In summer 2007, four fresh-faced cyclists set off on a journey of self-discovery and saddle sores, from the Canadian border at Niagara Falls to the southernmost tip of Florida. I drove an air-conditioned SUV carrying their bags and wrote thousands of words about our journey.
- The final blogby RobSo, we’ve arrived. The cyclists left the motel relatively early, at about 8am, with no complaints or grumbles about the hour or what lay ahead for the day. They all knew that the 48 mile journey from Marathon to Key West would be the last time they would cycle on this trip. About an hour later, I set off along Route 1, counting down the mile markers as I gradually approached zero and stopping only to pick up a bottle of champagne from a liquor store along the way. I hadn’t passed any of the cyclists along the route, so… Read more: The final blog
- The story in Alex’s words…by RobThe story so far in Alex’s words…So after being sat on a bike for 84.5 hours we have finally made it to Key West and I decided it was time that I wrote something for the website. Arriving was very surreal – we stopped 5 miles outside of the town to change from our rather sweaty lycra into our very stylish Team America T-Shirts so everyone knew what we had done and for a bit of self promotion. The final few miles were slightly hairy as the roads were a little busier, the hard shoulder had disappeared and Andy was… Read more: The story in Alex’s words…
- The End is Nighby RobOn Saturday morning the cyclists and I joined US Route 1, the final road of the trip. Route 1 runs from Key West right the way up to the Canadian border in Maine over 2,300 miles away, so this was not the first time we’d come across this particular highway. Before long, we had crossed the small channel between mainland USA and the first of the Florida Keys: Key Largo. I arrived a few hours before the cyclists, so headed to a water-side park/marina to write postcards in the sun. When the cyclists joined me, we all headed to a… Read more: The End is Nigh
- Typhoon Lagoon, a Shuttle launch and David Beckhamby RobOn Tuesday, after discovering that I’d managed to leave my swimming shorts in the previous motel, we set off to the Typhoon Lagoon water park in Orlando. It is a part of the Disney World complex, though the inside was disappointingly/agreeably (depending on your point of view) empty in terms of Micky Mouse, Goofy et al. As the name suggests, the park surrounds a large artificial sea, complete with a wave machine to generate an enormous swell every 90 seconds or so. Around the lagoon is a circular river full of inflatable rings, which is quite possibly the most relaxing… Read more: Typhoon Lagoon, a Shuttle launch and David Beckham
- Neil’s story so far…by RobThe journey so far by Neil Crimes I’m now sat in a super 8 motel, in a small town called Lumberton in North Carolina (Since initially writing this we have now reached Miami, Florida, but that’s a different story which I haven’t got round to yet!), after spending 3 weeks in the USA cycling over 800 miles! I thought I would update you all with the journey so far from my point of view, how it’s been so far from the point of view of the most unfit member of Team America! Day One: After some initial bike problems we… Read more: Neil’s story so far…
- Universal Studiosby RobOrlando is just crammed full of theme parks and other entertaining days out; it would take literally weeks to visit even just the highlights of what is on offer, so our three days was always going to be difficult to plan. We wanted to fit in a theme park and a water park on Monday and Tuesday, before finding something to do on the Wednesday morning before the scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour. In the end we tossed a coin to decide between Universal Studios and Disney World’s Magical Kingdom (the main theme park in Disney’s complex of attractions).… Read more: Universal Studios
- Kennedy Space Centerby RobOn Sunday morning opinion was mixed among the cyclists as to whether it was worth cycling an arbitrary distance towards Orlando before driving to the Kennedy Space Center back on the coast. Our motel for the next few days was to the south of Orlando, so the planned cycle of 20 miles or so to the north of the city would be purely for show. In the end, Alex and Andy set off, while Neil and Leo got their exercise by going for a swim in the sea instead. Alex and Andy didn’t get very far. After about 9 miles,… Read more: Kennedy Space Center
- Andy’s story so farby RobAndy’s perspective: Right, so we’re down in Florida (the last state), and having not written anything yet I think it’s about the best time to start. Having completed the hilly sections of our tour I am now at liberty to describe (what I’m sure you’re all dying to know) which is quite how hard this task actually is. Consider a Sauna – well the temperatures circle around that of a Sauna about 93 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Now consider sitting in a Sauna for between 4 and 7 hours a day and consider that as many as 6 of these… Read more: Andy’s story so far
- Happy Floriday!by RobOur journey through North Carolina continued early on Tuesday morning as I drove the cyclists inland towards the town of Hemingway. A journey directly along Route 17 (the coastal road) to Charleston appeared too busy with traffic for the cyclists, so I was dropping them inland for an equivalent cycle ride. On the way, we passed through a drive-thru bank. In the States, almost every type of outlet has been converted to allow Americans to obtain a service without leaving the comfort of their car. As well as drive thru restaurants of every type (donuts, ice cream, burgers), there are… Read more: Happy Floriday!
- Myrtle Beachby RobMonday had been scheduled as a rest day, so we were all looking forward to a lie in and a day on Myrtle Beach. You can perhaps, therefore, imagine our annoyance as we stepped out of the motel room into a torrential rainstorm; if so, you’d be entirely incorrect. The rain was so warm it felt like a hot shower and splashing through the puddles was like wading through a hot spring. Since we were all dressed for the beach, it didn’t matter so much that we were almost immediately soaked to the skin, though we probably did look a… Read more: Myrtle Beach
- Lumberton to Myrtle Beachby RobAmericans really love the English accent. They just can’t get enough of it, although too many of them think that every English accent is a London accent. In Lumberton on Saturday we went out to a steakhouse for dinner and caused something of a stir amongst the staff, simply because we were from Britain. Lumberton is a small town which clearly does not get many visitors from beyond the county line. After eating a big juicy steak each (accompanied, as always, with a ’side’ salad which is actually served as a starter and would, in normal circumstances, suffice for a… Read more: Lumberton to Myrtle Beach
- Back in Durhamby RobFriday was scheduled to be a semi-rest day, with nothing but a relatively short cycle (35 miles) planned for the late afternoon. In the morning we drove to the nearby city of Durham, County Durham and headed for their tourist information office. They recommended we followed a walking route through the city, but it turned out to be rather dull. In fact, Durham seemed to be a bit of a ghost town: there was almost nobody in the streets and nothing happening. After eating a good Southern lunch served in a basket, we got back into the car and drove… Read more: Back in Durham
- The Prison Highwayby RobThe road between Roanoke Rapids and Raleigh (the sister town of Durham, but more on that later) was largely unremarkable, so I decided to leave the interstate and instead followed signs for an unspecified historic site. It never materialised, although some signs did indicate that the highway I was on was in some way historic, though in this country that could just mean that it’s at least 40 years old. In fact, the road just seemed to lead towards a prison and a stretch of it was actually sponsored by the local correctional institute. I’m not sure why a jail… Read more: The Prison Highway
- Burger King: 92.5% cleanby RobOn Wednesday, we awoke in Richmond to the sensational news that somebody had been thwarted in an audacious attempt to smuggle two blocks of cheese and some wire onto an aeroplane. Every news network was taking this security breach very seriously, apparently afraid that the cheese attack was a dry-run for smuggling something a little more deadly onto a plane: Dairylea, perhaps. After dropping the cyclists to the south of Richmond to begin their 90 mile ride to Roanoke Rapids, I followed in the monster truck. The border crossing between Virginia and North Carolina was notable, as the speed… Read more: Burger King: 92.5% clean
- The cycle so far in Leo’s words…by RobSo far we’ve had ten days of cycling, well over 800 miles, countless punctures, a load of hills, lots of sun, some amazing sights, plenty of road kill, a few live animals, a lot of swearing, a pile more sweating, our fair share of rain and even the occasional bit of fun! I can honestly say, for me, this has been the hardest thing I have ever done. I am really not sure if it is for me, but after three weeks the short hair is finally feeling like mine! But seriously the cycling has been so very tough and… Read more: The cycle so far in Leo’s words…
- Five Northerners in the Southby RobOn Tuesday morning Ed caught his flight towards Mexico and I dropped the cyclists off in the town of Bowling Green, just south of Washington; it is in the state of Virginia, which means we’re actually in the South now. As if the geography wasn’t enough to confirm this, the waitress in one of the town’s two cafés insisted on referring to us as “y’all” and the town’s war memorial took me a little by surprise. This area is riddled with battle sites from the Civil War and on reflection I shouldn’t have been in the least bit taken aback… Read more: Five Northerners in the South
- 525 miles per gallon?!by RobOur second day in Washington began slowly, after realising that we were long overdue a lie in. Eventually leaving the motel at about noon, we ate lunch in the massive food hall of Union Station. The station is more like an out of town shopping centre than a railway terminal: it has countless restaurants, shops and even a multiplex cinema. It was here that we left Neil and Leo to watch Harry Potter 5, while we wandered towards the Capitol in order to find out what the city was like on a weekday. We saw that the Supreme Court was… Read more: 525 miles per gallon?!
- Memorials and lost Subways in Washington DCby RobShortly after arriving at the motel in Washington, Andy, Alex and I had all independently been conned out of a dollar or so by a beggar masquerading as a stranded motorist. He was not the last example of homelessness we’d meet in this city. They were moving from customer to customer in the local McDonald’s, both inside and in the drive-thru queue, asking for change. Two things appeared to connect the beggars: firstly they were all old, or looked it, and secondly they were all black. The next morning we walked to Capitol Hill via the sprawling Union Station and… Read more: Memorials and lost Subways in Washington DC
- New York to Washingtonby RobOur plans for getting out of New York and down to Washington had swung back and forth many times. One option would take us down the coast, via Atlantic City and inland to DC. The other would go more directly via the cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore, which probably wouldn’t be great for cycling. Because of this, we settled finally on option one, though the sprawling mass of New York meant that the cycling could not actually begin until about 50 miles south of Newark Airport. Dropping the cyclists off at lunchtime from a carpark in the small town of… Read more: New York to Washington
- New York, New York: Part 2by RobOn Wednesday morning, we awoke to the sound of a violent thunderstorm in the streets outside the hostel. When we eventually ventured outside, the storm had eased to a drizzle, so we took the subway down to lower Manhattan. (An aside about the subway system: not only is it far shabbier than the London equivalent, but its name causes no end of confusion. I went into a bank to ask for directions to the nearest subway, only to later find that she’d actually directed me to the nearest branch of Subway, the popular sandwich chain.) We headed down towards the… Read more: New York, New York: Part 2
- New York, New York: Part 1by RobIt’s been a full working week since I last updated the blog and it’s been quite an eventful one at that. When we left off last Sunday evening Neil had a broken bike so was travelling by car until a cycle shop specialising in Trek models could be found. As luck would have it, the small town of Hamburg, NJ had exactly that, so Neil, Ed and I headed there as Alex, Andy and Leo hit the road for the 50 mile journey to New York. The owner of the cycle shop (who may or may not have been a… Read more: New York, New York: Part 1
- We’re aliveby RobJust a quick note for anyone who may have seen news of explosions in NYC – we’re all fine. We were a few blocks away and got some photos from behind the cordon. Full blog on Friday, probably.
- An unfortunate chain of eventsby RobYesterday we all awoke at 6am to the sound of Neil’s alarm. A few hours later I woke again to find Neil and Leo asleep on the floor, as apparently it had been too cold to start cycling. When eventually everybody set off a further few hours later, Ed and I visited our first diner for breakfast. It really was like a diner in the movies and my egg, cheese and ham bagel was a delicious start to the day. We then had a quick wander around the Botanical Gardens, which were nice, though the birdsong was curiously drowned out… Read more: An unfortunate chain of events
- The first couple of days of cyclingby RobAfter the cyclists left, Ed and I went to breakfast, which we had been told was next door at the Best Western motel. Perhaps we should’ve twigged as we waited to be seated and were then served by a friendly waitress, but it was only at the end of the meal when we were presented with a bill each for $13 that we realised that this particular breakfast was not included in our motel bill. As I checked out of the motel in Niagara Falls, the weather changed from overcast to torrential rain. I got drenched walking/running from reception back… Read more: The first couple of days of cycling
- …and they’re offby RobYesterday we put Ed on a Greyhound bus to Niagara Falls and then followed him in our tank. After arriving in Niagara at around lunchtime we walked a few miles into town and ate in a restaurant called only ‘Family Restaurant’. We mostly had pasta dishes of one variety of the other, each served with an identical, slightly disgusting tinned tomato sauce. They did bring Andy’s dessert out with candles in the top, though, to celebrate his birthday (and one of the last opportunities to eat deep fried brownie for the next 4-5 weeks). We then headed to the falls… Read more: …and they’re off
- This is a cycling event, honestlyby RobYesterday we went back into downtown Toronto, leaving our car, bikes and possessions in a multi-storey car park (we’d checked out of one motel and were waiting to check into a new one). We made a beeline for the CN Tower and took the elevator up to the viewing platform at 330m above the ground, where we walked across the glass floor and took in the views. Neil, Andy and Leo then joined the queue for the elevator to the Skypod at 447m. Me, Alex and Ed meanwhile went for a wander around Toronto. Toronto is a nice city, with… Read more: This is a cycling event, honestly
- Put your hands up for… Flint, Michiganby RobSince I last blogged we’ve travelled almost 600 miles from Chicago to Toronto. On our first full day in the States we took the train to downtown Chicago and checked out a food festival. Me and Andy befriended an anti-Bush activist and Andy is now the proud owner of an Impeach Bush flag. Then, by an enormous stroke of luck, a passer by identified us as being from out of town and recommended a restaurant that did fantastic steaks and also directed us to Buddy Guy’s Legends blues bar where those of us over 21 spent an immensely satisfying two… Read more: Put your hands up for… Flint, Michigan
- Ignore anything I ever said about SUVsby RobWe’ve discovered the perfect cure to jetlag – confuse your body so much that it has no idea what time zone it’s in. Yesterday was quite literally the longest day of our lives; it began in Heathrow airport as we tried to make a game of top trumps stretch from midnight to 5am. At roughly this point, we received the delightful news that somewhere along the line STA Travel had failed to book three bikes onto the plane TWICE. In the end we got them on, but it was quite a scare. Fast forward two airports, many hours and lots… Read more: Ignore anything I ever said about SUVs