So It Begins! #16

So finally after all this time I am actually riding my bike in America! On the 5th I got a train up to Bellingham which was great, super comfortable and so easy with all my luggage and bike. Got off, put all my stuff on the bike and headed off to Sumas, a small little boarder town which was to be my starting point. I camped there easily and in the morning, got right up to the boarder and started my journey to San Diego! 

It was this first day that I had a rather stupid moment... I took a wrong turning out of a gas station and shot off down a long road, it was so similar to the one I was meant to be traveling on (crossing some of the same rivers and creeks). It was not until I asked a cyclist what town I just left that he told me that instead of south, I had gone 15 miles East! I had to turn around and go all the way back to the gas station!!! I did finally manage to get to where I was planning to go but only at 10:00pm!! The host were amazingly lovely and in the morning I got invited over to their RV for coffee and it was great to just relax and talk to some real Americans about what is different over in the states and stuff!

So the rest of the time I have just been sorting on the bike just pumping out the miles, met some lovely people who have offered me a place to say a bit down the line and yesterday I had one hell of a bike ride! A huge 30 mile climb going up to just below 6000 feet and then a 15 mile down hill drop which was amazing. The scenery was awesome and it made the climb seem all the more worth it!! 

To get a more detailed look at what I have been doing day to day, it is probably better to watch my videos and I record them thought the day every day and they give a clearer picture of what I am up to. You can watch the latest at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9CKyz33EDg

I have also been put on Mark Beaumont's website (a famous bike tourer) and also on the Leighton Buzzard local newspaper. Links to these are on my twitter page. So a big thanks to everyone at home and all the support I have been getting, it really does help me so much!!!

Seattle and Relaxing Before The Madness #15

So I am now in Seattle! It is so hot but so nice at the same time. I have done all the touristy stuff like going up the Space Needle, going to the farmers market where they throw the fish and just generally exploring this huge city. If you want to see more pictures of everything I do, follow my twitter or my Facebook page as it is where I am putting most of them up.

Also in bike news, everything is ready for me to start in a few days riding. It will be good to start actually doing something rather than just wondering around but it is nice to really just relax and get settled in in America. For the first two days the lack of sleep on the way over really sucked as I was awake nearly 20 hours! Now all is good, got into a routine and more accepting of America time.

So wanted to buy one as a cycling helmet but didn't think they were aero enough... 

So some of the best moments so far have been with meeting some great people, on my flight over I sat next to a guy going home from being in London and he was also a cyclist. We spoke for ages about random stuff which really set off my trip well. Then at the train station, looking really lost another guy helped me carry my bike to the hostel I am staying at. (By he helped I mean he carried the huge box on his back while I just walked behind embarrassed by my lack of strength...) Also, I have had two great guys who were in my hostel room, one from San Diego who gave me his details and another who was from Ipswich (my birth place!) and had been on an epic 10 month traveling adventure with his partner all over the Americas! It is great to meet people who have the same out look on life as you as well as just genuinely nice people willing to help.

Starting, Flying and Other Bits #14

So I am at an airport waiting for my gate to be released to start my 2500 mile journey. How casual! It has been a busy week in build up to this, lots of planning, packing, repacking and checking over and over again. But finally, I am all alone taking on the big wide world with a bike and some camping gear!!

As you might be able to tell, I have shaved my head so I don't have to worry about looking after it and overheating while I am travelling. I have a video of this on my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/smallguylongride so feel free to go over there and watch it.

Also if you have been following me on twitter or Facebook you will see I have hit the £1000 mark which is amazing. I have never raised anywhere near this amount of money for anything before so a big thanks to everyone who has helped me to do this but I still need people to donate and see if we can really stretch it out even more. Please do follow on Facebook or twitter, I will be updating them as regularly as possible and they are the best way to keep up to date with what I am doing!!! 

So now it is time to ditch the English money, the English time and the English soil and jump over to America and get what has been in the planning for over a year started!!! Feel free to get in contact with me when ever through twitter, Facebook, email, Skype... How ever you want to do it! Just to make me happier and feel less lonely.

Donate at www.justgiving.com/smallguylongride 

  

Finished School and in 10 Days I Fly Out #13

So the big story with me at the moment is no more school... Ever! All the exams are done just now the long wait until results day comes and then I will know where I will be living for the next 4/5 years of my life. But anyway, more important things to focus on now, such as this small bike trip I am going on in 10 days time!

I now have totally 100% of my gear I will be taking, sorted out my first few night after I land, booked the train to get me to the boarder and got mountains of paper work and information prepared that cover a huge range of things. I am ready! All left to do is pack my bags, pack my bike and jump on a plane then I will be there.

As well as all of this, I have of course kept the money and donations rolling in. Currently up to £800 which is far more than I have ever collected for anything ever!! I can't take all the credit, I did have Mike and Gilbey go vegetarian for a month for me (discussed previously) and now also two of my friends, Iain and Chris have died their hair orange and blue respectively... Personally I think that cycling the 2500 miles is much more preferable!

All four of them have helped so much and raised money and awareness so for that I am extremely thankful, but I still need more! Any donations are amazing and all will help go towards a great cause, so keep telling people, sharing my tweets and Facebook posts around just to help support my and Cancer Research UK.

Time To Raise Some Money #12

It is getting so close to the start time!!! Now it is time to kick start my fund raising and start getting a lot more money, awareness and support. This is where I really need you to help. I need people to start spreading the word about me and also donating.

It is so easy to donate, just click here to donate online, or text SGLR50 £5 to 70070, or just give cash straight to me and I will deal with it. Any amount is helpful, £1 to £1000 they all benefit the cause. 

To try to raise awareness there are a lot of stuff you can do to help me. Simply telling your friends  and family about me and showing them my website, Twitter and Facebook. This is so invaluable as it benefits me in so many ways. I have now got business cards with all my information on it and ways to donate, as well as a small map of where I am going. I have posters and sponsorship forms which I can send you if you want to help me, just get in contact with me anyway you like and I will give you what ever you need to support me. 

As well as this to let people know what I am doing while I am riding, I have got a t-shirt. Hopefully all these things added together with a little help from you will mean that I will get much more support and raise a lot of money for Cancer Research UK.

Big Update and Big Plans #11

Over the last few weeks I have been a busy bee! Firstly I have purchased loads of stuff for my trip, most of this is in the pictures but some of it isn't. I will be putting up a kit list at some point but maybe when I have a bit more time. I pretty much have all the main stuff just a few small pieces left to purchase.

This leads me on to my next point, as I have got a lot of stuff, it is time for a practise! Hopefully in the next 2 weeks or so I will try to organise going camping for a night or two just to test out all the gear. During this time I want to make a video just showing off what I have got in my panniers (bags on the bike).

This again brings me on to what else I'm doing. I have finished making my third video which is just a simple explanation of what I am doing so it will be good to introduce people to what I'm doing. I will try to upload this as soon as possible.

Last but not least I am working on a load of posters, flyers and business cards just to hand out so keep your eye out for them. Also I will be getting Mike and Gilbey (my friends who went vegetarian for awareness and support of me) to write something as they have finished.

I have a new way of donating!

Text:

SGLR50 (then amount in pounds)

To: 70070

Vegetarians, Vacation and a Video #10

Who is that small guy behind them???

If you know about the guys in the picture above then thank you for supporting them and me, if you don't know who they are then please check out on Facebook. They are two of my oldest mates and are going vegetarian for a month to get more people giving money to Cancer Research UK as well as raising a bit of now support for me.

Also, I have put up another video just to practice editing while away from home so please check that out on Youtube and give me a like as it just helps me reach more people.



Just a quick note on that, if you haven't already please subscribe to my YouTube channel, follow me on twitter and like my Facebook page as it just helps me to reach more people. Just my Mike and Gilbey linking to my page I got a 300% increase in people from the week before!!! So every little bit that you can do will help, even if it isn't giving money, just giving a bit of publicity will really help me so much. 

Finally, I have set up a text donation so please text: "SGLR50 (your amount)" to 70070

For all those who have donated or simple shown support, thank you very much!!