Jose and Lucia made us a packed lunch and stocked us up on fluids.  We headed out of  Jersey City doing a number of circles assisted by the temperamental GPS.  We finally got out of the city and headed towards Newark (car jacking capital of New Jersey- Fantastic!) We pushed on and took a couple of wrong turns but made it to Lincoln Park quite early.  We had our lunch and had an enlighting conversion with a slightly crazy lady! On towards Elizabeth and the heat was getting up.  Hawk had very sore feet so invested in some insoles.  We managed to find another park with a water fountain that quickly called us off and then we got on to lunch.  Todays choice was spaghetti with beef jerky and tomato sauce (was actually rather tasty!) 

We left the park and pushed on through the heat.  My front derailer was doing my head in so we pulled over and with the effort and strength of all three of us we sorted in.  Whilst we were there a gaggle of canadian geese held up the traffic as they needed to cross the road.  We were pushing on to Edison when Kirsty needed to pull over, she was feeling unwell.  We decided she was too ill to carry on so found a park under a mile away to relax in.  We ended up staying in this park next to a river for the night.  I must say I am not a fan of wild camping!! There are some bugs here that make a noise like a rattlesnake not great when you want to sleep. 

We woke up at 4.30am and managed to put the tent away and pack our bikes up in the dark.  We set off on our way to Edison and the clear roads and cool air was great for our progress.  Kirsty was still not feeling great and the temperatures were still high.  We stopped for food in a place called “Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits” and we ordered a bucket of chicken.  Biscuits for you english people are basically deep fried scones and apparantly you eat them with chicken! (We opted to leave them!)  We decided that is was getting late so needed to find a place to sleep for the night.  Our GPS was running out of battery and our solar chargers were not coperating with the clouds so we decided to hunt down the local police station.  They couldn’t be of much assistance and this caused Amy and Kirsty to feel defeated and we had our first sign of tears.  I had noticed that we had past a YMCA (which is now a health club) and went into get our GPS charged.  This is when we had found out the Amy Winehouse had topped herself.  Whilst waiting there a lovely man, A.J Ford came over for a chat. After a phone called to his wife, he invited us to stay at his house 🙂 That definatly lifted our spirits.  On our way to his house some idiots in a white hummer threw a bottle of water at us, much to our delight they did miss!  Once at A.J’s house we met his wife Amy and three children, Audrey, Jack and James.  We set up camp in the garden whilst Kirsty KO’d in on the sofa.  They washed our clothes, gave us lots of water and lifted our spirits that people like that still exist.  We ended up sleeping in the basement as we had already been a banquet for the mosquitos. 

The next day started early again and we set off at 6.30am heading towards Philadelphia.  The GPS just like getting up as early as we do and misbehaves in the morning showing us the ‘sights’ of Trenton.  We pushed on as Kirsty was feeling better after a decent nights sleep and we made it to north east Philadelphia for lunch.  We stopped in subway and got the GPS  charged up. When we left subway the heavens opened and we finally got some rain! Which made us smile a lot.  We were heading into Philadelphia on a cycle trail which was great then we entered the ‘real’ north east Philadelphia.  We wanted to get through as quickly as possible as it was a very undesirable area.  Signs of poverty with lots of derilict house and people hanging around in large groups but the GPS had different ideas.  The roads were in very poor condition and we were pretty much off roading in the middle of a city! As we reached the edge of the city Kirsty couldn’t quite avoid some of the mountains of glass around and blew her back tyre.  We wanted to get the tube changed quickly whilst Amy attempted to sort out her back wheel which had been playing up since the inner city.

The rain got heavier and heavier and was quickly followed by thunder and lightening and daylight hours were running low so we decided to spoil ourselves with a motel for the night.  We stayed in the Rodeaway Inn (apt name) in Springfield for the night and completed our journals and questionnaires for Kirsty’ project.  Then quickly fell alseep watchin an amusing american reality TV shower.  As we were so tired we slept in to 6am and had breakfast at the hotel.  The heatwave has returned 😦 on cue the GPS was taking a funny turn and took us on a not so lovely trail through some woods which was lots of very large hills, great training for the Rockies!! As I was climbing a large hill my bike started to serve a lot. As I checked it out I had noticed my front tyre was flat, the punctures had started! We sorted it out very quickly and carried on.  We had enough of the GPS so took our own route which worked ou so much better and we got on Highway 1. We stopped at a garage to get more water and they ended up giving us our money back and giving us advice on places to avoid.  Some more hills! GREAT!  Amy’s back tyre was still playing up and took make matters worse she got a flat on the way up one of largest hills of the day at midday, it was very hot!! We decided a lunch stop was needed and we went to Concord Pizza much to Amys disappointment as she wanted McDonalds (we did get burgers though)  We left at 3pm but the heat was far too much and after our scenic tour this morning we didn’t get much further.  Our mosquito bites were getting really irritating now so dropped into a pharmacy to locate some Camomile lotion.  As we chilled out in the shade a lady called Linda pulled up and offered us some coupons for nutritional aids.  After having a chat she offered us a space in her back yard.  Awesome for three exhausted and very hot cyclists.  We got to her house around 4pm and met her husband David and daughter Leah.  They gave us water and I got attached to there 2 year old dogs, Sydney and Nina.  We chilled out in the living room and then Linda returned with her son Jacob who had been at Karate.  Linda made us some amazing nutrition shakes and we are going to get ready for bed for an early start tomorrow to get some miles in before it gets too hot.

We have been very lucky for the friendly people that we have met and they have really lifted our spirits so much.  It is true Americans are really friendly but A.J said it is only because of accent!!

We are all in good health and still smiling, going to push through to Baltimore tomorrow and hopefully be in Washington in a couple of days!

Thanks for all the support and generosity of everyone we have met it has been truely fantastic and further enhances this experience!

Off to bed now. Goodnight!

Katie xxxxx

Great time for a HEATWAVE!!

So we have been in the USA now for three days and been very busy! The first 2 days were spent sightseeing around Manhatten.  We went up the Empire State Building, visited the World Trade Centre….walked miles…..hung out in Times Square, saw the Statue of Liberty….walked more…went to Bubba Gumps and Hooters for dinner.  Today was our 1st day out on the bikes and was the hottest day yet with temperatures reaching over 100 faherienhiet!! Great move!! 

We set off from Queens around 10am after making our own waffles for breakfast 🙂 then headed up towards the city.  It was so hot so stopped regularly for breaks in the shade.  We had raided the ice machine so our drinks were cold for the 1st hour at least.  As midday approached it was only getting hotter and we resisted the temptation to go in the erupting water hydrants.  So we stopped in a dunkin donuts for a iced drink.  After about 30 minutes trying to work out where we actually were (the map and GPS disagreed) we headed into Brooklyn. 

Katie’s bladder is so useless that she had to ask a young man who was doing his garden if she could use his bathroom, thankfully he obliged.  We cycled further up the road to find a park. In the playground there were water fountains that were gushing water constantly, great way to cool down! Hawk went off to find us some food and returned a little more sun burned with some sandwiches, bananas and orange juice.  More than enough to lift our spirits.

We got back on our bikes and cruised through Brooklyn hoping to get across on the Brooklyn Bridge.  Due to poor signposting and impatience we crossed using the Manhattten Bridge into Chinatown.  The breeze was now no more.  We took a break on the wall of a federal building (we did get asked to move but explained we were only there for a banana break.) Back on the road to the ferry port and we crossed  Hudson river to New Jersey.  We had a couple of adjustments for our bikes and we met some lovely people who were interested in our adventure! (Including a lovely man and his dog!)

We decided to head into New Jersey and as time was getting on we decided we better find somewhere to sleep! Kirsty mentioned going to a Mormon church, we could not have asked to meet nicer people!  We only asked if there was somewhere to pitch a tent.  They were setting up a surprise baby shower (which we attented!)  We met some missionaires and we offered a roof and bed for the night by a lovely spanish couple called Jose and Lucia Molina.  We met some lovely people today but are so grateful for all the help from Jazmine and Jose and Lucina Molina. It is really appreciated 🙂