Post 6, Sunday 29 May, at Wytheville, Va

One or two readers in kind emails to me have remarked on my blogging silence since 26 May. Apologies; I had intended to post something last night but ran out of time.

Three more days riding now complete. My rest day on Thursday was a low point so far; I felt very tired all day and was really worried that I wouldn't be able to get my energy back. But Friday and yesterday turned out superbly, both for morale and also for some great riding country. Thursday evening in Lexington I had dinner with Mike and Joan, a lovely retired couple from Cincinnati, Ohio, who are doing the TransAm like me. Joan I had met on day 2, but not Mike. Basically she has been riding part days, taking their car (plus her bike) ahead of Mike and then cycling back to join him (and then repeating the process). She has a hip injury, and is trying to rehabilitate it by riding shorter days and distances. Anyway, over dinner Mike invited me to ride with him, which I did. He is a great guide, pointing out all sorts of things that as a foreigner I would miss! He taught me (though he may not realise it) that the journey itself is the point of the trip, not each day's destination. So we stopped a lot - to photograph some water droplets on leaves, to pick up little turtles crossing the road (in great danger), etc etc.

The rescue- truck approaching!

It was great fun riding with him (and with Joan from time to time), and I was sad to say goodbye yesterday afternoon when they went off to stay a couple of nights with Joan's sister. So I have got a day ahead - but we may coincide again, all being well. Mike and Joan, a thousand thanks for your company and your friendship....

It's true as Mike said that "it's about the journey". He told me as we were riding yesterday that we could have gone by car from Troutville to Christiansburg by car on the Interstate ( = motorway) in about 15 minutes! We joked that with the time saved we could have watched a few DVDs and gone shopping!

.... And missed the joy of being part of the world we are cycling through: the sweet smell of rampant honeysuckle everywhere (they regard it as a weed in gardens here, because it takes over; they can't understand why in Britain we would go to a garden centre and buy one!); big butterflies which seem curious and come to investigate; bird song in the forests (I heard a woodpecker hammering at a tree incredibly loudly the other day); and the sheer vibrancy of the countryside.

The encounters we have with people as we pass are often heart-warming. In a beautiful secluded river valley east of Troutville we met Bill. He talked with us for some time; I asked him how long he had lived there. "Well," he said, "I'm 71 and I had two years in the Army, so I guess 69 years...". He must know every tree and blade of grass. We met Stuart, from Scotland, TransAmming alone with his tent in less than 2 months, covering 90 to 100 miles a day; I guess you can take on adventures like that when you are 26. And, to put my own little trip in perspective, we met a guy a fair bit older than me who not long ago spent 8 months cycling round the perimeter of continental USA.... Wow (but I have assured Janet I am not tempted!)

Daughter Sara has asked me what amusing place-names I have been through. First prize goes to Bumpass (particularly since I am Bumpa to my grandchildren). But today I went through Max Meadows. Now, that should have been the name of a 1950s dance band leader....

I know I thank, each post I write, those who send me emails of support. This morning, having a break for a snack, I saw I had an email from someone called Armstrong. For a split second I thought it was from Lance A, wishing me well. But no; even better it was from our good friends Sue and Piers A!

Apologies for mistypings; I am doing this on my blackberry, and the thumbs are wearing out.

Three more days in Virgnia, then, God willing, I cross into Kentucky; that will be a milestone to celebrate.

Thanks all, for your interest and support. Love and best wishes, Ken

Post 5. 26 May, Rest Day in Lexington

On the Blue Ridge Parkway, starting Day 6

Well, it's good not to be riding today!  Six days ticked off, over 300 miles, and over 13,000 feet climbed.  Staying last night and tonight in a Holiday Inn Express, and this morning doing emails and generally pottering. The first rest day is a sort of milestone......... but I still refuse to think about how far there is to go to the end.

The ride on Tuesday (after I wrote Post 4) was hilly and hard.  Leaving Charlottesville I went through well-heeled residential areas (think Virginia Water, for the sense of space, shaded wooded gardens, and general affluence).  Switchback hills till I began to climb properly up onto the Blue Ridge Mountains - and the weather became very humid and threatening (a big thunderstorm had been forecast).  Rain did come (the first time I have put on the rain jacket) and I expected it to last a long time, but fortunately it was over in 20 minutes.

On the Ridge I was rescued by an angel!  Truly.  Had planned to stay in a Motel up at Rockfish Gap, but called at the Visitor Centre just beside it, and took advice from the volunteer 'Trail Angel' there, Tom.  (The Centre is on the long-distance Appalachian Trail, and these volunteers give a lot of help to hikers.)  He advised me to avoid that motel as it is very run down and there is no food and little hot water (slightr disadvantages!).  Instead he said go on down a couple of miles off the Ridge to the Quality Inn in Waynesboro - and he would pick me up from there in his truck the following morning!!  Which he did.  True kindness and generosity, and Tom, if you are reading this, a thousand thanks again.

Yesterday I had 27 miles of superb cycling along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Delightful - no commercial traffic, few cars, vivid greens on the trees, and stunning views on either side.  But it included long climbs and long descents, so average speed was slow - but it didn't matter.

One strong impression I have is the sheer space in this vast country.  Most things seem BIG!! Virginia is big; it's taking me 12 days or so to cycle across it, which is almost the length of the UK.  The Chinese restaurant where I ate in Waynesboro could perhaps seat 150 people.  Trucks sometimes seem incredibly long.  And once I have had to wait at a crossing for a freight train to pass.  Because I am a bit odd like this, I counted the trucks - 146 (big ones!). My arithmetic calculated the train to be nearly a mile long!!

Meeting up this evening for a meal with a couple from Cincinnati, Ohio, who are doing the Trip.  They will, I'm sure, give me lots of very useful advice;  I sense I am not yet properly managing where best to stay, eat, etc, though there are lessons learned on these things each day.

Thanks again for the encouraging emails folk keep sending, and it is SO great to talk to Janet and the family frequently..........

More from Christiansburg in a couple of days time.

Ken

Post 4, 24 May.

Charlottesville, on my 5th morning.  In a posh hotel, so taking advantage of computers in the lobby.

I'm also perhaps putting off starting the day's ride, which has my first big climb!.  The bike is well-laden;  the two panniers and my bar bag weigh about 19 kgs, and the effect is OK on the flat and fine downhill (!), but as soon as the gradient starts upwards, the bike seems to stop dead, making me toil. And on a hilly route, one inevitably spends much more time crawling up than whooshing down, which can be dispiriting.  But I've got to get used to it - the Rockies are more than a bump, I am told.

And it is hot and humid too, certainly here in Virginia - the thermometer on my handlebars, admittedly in the direct sun (but then so am I) has gone as high as 38!  No rain yet though, albeit it has looked very thundery some afternoons.

I am following a route set out by the 'Adventure Cycling Association'.  I have a good set of maps from them, which guide me through every junction and intersection, and also a book written by a couple who did the TransAm some years ago and who helpfully set out the journey in daily sections, which I am following.  The book suggests places to stay, and I book one or two days ahead.  So far have stayed in two plantation B&Bs, one (nice and cheap) motel, and last night this posher one.

The language takes some getting used to.  I am learning to say 'grocery store' rather than 'supermarket', and 'wadder' not 'water'.  Some things puzzle me though.....  Leaving Ashland, a small town, on Sunday morning, there were notices startingly advertising the "Ashland Shag Festival" that same day.  I didn't ask, but the mind boggled......!

I met another cycle tourist yesterday, the first I have seen (I expected to encounter more on this well-cycled route).  She and her husband are headed to the West Coast too, and we plan to meet up from time to time - it was a big morale boost to talk with a kindred spirit on the road.

Thanks for all your messages.  I have email on my US-bought blackberry (at my usual yahoo address), and I intend to respond to all who kindly send me messages.  So please keep them coming!  I had hoped too to post photos on this blog as I go, taken on the blackberry, but frustratingly blogspot doesn't let me do that from a handheld device;  so unless the family back home are able to attach pictures which I email to them, readers will have to rely on my words to paint the scene.........

All best wishes, Ken

Post 3. Sunday 22 May

Having a motel breakfast on my third morning. It's good to be on my way - about 50 miles each day on days 1 and 2. Pretty flat hereabouts (good!) - the first big climbing comes on Tuesday when I reach the Blue Ridge mountains past Charlottesville.

Lovely weather now (after masses of rain recently which has made everything vibrantly green). Have been through lots of forested countryside, and at times the scent of honeysuckle has been very strong. And the roads are often quiet enough to hear birdsong (wish I knew what the different birds are - have seen some huge hawks or buzzards, with wingspans of 5 feet or more).

Strong sense of history here. Yorktown is where the British surrendered to Cornwallis at the end of the War of Independence, then yesterday I passed several Civil War battlefield sites - a signboard said 16000 men had been killed in battle at one site. And I kept passing signs to big old plantation houses, and indeed stayed in one (run as a B&B) my first night. It was full of antiques, a bit like a cross between a National Trust house and a museum.

Everyone I talk to is v friendly. One man, when I was about 30 miles out on Day 1, asked me was I going to the Pacific? I hope so, I said. "You're nearly there!" But I am refusing to think about the entirety of the trip; one day at a time is fine....

So far so good then, and a thousand thanks for following and supporting me!

Ken

Thursday 19 May - all set to start!

Setting off, Yorktown, 20th May 2011

Now in Arlington, Virginia, staying with long-time friends Gary and Jamie Usrey whom we have known since Baghdad in the early 1970s. Easy enough flight yesterday, although it was bleak saying goodbye to Janet at Heathrow. Jet lag helped by one of Gary's martinis last evening......
Today busy with final preps - bike rebuilt, new blackberry prorammed, energy drink bought (I didn't want to bring large quantities of powder through customs!), and (making the whole trip seem very real now) I have booked accommodation for tomorrow night and for Saturday.

Gary is very kindly driving me the 2 hours to Yorktown tomorrow, and then I start turning the pedals.

Isn't it a Chinese proverb that says 'A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step'? Well, I'm not thinking of the whole (in my case) 4000 miles, just the first few pedal turns.

Thank you to so many people for such great support for this crazyguyonabike adventuren but even greater thanks for the huge generosity of everyone who has already contributed to The Stroke Association. It is a great inspiration for me.

Next posting on route then!

Best wishes and love, Ken

It's getting close....!

So, I leave for Washington DC a week tomorrow, May 18th.  Scary!  Most preparation is done - bike serviced and fettled, necessary tools for roadside repairs bought, basic mechanics learnt.  I haven't done as much training as I would like, but I feel OK.  Some final things still to sort out, and some more longish rides to fit in......  Then pack up my bike, and my panniers, and go.

4000 miles from Yorktown,Virginia, to Astoria, Oregon, taking about 12 weeks (with rest days) averaging about 55 miles a riding day.  On my own.

Why exactly am I doing this trip (Janet, my wife, said the other day she wasn't entirely sure)?  It's been a long cherished dream, but is that an answer?  To test myself, yes.  To see first hand the great open spaces of America (I have had a thing about them since the childhood days of watching western films), yes.  Perhaps to prove I'm not getting that old, yes. To raise some sponsorship for The Stroke Association (do look at http://www.justgiving.com/Ken-Temple), yes, that too.  But mostly, because I love cycle touring and the sense of freedom it gives.  Almost all previous tours though have been much much shorter, and in the company of my eldest daughter Julia (my best cycling buddy).  So it will be lonely at times, and I will miss family and friends very much.

So please send me messages of support!

Thanks to Greg Needham at Condor Cycles in London for building my bike for me (years ago now), and thanks too to the guys at Psyclewerx here in Bristol, who have got the bike into tip-top condition (and especially James who has given me some basic mechanic training).

But most thanks by far to Janet for supporting and encouraging me (and nagging me to get out and train!),and for letting me indulge myself by fulfilling this dream.

Next posting will be from Washington DC.............