Severe Storms

I don't mind admitting that last night I was a little scared!

The skies had looked threatening all day, and I had missed the only downpours of the day by visiting a grocery store and a coffee shop when they occurred  completely by chance!  Having seen these downpours, I wasn't too worried.  Both were short sharp bursts of rainfall....... but what do I know about Kansas weather?

I arrived in Chanute (KS) to rest up for the evening and the skies were looking a little ominous.  Undeterred I set up my tent and went about my daily routine, digging my clothes out to have a shower and get changed.

As I was a little concerned about the weather, I asked a fellow camper what the forecast was (she was 'camping' in an RV so had a TV at her disposal) and was told it was probably just a few showers nothing to worry about.  As the storm clouds grew ever closer I decided to seek a second opinion and was told there was a severe weather warning in place.  The gentleman I asked said it was probably just a bit of rain, but I should be prepared to leg it to the nearest toilet block if things got a bit windy and we had a nice long chat about what the weather can do in Kansas.  

After that chat I took the decision to check into a motel! 

What a decision that turned out to be.  The storm did hit Chanute and brought with it 80mph winds and 'quarter sized' hail stones (about a 10p piece for my UK readers).

I have to say, watching that storm unfold outside of my motel room, I was quite shaken.  If I had taken the first piece of weather advice I had been given I would have been waiting out the storm in a public toilet whilst praying all my kit was not blown away!  There is nothing to say my tent and kit would not have survived, infact I have every confidence my tent would have survived; but I don't want to test that theory.

As for tonight, I am again in a motel in Pittsburg (KS).  The morning forecast had the possibility of severe storms mentioned and I was shaken up enough that a secure room was worth the expense.  But today has been  a very British weather day.  Combine that with the rolling green slopes of Eastern Kansas and I could be back home again.......just need to remember to keep on the right hand side of the road!

One thing that yesterday's storm did bring home is the work of ShelterBox.  This is not a plea for more sponsorship, but an honest recount of my thoughts.  Whilst sat in my motel room with the power cut out, it made me realise how lucky I was to be sheltered from a storm and the realisation that some people can do nothing to avoid the force of nature in those situations.  Some of the people ShelterBox reach are hit by storms just like those and lose much of their worldly possessions.  It was a very emotional moment for me and one that will stay with me for some time.

The forecast for the next few days appears to be storm free, but I will probably be getting wet.  Urgh.

Peaks and Troughs

Whenever asked what cycle touring is like, I always tell people it’s a rollercoaster; you can go from a great day to a terrible day in the blink of an eye (and vice versa).  The trick is to ride with the lows, knowing that a high may just be round the corner.

Well today I rode the Nemesis Inferno.

The day started well as the winds had shifted a little.  Still pointing at me enough to slow me down, but no longer blasting in my face all day.  I set off in good spirits.

My first stop for the day was a little town called Buhler, I stopped in the grocery store and had a pleasant chat with a few locals.  I was still riding high.

Next up, Hesston.  In Hesston I collected my maps for the final leg of my journey.  A quick look at the maps showed there may be few campgrounds ahead, so things may get a little expensive here on in, my mood darkened a little.

From Heston I found a nice short-cut to Newton.  After Newton was a stretch of 38 miles with no services, so I stocked up on supplies.  Before leaving Newton I asked a local guy about the weather as the sky seemed to be darkening, big mistake.  He told me to expect rain, maybe even storms.  My mood could have got worse, but I set off from Newton and discovered the winds had shifted and I had a tail wind, wohoo!

Taking full advantage of the tailwind I stormed to Cassoday, my intended destination for the night.  I arrived at 3:30; very early to finish for the day, especially as there was no restaurants or shops in Cassoday.  Full of good spirits, I decided to take on another chunk of cycling.  (Cassoday is Prairie Chicken Capital of the World!!!)

My next leg to Rosalia broke me.  It was 20mph into a strong headwind, having already spent 7hrs on the bike.  I arrived in Rosalia, with storm cloud brewing over my head to discover there was no campsite or city park.  I was depressed.

Then I was told that I could stay in the local church for free, where I could make myself at home and use the kitchen if required.  I decided to celebrate I would eat at the local café (that only sold pizzas!) and to top my night off a lady I had been talking to earlier in the night paid for my meal without me even knowing!  I now love Rosalia and it has been one of the nicest nights of my trip!

Home for the night!

So there you have it, a day of the peaks and troughs of cycle touring across the USA.  Roll on tomorrow’s adventure!

Kansas

I write this as I approach half way through the state of Kansas; and I am a broken man!  My plan for Kansas was to drop the hammer and gets some big miles in.  I knew Kansas would be flat and, dare I say it, boring; so the plan was always to hit some big days so I can take my time more when things get more interesting.

ANOTHER Grain Elevator!

The problem with this plan has been an unexpected headwind!  For two days now I have had a headwind.  This is both soul destroying and energy zapping.

The winds started on Saturday, and Saturday morning I completed the first 10 miles in a time similar to what I would run it in in normal conditions!  Since then the wind has eased slightly, but I am still travelling around 30% slower than I would expect.  One little break from the headwinds came in the form of a tractor.  This tractor overtook me and with a bit of effort I managed to pick up and speed and follow the tractor closely, and thus got some shelter from the wind.  I followed this tractor for 4 miles and right at the end of the day, so a great moral booster.

Headwinds aside, there isn’t too much to say about Kansas so far!  As I have been spending so long on the bike the last few days, I have not met as many people as usual and the roads are long, straight and flat.  The scenary is farmland, although it does alternate through wheat, sunflower, cattle, maize, grass etc etc.  As I am getting into the eastern half of the state, things are getting slightly more interesting to look at and I will always remember the first tree I saw in Kansas; I will never take such a scenic feature for granted again!

Another feature of Kansas has been the camping.  Kansas is a fabulously welcoming place and allow cyclists to camp free of charge in city parks.  The problem with this is there are not generally any showers in city parks.  Imagine my delight when in Nickerson city park I discovered a shower room.  My delight was tempered a little by the realisation that it was a cold shower.  It is a sign of how my life has changed over the last six weeks that I am now pleased to get a cold shower!

The Daily Grind

I have been on the road long enough to have developed a daily routine, which I thought I would share with you.  

Each day on the road is different, but what I have described to you is a typical day.  Times are approximate as my day is based on sunlight, not what time it is!

7am (Sunrise): Wake up and lie in bed until warm enough to venture outside.

7:30am: Get up and make breakfast (coffee and two sachets of instant oatmeal).

8am: Pack up.  Everything has it's place in my bags, but each morning it takes around 30-40mins to pack up everything onto my bike.

9am: Start cycling.

9:30am: Stop at cafe for second breakfast (biscuits and gravy is a favourite)

10:15am: Continue cycling.  As I ride I tend to take a break every 90 minutes and I will eat high energy foods throughout the day.  

Throughout the day I will stop at any sights of interest and inevitably will end up talking to some locals, tourists or other cyclists.  I do not like to be in a rush when cycling so I can take all these opportunities without worrying about missing miles etc.

5:00pm:  Arrive at campsite and set up tent.

5:30pm: Warm Shower (if available!).  I also wash my cycling kit whilst in the shower.

6:00pm: Enjoy a nice cold beer.  (good source of carbs too!)

7:00pm: Cook food.  Normally a carb fest, but I have to keep the cooking simple as I only have limited options with my camping stove.  Frequent food are pasta, cous cous or instant mash; always with some sort of meat for protein.

8:00pm: Wash up and pack away food (so no wild animals visit in the night).

8:30pm: Polite conversation / read book / update blog.

10pm: Sleep

Obviously this a broad outline of a typical day on the bike.  One problem for me is staying in touch with home, as due to the time difference I have to stop during the day and find somewhere to get online to talk.  There is also bike maintenance and washing to do at some point!

I hope this is a good insight into my daily life, it's tough but I like it.

Hump Day!!

If I look cold, I was!  There was snow on the ground in places!

Today is Hump Day for my journey.  I may not quite be half way through my ride in the USA, but today feels like the halfway point!

Two reasons:

Today I crossed the Continental Divide for the seventh and final time; it was also the highest altitude I will reach on my trip (11,542 ft);

The other is my trip of 90 days included my days cycling to get to Neah Bay from ShelterBox in Cornwall, so I may not quite be half way through my time in the USA, but I am halfway through my adventure.

I have mixed emotions about reaching halfway; part of me can't wait to finish, but a much bigger part of me doesn't want this trip to end.

The things I am looking forward to most when I finish are the simple things, in particular  packing.  Every morning I have to pack up everything I own into 5 small bags and even in a rush it takes 20-30 minutes, probably the thing I dislike most about my journey.  

However, this trip is everything I hoped it would be and more.  Yes, the cycling has been tough in places, I have been cold, wet and miserable at times on this trip but the scenary and experiences I have had have more than made up for that!

Colorado has been a fantastic state to cycle through, plenty of hills and scenery to keep a cyclist happy.  The autumn colours appearing in the trees were a constant reminder that bad weather is on it's way.  It looks like (touch wood) I will have made it out of the Rockies just in time as I only have two days of downhill cycling before I am back to 'normal' altitudes.

Next up Kansas.  I have been told to expect flat plains with copious tail winds.  I'm not banking on that though!

Yellowstone / Teton National Park

I have just passed from Montana into Wyoming, through the Yellowstone and Teton Nation Parks.  These areas were both breathtaking.

I was told I would not like Yellowstone due to the number of visitors, but it seems I have hit the end of season.  A ranger told me that July / August are about 4 times busier than September.  That would have been horrendous on a bike!

Anyway, not much happened through the parks except cracking scenery; so this blog post is all about the pictures..........

Nut Jobs!

Just like to share with you two people I have met in the last two days:

This is Spencer, he is cycling around the USA on a tall bike.  A bike he made himself, created by welding two bikes together.  Unfortunately I missed him getting on the bike so I am clueless how he does it!

I rode with Spencer for a couple of miles and it is a surprise he has even left his native LA due to the attention he draws; everyone wants to know what he is doing, where he is going etc.  His bike was called Wobbly Robert.

and this is Amelia, with Runaway the Dog.

I met Amelia cycling the opposite way to me, in the Teton National Park.  Amelia and Runaway are heading to Seattle.  The weather was quite poor when I met Amelia and Runaway, so I think Runaway was a little grumpy; but what a lucky dog getting to see the USA at bike speed without having to peddle up the endless hills.

For those of you who think my journey is crazy, some proof that there are plenty of nuttier people than me out there!

Montana

So today I reached West Yellowstone, which means that I am about to enter my fifth US state (Wyoming) and the odds on me being eaten by a bear have gone up quite considerably.  That doesn't mean to say the odds on me being eaten by a bear are high; but I am now in bear country, so the risk has inevitably increased!

No bears as yet!

Montana has been a great state, like the four before it.  The only problem with Montana has been the smoke!  It has ruined so many views and photo opportunities.  Despite the smoke, it has been clear to see why Montana is known as big sky country, with towering mountains ranges on either side of me as I cycle through farmland plains.

Two of my highlights of Montana:

Virginia City

When the west of America was being discovered, gold was found in the river in Virginia City in the late 1800s.  This paved the way for hundreds of people to move west in search of their fortune.  Unfortunately after 30 years as a gold mining town Virginia City was bled dry and people moved on.

Rather than be left to ruin, Virginia City has been restored and is now a snap shot into life back in the 1890s.

   

Quake Lake

In 1959 an earthquake struck, which triggered a landslide.  This landslide blocked the Madison river and created a new lake.  Hence the name, Quake Lake.  What I loved about Quake Lake is the simplicity of what happened, and how obvious it is to tell what happened.  You can still see where the mountain collapsed and there are even dead trees in the lake where the new lake was formed.

Sadly, 28 people were killed when the earthquake struck.

You can see more here

So now onto Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park. Before the trip this was one of the stages I was most looking forward to, so I'm pretty excited about what's to come. However I will be a happy man if, 10 days from now, I have still not seen a bear!

Non-Smokin'!

So my last post was about Wild Fires.  Thought it only fair to update you and assure you that I am alive and well!

As I previously wrote, the wild fires had left the entire valley of the Clearwater River choked with smoke, with reports of thick smoke and poor visibility.  I have to be honest, after a good nights sleep I woke up the following day and had forgotten all about the fires.  That memory loss was helped by the fact that the smoke had cleared overnight.

As the fires were some 40miles from the campsite I stayed in, the breeze that had whipped up overnight had cleared the smoke and the air was back to normal.  So off I set up Clearwater River; what was a day I was a bit apprehensive about (wildfires plus 66 miles with no services), turned out to be a magical day!

I did cycle within a few miles of the wildfires, but was kept smoke free by the breeze.  This may sound a little crazy to some back home, but the fires are carefully monitored by Park Rangers and access controlled accordingly.  It is quite reassuring.

FIRE!

Clearwater River

There are two things I dread when cycling; the cold and the wind.  But just this once the wind came in on my side.  The following morning it was the turn of the cold, -2.3C!  This was not on my side.

A roadside friend