I’ve updated all of our ‘Cycling Stats’. For anyone still interested in how far we cycled here’s some of the more interesting stats from the trip:

In the sebring race we cycled 328.24km For 11 hours and 16 minutes we managed to average 29.1 km/h (about 18 miles an hour) and burned 8117.6 calories during the race. Something we both needed to do after too many cocktails in Miami.

The trip (including the race) totaled at 13583 miles (21860km) and took 163 days of cycling. That works out at 83.33 miles a day. We spent an average of 6 hours 19 minutes in the saddle every day we cycled and no real saddle sores! I still can’t believe that myself.

After our race in Sebring we had a couple of days before our flight home and spent our time partying with some friends, dressed as mimes, obviously. (Sorry but the pictures aren’t uploading) Thanks to Maite and Lee for such a fun weekend.

The only downside to all the partying was lack of sleep. We still had more cycling to do before we’d actually finished. And a long haul flight.

We were met by a huge crowd of our biggest fans at Stanstead. Namely members of our immediate family, waving banners and holding ‘welcome home’ helium balloons.  We had a great evening catching up with more family at my aunts house. We were fed like kings (or should I say pigs). Something we were now far too used to.

I spent a while putting the bikes back together. Most of the bits went back in the right place. More thanks to both our families for meeting us at the airport and to Stella and family for your fabulous hospitality.

Our last morning of cycling of the whole trip and we woke up to snow. The British weather was also there to greet us. For the last time we donned our thermal gear, layered up and set out to City Hall and the finish line.

As it happens, the ride into the city was quicker than anticipated and we were early. Time to say hi to all from Nokia, Solar Century, Solar-aid and warm up with a cup of coffee before the hoards arrived. Met by litterally tens of our family and friends we had a fun photo frenzie and reunion by the bank of the Thames. We were presented with plaques and solar panels to commemorate our journey.

Check out the articles from Solar Century ,  We support solar and an interview by Luke Walsh.

A nice lunch by the Thames with more family and friends paved the way to the real finish line, the party. Would either of us make it through unscathed?

The evening was fabulous and a huge thankyou to everyone who came along. Especially those who traveled long distances and surprise appearances. It really did make the evening great. It was so nice to catch up with so many people after spending such a long time on the road.

Somehow we both managed to make it through to the finish line without ‘falling off the bike’ as it were. I can only put this down to all the partying we did in our last week in the States. Thanks to everyone who helped us build our resolve in the States!

I think we’ve both just about recovered from the party and are now trying to come to terms with the temperature.  Having cycled through deserts for 9 months it is quite clear we’re not used to the British winter. The sun rules! We hope you’ve enjoyed our journey following the sun, right through to the finish line.

It’s not quite the end yet. There will be another blog or two at least. I’m going to be posting a bumper photo blog with some of our favourite shots, coming soon…

In the meantime please find time to donate to Solar Aid if you havn’t done so already. We’ve managed to make it round, I hope you can make it round to donating!

ta ta

We had entered a 12 hour endurance race in Sebring  to mark the end of our trip through the States. At the time of entering it was a great idea, with only a few minutes until the off, it suddenly didn’t seem such a fantastic plan.
 
A grand total of 4 and a half hours sleep hadn’t set us up as well as we’d hoped. A nice breakfast took the edge off but the freezing conditions weren’t helping. Especially as I’d left all my thermal clothes back in Miami. It was still pitch black and time was getting short. 

Fifteen minutes until the whisle blew…  I’d only just parked the car and taken the bikes out. Now we had to put the wheels on, attach the electronic tags and get the sports tracker set up.

Ten minutes to go… “Where’s my phone? Bo#^%cks! It must have fallen out of my pocket at breakfast.” I left Susie to head to the start line where they had already started giving instructions for the race. I cycled back to the hotel. The phone was not at reception, not at the restaurant, not in the bathroom.

Five minustes to go… Back to the car, the phone wasn’t in the car. “Sh&t!!!” Too late to do anything else so I headed back to the start.
 
Three minutes to go… Found Susie on the start line. Her saddle was in the wrong position and I’d gone off with the multi-tool.

Everyone else was set, primed and ready to go listening to vital final instructions on how not to get lost on the course. Susie was frantically adjusting the seat post on her bike. I was standing there in my baggy trousers and a T-shirt under my cycling top as a futile attempt at keeping the chill from reaching my bones. I realised I hadn’t got my race ID number on.

Two minutes to go… I was having my race number pinned to my back by a kind spectator. Susie was fiddling with the saddle. We still hadn’t checked if our electronic tags worked.

Thirty seconds to go… Susie’s passed me back the multi-too and we checked our tags worked so our milage could be recorded.

I’d like to say that our countless hours on the bikes had prepared us and that, at this stage, we looked calm and professional.

Unfortunately I can’t.

My baggy trousers were tucked into my socks and my exposed arms were goose bumped. Susie had her hoody on with one leg rolled up on her trousers. Neither of us had lights for the Sebring race track, still pitch black. We clearly looked as though we’d taken a wrong turn and somehow ended up on the start line.

Go!

Off we pedal with nothing to be done about the numerous things we have overlooked.

12 hours to the finish… 12 hours to tally up as many miles as we could.

We weren’t sure who to cycle with in order to keep a good pace but the second group that formed seemed to suit us fairly well. Pace was fairly swift but having racing bikes and no paniers to haul meant we were keeping up. By the end of the 3 laps of the Sebring race track it was almost light. We headed out on the roads of central Florida for 100 mile loop that would lead us back to the start line.

25 miles in… Flat tyre. Well, not flat, but very low and after 25 miles I stopped to pump up my tyre get food from my saddle bag and take a leak. I told Susie to stay with the pack so as not to lose energy. I intended to catch them.  Not as easy as I’d thought. Conditions stayed cold and the wind was directly in our faces. After 20 miles of pushing and almost catching the pack I resigned to the fact I wouldn’t manage before the turn around point and eased off slightly, reserving some energy.

9 hours to the finish… Susie was waiting for me at the turn around and we took 10 minutes to chomp some food while I got my tyres inflated. My attempts with my hand pump were taking way too long. Susie got her seat post adjusted as  it was still in the wrong position.

7 hours to the finish… My saddle brakes and starts moving from side to side. Nothing too worrying but quite irritating. We headed back to the race track and roughly the half way point. This time we took it in turns in the lead as we have been doing for the past 9 months. The wind was with us and we kept a good pace.

6 hours to the finish… Lunch time, it wasn’t a pretty sight. Both of us trying to get pasta, banana’s and sugary snacks in our mouths as swiftly as possible without it coming straight back out. I went to fill up my water bottles only to find on my return two of the mechanics fighting to massage susie’s legs with their ’special stick’. Susie finally got her seat in the right position and popped some painkillers for her knees, now killing from the previously cramped riding position.

10 minutes rest in total, then straight back to the job at hand… racking up the milage. My aim was to try and see if we could do over 200 miles in the alloted 12 hours. This meant a high average speed and precious little rest time.

The next part of the course changed, smaller circuits of 11.7 miles. The sun had emerged and we found the cycling very pleasant. Our first 30 miles was great. Susie would invariably be singing out loud when drafting me. In fact I was getting a little embarrased as we passed rider after rider with her screaming out lyrics from behind, as if saying “this is a breeze, I’m passing you and not even out of breath”.

Show off.

I took this as a cue to pick up the pace a bit as she obviously wasn’t working hard enough.

After the next and final break though Susie started to feel the burn and the one hill on the circuit coupled with the head wind meant she wasn’t a happy bunny on that section. The next part of the route had a long stretch of downhill with the wind on our backs and was much more her style at this stage.

2 and a half hours to go… Over three quarters of the way through and I was expecting time to drag and my energy levels to drop. However I was getting used to snacking on the go and despite pushing our pace I was surprised to find I had lots of energy and that time was shooting past. I was clearly more concerned with getting over 200 miles of tarmac under us. In the last couple of laps I took the majority of the headwind in order to keep our pace up.

40 minutes to go… In the final hour we rejoined the race track to complete circuits of 3.1 miles. We figured we needed 4 circuits to get us over the 200 miles. Just about possible. Unfortunately Susie’s energy levels were low and she urged me to try for the 4 laps without her.

I sped off like a madman, surprising myself how much more I had left in my legs. It wasn’t enough though and I could only make 3 circuits in the time we had left. I then waited on the finish line hoping Susie would make it round three laps as well.

2 minutes to go… Susie crosses the line after an exhausting final lap. We congratulated each other on how well we’d done but secretly more because we’d managed to finish. One of the officials told us that 8 laps of the small circuit and 3 laps of the race track meant we were just shy of 200 miles.

Half hour later… After getting the bikes packed and changed we eventually found the award ceremony. Susie had managed to win her category… yay! Our friend from the race told us that all the serious male competion was in my category and I didn’t place anywhere. Looking more closely at Susie’s medal we noted she was marked down for over 204 miles. I had to check if I’d done the same so asked the organiser if I could find out my times for the race.

It turns out I had won my category too with the same milage as Susie and that our lack of organisation meant we had undermeasured the circuit distances… double yay!!!

Totally knackered and ready to drop we headed off to get the bikes back and try to get our hire car back before midnight.

Luckily for us we had met Chris, a local cycling fan and owner of Velocity Studio in Palm Beach. He had lent me his bike for the race and helped to organise one for Susie.

We sped to meet him where he was enjoying a couple of Saturday evening beers. We can’t thank him enough. Not only had he brought his jeep out to rescue the bikes but also assured us that - though we returned them to him dismantled (and with dodgy seat post) - all was well and waved us off.

Once again we have been amazingly lucky to meet such a fantastic guy. It just added to what was already an incredible experience.

Susie is still complaining that she feels like she has been “hit repeatedly with a big stick” and she never wants to do anything like that again.

I, on the other hand really enjoyed the experience and can only hope I learn from this and be a little more prepared the next time.

What a ride.

Technically we aren’t actually going to be home until the 19th as we have signed up to do a 12 hour endurance race next weekend (of course - what else would you do after cycling round the world but stick another 220 miles on… in one day) but we’re pretty much there.

Crazy days indeed.

Even more excitingly we are getting a cavalcade to welcome us in as some of our beautiful friends are hiring California Crusers and pedaling the last 5 miles down the coast.

To somewhere we can have a pina colada!

Though, if I am being honest, the celebrations have started already.

Especially on Saturday.

Otherwise known as ‘William Wallace Day’…

Well, otherwise known as William Wallace Day in Del Ray Beach after Pete and Blake made it up and we managed to attack half the towns inhabitants with lumionous face paint shouting “FREEDOM” at regular intervals.

Celebrating 'Wallace Day'

(Blake, whose Scottish lineage is sketchy at best, was delighted to be informed by one suspiciously American sounding gent that he ‘never celebrated Wallace Day’ as he ‘is English’.)

Anyway, we have had an incredible weekend with Kim, Lara, Chloe and the guys but are finally getting back on our bikes to burn up the last few miles in the sunshine.

Which is a fantastic change as when I last updated we were hiding out after being soaked to the skin.

Again.

Having had an amazing time at the University of Florida’s SolarCycle Week. We headed out into the storm to make our way through Lake Country to the coast. Battered by the wind we hurtled past the orange groves in a desperate bid to outrun the weather.

Vaguely successfully.

Note the suspiciously water logged field

The second day out of town we hit an epic 130 miler with just a few showers, the next we got caught out in only the last twenty minutes. On the final push into Fort Lauderdale we basked in sunshine right until we hit the coast… where another torrential downpour engulfed us and I won the wet T-shirt contest hands down as we arrived at our friends, Mark and Chris’.

There was only just time to change though as we immediately turned around for our reception by the Mayor at City Hall.

How wonderful and unexpected.

We are now grateful recipients of commendations by the City. And got to cycle right into the Chamber meeting. Nearly taking out several officials and constituents with our paniers and getting some footage for America’s funniest home videos.

Assessing just how many people might be injured...

It was a wonderful end to our last long day cycling. In which we had got lost and nearly eaten by alligators (we accidentally went down a 30 mile farm track flanked by the beady eyed beasts… desperately praying not to get a flat!)

Gators either side

It was fabulous though (check  it out here - click on the Commission Meeting Video, February 2, Regular Meeting at 9.50 mins) and the guys took us for beers after by the water.

The perfect way to fend off the nerves and excitement and celebrate being so close to the finish line.

I have to confess that - following those beers - the last couple of days have not been the most productive but they have been brilliant.

We are so lucky to have our friends meet us at the fnish line and join us in terrorising the neighbourhood.

We went to parties, danced till dawn and lounged in the sunshine. (Aka turned hundreds of people yellow, stormed the stage of every band in town and attempted to surf on a little girls Hannah Montana boogie board.) 

Testing out the 'shot ski'

It’s going to be a struggle to pull it all back together for the Sebring race on Saturday.

But pull it together we will.

I am determined to win… or beat Jamie at least!

Will be starting the pre-race training any minute now. And the solar based promotion for our return to the UK.

After maybe just a couple more cocktails by the Beach…

Susie xx

Seems so strange, after 159 days of pedaling, over 13,000 miles on the clock and one small incident of man handling Orlando Bloom yesterday, our last stop  is just a hop skip and a jump away.

Well, a 180 mile pedal through the rain at least (damnations, why? evil weather. where is the sun?)

But first - Orlando Bloom…

For anyone who doesn’t know, Orlando Bloom is a keen fan of solar with some on his roof (someone once told me - I promise I haven’t actually been stalking his home - honest…)

Anyway, I hope he has solar on his roof as 1 - I like to believe that all things I like to believe  2 - he was in Lord of the Rings with Cate Blanchet who is the Patron of SolarAid (you can donate to this great charity here. right here. go on…) 3 - it gives me an excuse to google pictures of him for this blog.

Yesterday though, no picture googling was required as stopping at the tourist information, I got the shock of my life to find him there.

Over here Orlando. Orlando? Orlando? Are you playing hard to get...

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I thoroughly disgraced myself by cavorting for some time with a life sized cardboard cut out. So did Jamie…

The guy running the place claimed to have “seen worse” but sounded most unconvincing. (We tried to get him on one of the bikes. All to a running commentary: “But no Orlando. You just don’t fit. I know we could snuggle and get on but it’s just not practical for pedaling. What was that you say? You don’t mind how impractical it is… But Orlando. It could be dangerous. Danger means nothing to you if you can be with me. Oh my. Marriage you say? And children… This is all so sudden.”)

Before the police were called though, we were back on the road, right up until we stopped to mess around in yet another tourist information and I nearly got stuck in this ‘ever so slightly too small for my tiny bottom’ aeroplane.

Looking a bit special

Anyway, other than making fools of ourselves at a variety of locations throughout the state, all has been going fantastically.

The last post was from Panama City as we waited out a storm, eating obscene amounts of doughnuts and going to Hooters (it was the only thing open close enough not to get soaked - or so Jamie told me…)

It meant though that we had two 125 mile days to get through to reach Gainesville on schedule.

Fortunately the wind and the sun eventually smiled on us and we had an incredible ride around the Emerald Coast.

This is what it's about

All the way to Alachua where we were picked up by the Gainesville Cycling Club who rode with us into town (thanks so much guys - it was a fantastic morning).

Escort to the SolarCycle Week!

And after our first ever basketball match that night (a resounding victory for the Florida Gators) it was blind panic in order to get ready for our presentation as part of SolarCycle Week.

Jamie taking a close interest at the cheerleaders routine

A while back the team at the University’s libraries had got in touch to discuss an event idea. The plan was to promote both cycling and solar power and as a part of this we would present on our trip.

And it was so much fun.

Finally pulling ourselves and some slides together we  found ourselves in front of a wonderful audience nattering about our journey.

The whole thing was recorded so feel free to check it out here (though for some reason the camera appears to have given me a double chin and made me babble?).

It was a wonderful couple of days. We were totally spoiled by Christine (thank you so much) and everyone there and also had a chance to talk solar and find out what was going on in the area too.

Gainesville has the first solar feed-in tariff in the US. Brilliant.

Also, being back at uni, we were able to take part in one of America’s other ‘cultural’ pursuits: Beer Pong!

Filipe and James you are absolute nutters but thank you so much for taking us out. Also for being such keen supporters of cycling. Even if not in the more traditional sense…

The guys on their morning ride

Anyway, after saying a sad farewell and despite the torrential downpours we set off south once again.

Dave had braved the conditions to ride us out of town and we managed a whole 40 miles before I refused to get any wetter and stopped again for the storm to pass.

Everything was soaked.

6 hours in a thunderstorm certainly tests the ‘waterproof’ abilities of your kit..

Yesterday, it was therefore a big old day to get as far as possible (130 miles) before the rains came back which - they have done. Grrr.

Still - only a couple more days on the road before we hit the bright lights of South Beach, Miami.

On the Home Run…

xx

Though the temperatures are finally too high for freezing, once again the elements are pitted against us.

Of course.

(Bad weather follows me. I went to Ayres Rock in July, 2007 and there was snow for the first time in recorded history. Rubbish.)

We are meant to be on the road today but the severe weather warning has put us off. It was the Tornado Watch that did it. 

Luckily, tommorrow’s forcast shows sun and tailwinds so - though it means we have a couple of 200km days in a row - it seems worth it. Previous experience has shown that going 5 miles an hour, soaked to the bone, receiving an all over exfoliation, loses its excitement quite rapidly.

Anyway, it gives me chance to catch up on here and so… back to last week and Louisiana.

We hit the road from Lafayette early and headed straight onto the interstate. Though we have been cycling on these intermittently it began to dawn on us that it might not be such a great idea. Sadly there was nowhere else to go.

Ah well.

Busy roads and miles of thin bridges doesn’t make for the most relaxing pedaling but it was above the swamps so - if you cycled with music on, looking away from the traffic- it was pretty awesome…

Just don't look the other way!

Eventually though, we hit a bridge too far (no shoulder, no way of crossing the lane of lorries and no hope of survival). Standing daunted at the side of the road it was only seconds before the roadside assistance arrived. And - after only a slight admonishment for our presence on the motorway - we were packed into the back of a van for the last three miles to Gulf South Solar.

Brilliant.

As founder of the Louisiana Solar Energy Society, Jeff had kindly answered my email and had welcomed us with open arms, energy bars, steaming mugs of coffee and extra solar panels.

Truely the stereotype of southern hospitality could not be more accurate.

After trying out his electric bike, meeting the team and chatting with Mark, who heads up the local cycling group, we headed straight to… pint night!

Pint night

The next day, after more cake and kindness, we were waved off on our final push to New Orleans.

Here we were meeting Niall and Marian, our lovely friends from G24,  we stayed in LA.We had also been put in touch with Maite and Lee, the brother and sister-in-law of Ann we had met the previous day. They had offered us a place to stay.

It was a wonderful long weekend.

We drank a few too many cocktails (absinthe? Marian…), checked out the French quarter, jogged the levee, saw some aligators, went for beniers at Cafe du Monde, were taken for an amazing long ladies lunch (with 25c martini’s - and Jamie), checked out the carnival masks, costumes and music, saw the Saints win, given a fleur de lis and taken to visit the Make it Right Foundatation.

French Quarter - New Orleans

The Make it Right Foundation was set up to rebuild the Lower 9th area of the City after hurricane Katrina. Established by Brad Pitt (who sadly was not around at the time), it is also being built sustainably. Gulf South Solar have provided solar panels for many of the homes.

It is a fantastic project but covers only a corner of the work needed to restore a city after such an incredible catastrophe. 

Four years later the area still provides a stark reminder of the destructive power of the elements.

Finally dragging ourselves away from Lee and Maite’s (thanks guys - it was so brilliant) we hit the road once again. This time heading to Biloxi.

And - after only a small blip (I was  in charge of directions) all was going well.

Ish.

Well, that is, apart from the fact that I had started to feel a bit queasy.

We stopped at Fort Pike for lunch.

I couldn’t eat.

My stomach was in my throat.

Back on the road to Biloxi progress was not much better.

We stopped for me to lie down and to check what was up ahead.

Nothing for 30 miles.

Hmmm.

3 miles of excruciatingly slow pedaling later we stopped again.

I had no energy.

I tooka sip of lemonade.

BLEURGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spot the vomit...

Disgusting.

We were still 27 miles from Bay St Louis but feeling marginally better with nothing in my stomach, we plodded on. As soon as we got there I headed straight to bed and Jamie went out for supplies.

The following morning (and a packet of jelly babies later) I dragged myself up.

Overnight, another storm had hit.

The rain was torrential.

We hung out for it to stop and then scooted off into the mist. Jeff had put us in touch with his brother, Kevin, who lives in Mobile and who had offered us a place to stay. We were also going to visit his son’s school to speak about the trip. 

Things did not go quite to plan…

Twenty minutes later the rains began again. Even stronger than before.

Despite wearing waterproofs, we were soaked to the bone. The wind was driving against us, we couldn’t see the road ahead and the cars could not see us. Pedaling on the beach front we got stuck in sand drift after sand drift and Jamie got a puncture.

Stormy weather

Four hours later, we had only gone 25 miles. 

At that rate we would never get to Mobile until late and there was nowhere to stop beforehand. The idea of camping in the tropical thunderstorm was not all that appealing. Exhausted from the day before, I called it a day.

I slept some more and awoke the next morning refreshed and ready to get back on the bike.

Unfortunately, it was Jamie’s turn to feel bad.

He had been up all night with toothache.

Getting back on the bikes regardless, we stopped at the first dentist we saw. Fortunately they had space immediately. A couple of hours later he was fixed and feeling much better.

The sun began to clear and the afternoons pedal was gently rolling and relaxed. Despite the dental emergency we were making good time.

Time even for me to get a puncture without worrying too much.

Which was lucky as it took an age to locate the hundreds of metal shards that had attacked my wheel.

Jamie sunbathed while I worked away, shocking the passersby who could not believe his lack of chivalry. (We always fix our own punctures. And actually Jamie often ends up helping when I mess mine up.)

Totally oblivious to the trouble he is causing!

Many people stopped to check he was ok as it didn’t cross their minds that I could be doing the hardwork while he lay listening to music in the sunshine.

I deflected much of the consternation as he remained oblivious to the glares. Eventually, though, one guy got out of his truck to offer help. I declined with thanks and explained that I was fine.

“Well Mam, I have just one more question.”

“Of course.”

“Why isn’t HE doing this.”

Jamie was lounging, eyes closed, singing along to the  Beastie Boys.

I toyed with several responses but settled for something that would emasculate him even further in this gentlemanly region. Leaning in and adopting a conspiratorial whisper I explained.

“Well, he’s just not very practical. I just don’t want him to do it wrong…”

On the last leg in, Kevin called. He had been in touch with the local news station who would meet us on the road to do a story.

Half an hour later and we spied a camera on the verge. It was the man from Fox 10. We videoed a short interview and chatted to Stephen, a guy passing who was interested in our journey.

As we pushed off he called out to Jamie.

“Hey man, I don’t know how safe it is cycling round here. Do you want to borrow a gun?”

Such a kind offer but such a strange one for a us to recieve, Jamie responded as only an Englishman would.

“Erm. No. But thank you very much. You know, I would love to but - um - we don’t have much space in our bags…”

A few minutes later we pulled into Mobile and followed the GPS to Kevin’s house.

What a stunning home.

Wonderful home, wonderful company

We were welcomed in and had a fantastic evening with his family eating fresh Mexican food and laughing. Right up until the time for our news debut…

We decamped to the living room.

9.15, not up yet but there was a good feature on dress code in a local elementary.

9.29, still no sign but there had been a big car crash.

9.38, the local council had an important ruling on pavement levels, obviously that would supercede.

9.52, well, there was bad weather and people need to know about the weather.

9.58, “and after the break last piece on some very adventurous people”.

(Finally our moment of fame and fortune was imminent…)

9.59.5, “Local men in Bejing brave the icy temperatures to take a dip in the river.”

What?

What?

They weren’t even in Mobile!?!?!

They were in Bejing.

Going for a swim.

We were cheated.

Totally cheated

Anyway, the next morning we had been invited into school with Stephen and Walker, Kevin’s two sons, to speak about the trip in their morning assembly broadcast (they have a video link to announcements and the kids do them as a show - man- they never had anything so cool in my day).

Back at School

We didn’t have much idea what we were doing but it was fun nevertheless and great to talk afterwards to two of the Forms.

Once again though, we had to drag ourselves away and move along. It was another beautiful sunny day and as the afternoon drew in we hit Florida and the coast.

Bring on the Sunshine State!

For the last leg of our solar journey, it could not be more appropriate.

Sadly, after catching a glorious sunset that evening, the sun has been a bit ellusive.

What there has been though is plenty of wind, fog and rain.

In case of any doubt, I can can confirm that the best place to be in the face of a storm, is not a narrow sand bank with nothing between you and the ocean.

Stunning though it was, it was not the swiftest riding either. The raging headwind was compounded by the sand that had been blown onto the road.

Really?

Many long miles later though we made it to Panama City Beach just before the heavens opened.

Which is where we still are.

(Well, Sunday is a day of rest.)

Fingers crossed the weather forcast is right. After slacking today we have some pretty big miles to do before we get to Gainesville on Wednesday.

It is very exciting though as our stop there is at the University of Florida who have kindly asked us to talk at their first SolarCycle week.

They are holding all sorts of events around solar power and cycling. Can’t wait.

Just 250 miles to cover first….

As ever, will let you all of the adventures we have along the way.

Susie xx

Normally, I’d have a reasonable excuse. Something along the lines of cycling for a hundred miles and then going out to find dinner, preparing it and needing to get some sleep before the next days cycle. Recently however the only real excuse would involve either being out and having too much fun or recovering from being out and having too much fun, neither are reasonable excuses.

As such, I’ve spend all day pondering, trying to find a really interesting aspect of our trip to amuse and amaze. Perhaps a photo blog of all the wonderful sights we’ve passed, or how dramatically different one day can be from the next, maybe the astonishing hospitality of strangers, an historical overview of where we are now, a night out in Houston or New Orleans, or even an account of the things Susie’s too scared to put in a blog. In the end I decided to copy the idea from one of my previous blogs and put in another day from my diary.

Before you jump to the conclusion that I wimped out or went for the easy option I should point out that I’ve already said how lazy I am so, you should expect me to go for the easy option. As it happens, it’s all true and I went for the easy option so I could get some sleep!

Actually, the “Day From My Diary II” is today’s diary. Thinking about what has happened to us since this morning encompasses a number of the above mentioned potential topics and some more. As before, I’ve added explanation where it’s needed in [square brackets].

Diary 19th January, 2010

Woke up after a great nights sleep, if not a little too short on hours. [Bed time was 12.50] As usual woke up an irritating 30 seconds before my alarm sounded at 6.40. I was hoping I had an extra 30 minutes or so. 2 snoozes later and I was glad I could hear Susie in the shower next door as it was an excuse to stay in bed an extra ten minutes. As it turn’s out Susie wasn’t in the shower, it was the heating fan. She knocked on my door so I got up, showered, then repacked my bags while drinking coffee and eating toast. I was nearly totally packed when I realised Susie was still on the computer, yet again without the power lead in. So spent the next half hour or so chatting with Lee and Maite [pronounced 'mitre'] and having more of their great coffee. Maite left to walk the dog. I asked Lee if I could borrow ’Catcher in the Rye’ as I was only a little way through and hoping I’d get time to finish before returning. [Maite and Lee had shown us such a great time in and around New Orleans we jumped at the chance to come back for Mardi Gras at the end of our trip!].

[I'll quickly explain how we came to stay with Maite and Lee. Susie had writen to various solar people in the southern states and Jeff Shaw got in contact and we met him at Gulf South Solar in Baton Rouge (two days cycle from New Orleans). Jeff and the staff welcomed us with open arms. The next morning when we went back to the offices, Ann (from Gulf South Solar) informed us that her brother Lee and his wife Maite lived just outside New Orleans, she'd given them a call and we could stay with them. Brilliant!] 

Susie eventually got ready and we set out on the road about 9am. The sun was shining and as soon as I got to the levy [The Mississippi river levy protects the low level housing in and around New Orleans] I took off my trousers. First time in a few weeks i had been able to cycle in just my shorts. Chatted with Susie about paying too much tax for a while as we wound round the river. Chatted to another cyclist on our way. She shot off on her racer after a bit. Got to the Zoo and stopped to check directions.

I thought Susie knew where we were heading as she’d been talking with Lee the previous evening. She thought I’d looked at the map and worked out the route. How she thought I knew what they were talking about the previous evening I don’t know but that didn’t make much difference especially as the woman cyclist we’d chatted to on the levy appeared out of nowhere offering us assistance.

The very nice lady, Courtney, not only phoned her husband to get the best route but actually took her bike off the car and showed us the way. She told me about some of the buildings and history en-route and that she’s training for a half ironman in three months. Her husband has a marathon in a couple of weeks. By the time we got to our road she’d offered us the use of their condo in Orange, near Florida. Unbelievable!  The southern hospitality stereotype is certainly all true, and more. 

The next 15km out of town wasn’t so nice, the trafic was ‘big’ [massive vehicles] and some roadworks. Then the bridge was closed so we had to go over to the freeway bridge [the freeways in Louisianna are illegal for bikes, but there was no other route]. There was lots of debris collected at the edge and little or no shoulder. I realised that Susie had dopped back so slowed down. I was getting a bit wobbly at that speed and an 18 wheeler passes a little too close so I kept on. I took the first exit ramp and when I turned round to see Susie she wasn’t in sight. I pulled up and stopped. She came into sight before I got too worried about there being no shoulder and big lorries. We rejoined the 90 [highway] and the road was much better. [Hard] Shoulder for pretty much the rest of the day. Terrain was predictably flat all day too.

We stopped at supermarket and got some painkillers, lemonade and bread. Stupid layout of store. Sat in the scorching sun and made sandwhiches. Susie wasn’t feeling too well and didn’t eat much. Her funny tummy together with the fact she claims her boobs are bigger [too much food and drink since Christmas, and not too much cycling] prompted me to make some morning sickness jokes. Took a couple of painkillers for my knee. Took off my thermal which I havn’t done since China.

Back on the road and then realised I’d lost my sunglasses by leaving them on top of my panier when I cycled off. Finally out of town and the ride got much nicer. There was swamp either side and lots of buildings on stilts and raised. Boats all over the place. Lots of old and broken boats, probably from Katrina, I thought Dad would like it here. [My Dad seems to collect boats, even though he can't sail, the boats are generally beyond repair and he can't swim]. Nice houses, all seemed new. I was expecting to see a load of hurricane and water damaged houses but there weren’t any really, only some wonky stilts and foundations in place. Great looking dead tree trunks and grasses, plus really wide trunks at the base of the tree’s that grow directly into the water.

Stopped at Fort Pike. We talked to guy in office and got a leaflet, wrote in the guest book, payed our $4 and went in. Clouds came over and it become cold. The fort was quite quaint but seemed a little short for the purposes of a fort. Lots of gun emplacements though, a few cannons dotted about. Very wet. Susie had left her shoes back at the bike and went off to get them and her jacket. I wandered round investigating the rooms and different bits. Cool weapons cases and ammo and one room renovated to show how it would have been.

Fort Pike

Back to the office and Susie was chatting to the guy in the office. He’d been on the internet after reading our website I’d marked in the visitors book and looked us up. He said he wouldn’t have charged us the $4 if he’d known we were on this big trip. I said he could give us a refund if he liked and he thought I was being serious. He told us that the centre courtyard was built on wooden rafters that make it move up and down with the water level but that it was attached to the walls so it ended up pushing them out. Plus, during Katrina, the fort was under 38feet of water and they’d only recently got it reopened. Plus the old sewage system that used the tide to wash away everything means that the whole thing floods every time they have a high tide and so is constantly wet inside. He took a photo of us outside the fort for the office and said they may use it with the local press. Nice chap, rides an Indian [motorbike, not the native]. Also said that all the houses between New Orleans and the Fort had been built since Katrina, only one house was left standing on the 60mile stretch of road. It amazed me as there were a good few thousand houses there and loads of spaces where there used to be more places. This area really got annihalated.  Susie was feeling worse and didn’t have anything to eat at all. One guy chatted to us after seeing us on the road, walking back to his mate shouted “these guys have cycled across europe and asia on those bast#%ds”. Brought a smile to our faces.

Swampy

Back on the road and over a bridge. Cool sky, very blue with fluffy clouds. Susie was markedly slow, I took the lead after 10km as usual and she didn’t keep up. Soon apparent she wasn’t well at all. We stopped and she lay down for a bit.

A Little Nap!

A nice chap turned round to see if we were alright. I looked up how far it was to the nearest motel, 30km. Town in 8km though. We were thinking of flagging one of the trucks [one of the seemingly infinite humungous pick-ups that constantly pass by] down and getting a lift. She decided to try to get to town and see how it went. Stopped again and she spewed up. Missed the photo opp. Felt better afterwards and we got to a garage. She bought some coke for the sugar and rehydration. Very cold now, thermal and jacket. Nothing at all in Pearlington but Susie felt she may be able to make it the next 25km so we headed off. 

The causeway near the Fort now turned back to marshland with tall pine forests. We made ot into town as it was getting dark. Just before 6pm. Checked out a couple of motels and after some negotiation with the manager managed to get the tax off. I checked out a room but said we had to change as it smelt of smoke and thought it was the last thing Susie needed. Got a different room, but changed that one as it also smelt of smoke. Showered, changed and went straight back out to find food as I was starving.  Went to Family Dollar to get susie some pretzels and gummy bears. Ended up getting ingredients to make burrito’s.

Got back and set up the computer to do blog. Susie was already in bed and dozing. Not surprised after managing to cycle 80 miles feeling like sh#t. Still managed to wake up a bit and eat gummy bears though! Made dinner and checked e-mails. Dinner took ages as the rice I’d bought took 25 minutes to cook even using the microwave, rubbish. Got some photo’s from Ann and was nice to hear from Charles [our co-cyclist  throughout China] who will be able to make it to our return party.  

Seems as though I’m now up to date. I have only to sign off, brush my teeth and do a couple of emails before I can get to bed too. It’s gone 12.30am so I’ll probably hit the sack around 1am.

I hope Susie can get some sleep and feels better in the morning. We’ve got about 85 miles to cover before meeting up with Jeff’s brother and then hopefully doing a presentation for his son’s class at school the next morning. Should be fun.

Night Y’all!

Back on the road.

Back on the open road

So relaxing.

After a manic few days at Christmas it is amazingly peaceful to be pedaling again. Daydreaming, watching the world go by and hanging out in the… sunshine….

Finally.

First things first though, Houston.

Not actually somewhere we had planned to go.

Naturally.

But at 7pm last Wednesday, in the dark, as the rain began to fall and the temperatures plummet we rocked up somewhere in the Northern suburbs.

 Attempting to read the GPS in the blurry half light a very sweet homeless lady wandered over.

“You guys lost.”

“Erm, are we, yes.”

“Well, don’t go any further. There’s only a couple of motels ahead and I wouldn’t stay there. This one here isn’t too bad. I mean, they do rent by the hour but at least the crack dealers wont bother you.”

Fair enough…

We stopped. It was everything you could imagine of a seedy motel but it was warm, dry and had Aladdin on TV. 

It was my birthday so Jamie braved the weather to get a cake and some food (thanks Jamie - you rock).

Lucky really as I was too scared to leave the room!

Anyway, we awoke the next day to the ‘arctic blast’ that had hit the South. Since we had a load of time to get to New Orleans we decided to hole up and stay put. The decision was made much easier as we  had also found that the lovely Mike Mercer (friend from Lloyd’s) had just moved to the US to terrorise beautiful ladies.

He would rescue us after work.

Whoop.

And so it came to pass that - just a short while after our less than salubrious introduction to the city - we found ourselves in a loft apartment with a hot tub on the roof overlooking the sky line.

A step up from the day before...

Very Miami Vice.

If Miami was in Texas.

And didn’t have as much vice in it. 

Anyway, a huge thank you again to Blake for putting us in touch with Mike and to Todd for lending us his apartment. Such unbelievable and unexpected luxuory.

In fact, so much so that we didn’t leave the following day either - opting instead to head out to the Museum District to immerse ourselves into a bit of culture.

A soothing antidote to the mayhem of New Year.

Much as the last couple of days.

Quite a bit of the journey from Houston to Lafayette was built up and traffic heavy but just being on the open road has a curiously soothing effect on the soul.

There were a whole load of great quotes in the museum library so the meditative state was exacerbated by some serious pondering.

When not spotting alligators.

Or being amazed by the continued Southern hospitality.

Once again, everyone we meet has been wonderfully friendly.

None more so than Jeff at the Louisiana Solar Energy Society who has not only been in touch with the press in Baton Rouge on our behalf but who has offered us food, water and a roof over our heads. Plus, help with the bikes and all our solar kit. Oh and he has an electric bike that runs off solar panels. Something we tried (and sadly - failed) to make back home. Be great to see it in action.

Anyhow, Jeff was also involved in drafting the legislation for the Louisiana Tax credits, which give the state the best solar incentives in America.

Looking forward to finding out more.

The SolarCycle Diaries is supporting the ‘We Support Solar’ campaign in the UK (sign up if you live there). The UK government is currently debating the level of a feed-in-tariff for people adding solar power into the national grid. A good tariff will hugely increase the amount of renewable energy in the country and provide thousands of green collar jobs. As it has in Germany. It will be interesting to see how the tax incentives here have taken affect.

Anyway, that is all later on today.

Right now though I had better get a wriggle on or we will never make it!

Hope you are having a great one wherever you may be.

Susie xx

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to me….

Guess what?

I know. I know. You’re all thinking:

“How can she be another year older when she looks so incredibly youthful?”

“What? That time of year again, but we are still recovering from how amazing her last birthday was.” etc

But yes.

Indeed it is.

And for those now fretting about how to get the plethora of gifts to me here.

Fear not.

I have a plan…

Without any postage, packaging or debate over which expensive piece of jewellery to purchase you can instead make a super simple donation to SolarAid, the fantastic charity we are raising money for.

Just click on this handily placed link, grab your credit card and be as wildly over generous as possible.

Go on…

Did I mention it’s my birthday?

Anyway, in other marginally less narcissistic news, we have finally hit the road again.

It was pretty difficult to leave Austin after such a great few days. (Technically yesterday it was impossible to leave.)

So thank you so much to all of the fantastic people we got to bring the New Year in with - lots of margaritas, hats and an awe inspiring/terrifying Dirty Dancing lift post open bar… (Ashton you are a beautiful lunatic!)

New Year - courtesy of trevoray.com

To Chris, Jason, Ed and Eli at the Bicycle Sports Shop for fixing up our bikes, as well as Carrie for introducing us. (They are so shiny. Plus the gears change and everything.)

So clean!

And the biggest thanks of all to Vanessa for putting up with us for so long. So wonderful to see you lovely lady. Missing you already.

Anyway, leave we finally did and our aching legs propelled us the 90 miles to Brenham today without too much complaint. The plan is to head to New Orleans in six days but as yet another freak snow storm is rapidly approaching (seriously - that was so 2009…) that could change.

As ever, will let you know how it goes though.

For now, I hope that wherever you were, your New Year rocked and wherever you are, 2010 is treating you well.

Susie xx

P.s. Jamie got a fortune cookie today. He opened it with trepidation and excitement. What words of wisdom would it impart. What mystery would it reveal…

“You are what you think about all day long.”

So - there you have it  ladies and gentlemen.

Irrefutable proof that he’s  a big t*t!

And no one’s gonna save you from the beast about to strike….

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

Hope that whatever you are doing, wherever you are you have a good one.

After much debate and deliberation we are heading out with my friend Vanessa and her friends from Austin for a night of tequilla, dancing* (*see also ‘flailing’) and 80’s disco.

The moves are comin out...

Brilliant.

In fact it has been a brilliant few days. Austin is a great town. Her family amazing and friends awesome.

First things first though - getting here.

My last post left you on a nail biting cliff hanger (don’t pretend you weren’t on the edge of your seat…)

It was Christmas Eve. We had 94 miles to go. The days before had been plagued with punctures. Jamie’s tyre had ripped so we’d been scrabbling around the roadside to patch it up with debris from exploded cars. We had been pedaling 100 mile day after 100 mile day, battling the wind. The area is affectionately known as ’hill country’. A storm was coming…

We awoke that morning to the sound of rain.

Having stayed in a motel, we dragged our exhausted bodies out of bed and trudged round to the reception for a sugar and caffeine boost. As dawn broke, the dark gave way to ominously grey skies and revealed the palm trees lashing from side to side.

Donning our warmest gear we got ready.

Flat tyre.

We had to be in Austin by 4 in order to drive down to Vanessa’s sisters house for dinner in San Antonio.

Our 7am departure time slipped away as I wrestled to remove firstly the layers of arctic gear and then the inner tube.

All set, we made to leave once more.

“What’s that noise?’

“What noise?”

“Is it the wind?”

“Oh that.Yeah it’s definitely the wind… the wind and your other tyre…”

After months of being the one who never got flats, this was not my morning!

Eventually we made it out into the cold and hit the road.

Almost literally.

The wind was blowing at 30mph as a constant and 40mph in gusts.

In our direction.

Wooooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

We were flying. The rain had tempered and become occassional spots. The road was good and either not that hilly or we were being hurled so fast we hardly noticed the ups.

Cajunk. Cajunk. Cajunk.

Puncture 3.

8.37….

Freezing and having trouble standing up straight we wrestled to change it in record time.

The clock was ticking…

Ominous skies....

Luckily for us, other than a bit of hail and me careering off the road on a corner, everything else went to plan.

In fact, against all odds, we made it by 3.30 and had time to shower, change and have our first road trip!

Well, first road trip on which we weren’t actually propelling ourselves at least.

And we made it bang on time for Christmas Eve complete with tree, rum cake and family (we tried to get oursleves adopted…).

The next day was much of the same. Only plus stockings, presents and Christmas dinner.

Oh and karaoke!

After a fantastic day relaxing and spending time with a whole host of wonderful people (and - in Jamie’s case - playing with the kids toys) we dressed up in some of Vanessa’s Mum’s best Christmas jumpers (bring on the sequins and shoulder pads) and hit Ashton’s house for some serious Dolly Parton.

Jamie 'building' the childrens play area

I am only gutted that the video of the ‘Humpty Song’ was recorded sideways and doesn’t seem to work on this site.

It was a fantastic night.

On boxing day we were similarly spoiled with a tour of San Antonio from the guy who built most of it (Vanessa’s step Dad, Boone is the architect behind much of the River walk and Alamo restoration) before getting out the pizza and movies with her Dad. Perfect.

The last couple of days we have been chilling out in Austin trying to catch up on ourselves and generally plotting the last leg of the journey.

We met with the guys from Bikes Across Borders after they saw our bikes and invited us for a beer, have been wandering around South Congress, checked out the Capitol building and went to see some music courtesy of the fantastic Nano Whitman.

Nano at Momo's

We have a couple more days (it’s going to be hard to leave) before we head to New Orleans on Monday.

It’ll be interesting to see how we fare after a few days of ‘carb-loading’.

Anyway, before that though… it’s moonwalking into the New Year.

Dangerous indeed!

xx

We’ve been in the state for a few days now on the final part of our mission to  Austin and my friend Vanessa’s before the festivities begin.

Currently though we are still 90 miles away….

90 miles in which, we have just been informed, Lance Armstrong trains.

90 miles through an area commonly known as ‘hill country’.

90 miles in which it is forcast to rain and thunder.

Oh dear.

It’s been quite full on these last ten days.

The race to get to Austin has had us cycling every day since Tucson - with quite a few hitting the 100 mile mark. We’ve been pedaling hard through the fairly desolate green desert that makes up: Wild West Country.

Billy the Kid, Davy Crockett, Butch Cassidy - I’ve been day dreaming of them all. Much assisted by the fact everyone actually does wear cowboy hats. How brilliant is that? Jamie found one at the side of the road so we have been joining in too.

Anyway, incredible though it has been, the fates have not always smiled. The sun has been shining but the wind raging in the wrong direction. The colours and scenery have been dramatic but the days turning to nights all too soon. Mostly though, we have been struggling with continuous punctures, broken gearing and - most problematically - a ripped tyre.

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrripped

40 miles from the nearest town.

We ate doughnuts and debated our options.

I could cycle on and try to get a new one, Jamie could hitch back to the previous town to nab one from a bike he had spied by the roadside or we could attempt to fix it.

Back in Uzbekistan our fantastic and knowledgeable host, Hans Bedowski, told us of the trouble he had while cycling in West Africa. His bike would pick up punctures from Acacia trees, rusty nails and bad road surfaces almost daily. The tyres of the locals would not. One day he asked a friend how he avoided punctures. He was told that he simply needed to line his tyre with goat skin.

Back on the Texan roadside we recalled the tale.

We looked around.

To our left was a deer.

A dead deer…

And right next to the deer a handily sized, tough yet flexible piece of rubber.

Using the remnants of our Iranian super glue, Jamie stuck it to the inside of his tyre. 10k later, as the pressure began to build and the rip widen, we found a new bit and tried again. And again. Eventually setting up camp before continuing at a snails pace (aka ‘the speed I am happy to fly off at if it explodes’) this morning.

Thankfully finding a replacement in the local hardware store, we raced to get as close to Austin as possible this afternoon.

But the terrain was pitted against us.

It has been hills all the way and it will be more of the same tommorrow.

But we will make it.

Sometime.

Somehow.

There will be much over consumption of mulled wine.

And a few days off.

We are planning to do a spot of resting, a touch of relaxing and a soupcon of mischief making.

We will also be working on a bumper ‘2009 in pictures’ post though so keep an eye out for that. It’s going to rock. Though I am demanding we include photo’s in which I do not look like a: Shrek b: a hobbit or c: a b-boy wannabe with no coordination, skill or sense of shame. (See Jamie’s last blog on health if you have managed to miss those delights. Thanks Jamie. I see you failed to include photographic evidence of your spider bite on the… ahem…)

Anyway, I had better get some sleep before our mammoth hill based bonanza in the morning but before I do - just one last thing.

Our challenge was to cycle 12,000 miles round the world promoting solar energy. We still have about 1,500 to go before we hit Miami and head home but it may be the case that - since I was left in charge of route planning - we have already done about 11,700…

So should you, in a preemptive and festive display of generosity, want to make a donation to SolarAid, the charity for which we are fundraising, please do not let me stand in your way… Actually, if you did try to do this in the last couple of months the link was not working so please accept my apologies. But do try again. http://www.justgiving.com/thesolarcyclediaries

And also - of course - have an absolutely amazing Christmas!

Susie xx