USA Tour Stage 2: Riverside to Indio, CA (93 Miles)

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One of the most important pieces of information we are given is the cue sheet for each day’s riding. This provides a mile by mile, turn by turn set of instructions with additional information on any significant route and safety points. The evening before each stage, the route sheet forms the agenda for the core of the Route Rap and Paula talks us through it. Although I also have the route loaded on my Garmin, the technology is not infallible, as regular readers will know from past events. So the cue sheets provide an additional level of assurance.

Pete and Emil leaving Riverside at full gas

Two things caught my eye on today’s cue sheet. At 1.5 miles “begin 3-mile climb” and then at 31.4 miles “begin 6-mile climb”. So the early part of today after leaving Riverside was going to be largely uphill. But first, let me share a morsel of Riverside’s history with you. The city was founded in the early 1870’s and it was here that the Californian citrus fruit industry was started in 1871 when Eliza Tibet’s received three navel orange trees from Bahia in Brazil. Two of the trees survived – the  other was apparently trampled by a cow! One of the survivors was subsequently transplanted, in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt. To cut a long story short, cuttings taken from the trees were hugely successful and some would say, led to the second Californian Gold Rush. So there you are. Now, let’s get back to the ride.

Nearly at the top!

I was soon onto the first hill which was fairly gentle (by European standards) and as I spun my way upwards I was amused by the sight of slow moving queues of cars with people going to work as I was going to ‘play’. While waiting at one of the many traffic lights on the climb I heard the whir of an electric window winding down followed by a voice asking “Where are you going?” “Boston” was my reply. A considered pause and then “Man, you’re shittin’ me” before the window wound up and my neighbour drove off, no doubt in air-conditioned comfort. Three cheers for the long distance cyclist!

After reaching the top a small group of us formed up and we headed along to the first SAG stop at 23 miles on the forecourt of a gas station. After refuelling we set off heading for the next climb up to Beaumont. With a long ascent ahead of me I got into a lower gear and tapped out a rhythm to get to the top. Ahead of me in the distance I could see, another rider Cathy, who hails from San Francisco, in her distinctive white jersey. I have learnt through bitter experience to resist the temptation to up the pace and chase. I just carried on spinning at a cadence of about 90rpm and keeping my heart rate at about 130bpm. These are the two numbers that matter to me when climbing steady ascents like this one. Slowly but surely I could see that the gap was closing and over the next 3-4 miles I got to within about 300 yards of her. But that was the last I saw of her all day as, looking back over my shoulder I realised that I had to stop to get a photo. I should add that Cathy is a strong rider and she would probably have gapped me anyway, once she reached the top.

By now the temperature was rising so I pulled over at a gas station for a cold bottle of Coke and Pete and David, who’s from Maine, joined me to cool off. We then headed over to Beaumont, linked up with Emil and turned east. With a gentle downhill profile, a strong tailwind, and a good surface, we whizzed along at a cracking rate eating up the miles. This was riding at it’s easiest. My average speed for the first 10 miles was 15mph; my average over miles 50-60 was 25mph. (For the record, my average for the whole day worked out at 17.6mph.)

We rode along beside and sometimes on the Interstate (I-10) which was a totally new experience for me since apart from a couple of closed road events I have never ridden on a motorway. Apparently the low density of roads in California means that cycling on the Interstate is legal. (We have a lot of Interstate riding tomorrow so I will be interested to see how we interact with the motorists.) Although we were making excellent speed I could feel the temperature rising (it eventually peaked at 34C/93F) and I was glad of the breeze in my face as I cut through the air.  Approaching Palm Springs we passed by a massive series of wind farms. Compared to the wind farms off the North Sea which I am familiar with from my coastal rides back home, these farms were GINORMOUS!

Palm Springs

Our route took us round the edge of Palm Springs. Since the early 1900’s this has been a resort city – initially for health seekers benefitting from the dry climate and subsequently for more sporting and artistic pursuits. Palm Springs is also the place where the ‘Desert Modern’ style of high-end architecture originated – open-designs, wall to wall carpeting, air-conditioning, big plate glass windows and not forgetting the swimming pools. As we passed the city I was reminded of an oasis in the desert, which of course it is!

From Palm Springs we continued on the final 10-mile leg to our destination at Indio. As we rode along I was struck by the billboards lining the roadside advertising seemingly every consumer product or service imaginable. I even spotted one with the face of Mr Permatan himself (Donald Duck Trump to you readers). He seemed to be hustling some sort of property deal – there’s a surprise. Talking of billboards, indulge me as I make a small diversion in today’s story. If you haven’t seen the film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” then you simply must. Frances McDormand who plays the lead alongside Woody Harrelson, won a richly deserved Best Actress Oscar. Now, whenever I see a billboard I automatically think of Frances and the wonderful, yet tragic, story she tells.

With the temperature reaching the afternoon peak and the possibility that my Gatorade drink was approaching boiling point I was glad to make the final turn into our hotel for the evening. This was a fast day. This was a hot day. But most of all this was a thoroughly enjoyable day. I’ve been teasing Paula with a range of slightly eccentric English expressions. So the expression for today is “Spiffing”. Look it up.

USA Tour Stage 1: Los Angeles to Riverside, CA (79 Miles)

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It’s 5:30 am and breakfast time in the hotel in El Segundo. Everything I could want is available at the buffet. I settle for some orange juice, scrambled eggs and bacon, a bagel with strawberry jam and coffee. I’ve spent a few moments listening in to the chatter in the room. I wasn’t eavesdropping on other peoples’ conversations but instead testing the temperature and sizing up the mood music. What I heard was lots of happiness; people who like me, were ready to ride. Interestingly what I heard and saw from the body language was a mixture of eagerness with a trace of uncertainty, For all of us, and I suspect even those who have previously competed what I am about to attempt, nothing is totally certain about what lies ahead over the next 44 days. Each of us is going through our own pre-ride preparations – some quite obviously so; other rather more nonchalantly. For many, including me, we are on the threshold of what will be the adventure of our lives.

Suitably fuelled up I returned to my room to don the lycra, including the tour jersey, for today’s ride and to finish packing my bags. Each of us has been provided with two kit bags and Paula has told us that we are limited to a maximum weight of 30 lbs. That’s in total; not per bag. It was quite a struggle to zip up the bags containing all the kit and caboodle required for a seven week trip. After a certain amount of shoving a squeezing I was quite satisfied with my efforts and my bags were done up tighter than I thought possible, Feeling pleased with myself I have a final look around the room and to my horror I spot my trainers and a pair of shorts. So it’s back to opening up the bags again. Eventually I manage to squeeze everything in and take the bags down to reception to be loaded by Itchytoo (I’ll explain another time) into the support van. Then I return to my room to collect my bike.

We are soon all ready to go and Paula gives us some final instructions on getting down to Manhattan beach for the official start. We ride the 2-3 miles there in convoy and then it’s time for the traditional wheel dipping ceremony and photographs before we’re ready to set off. Mary, one of the tour crew takes an interest in my damaged left knee, even taking some photographs. I may have to keep an eye on her! We immediately head due east and inland along a succession of long straight and generally smooth roads. It takes a while for smaller groups to form. At the start of any tour riders go through an introductory process as they discover who is similar to them – in terms of riding ability and temperament. Gradually the groups form through a sort of natural selection process.


The ride out of LA is largely through a never ending succession of business parks and industrial estates interspersed with small, budget type shopping areas and low cost, densely packed housing. From what I can see as I ride along it all looks fairly random and is quite different from the more planned approach to development that I am familiar with in the UK. Today is Mother’s Day so on many of the street corners, flower sellers are busy trying to win the attentions of passing motorists. The traffic seems to ebb and flow as we progress. We pass over dozens of crossroads where traffic from every direction has to stop and then following what to me is an unfathomable code, moves off. It seems to happen quite naturally and with good grace. That doesn’t stop me making hard eye contact with any motorist who might cross my path. It amuses me to think that back in the UK we have developed a rather more precise solution – roundabouts!

In what seems like no time at all we arrive at the first SAG (Support and Gear) stop. Paula and her team have a great selection of fruit, drinks and snacks ready and waiting for us. We are required to sign in and out at each SAG so that the support team know who is on the road. Leaving the SAG I like up with Pete and two other riders, Robert and Emil. Robert is one of the support team and lives in Riverside, today’s destination. Emil is from Switzerland. We make good progress until I am late signalling a pothole causing Pete to ride straight into it and suffer a rear wheel puncture. (That’s going to cost me a beer this evening.) Following a tube change we were soon rolling again.

We continue to  pass through a succession of districts (I missed the point where we left Los Angeles County, the density of business premises and housing reduces. The properties offices and industrial units are also newer so there is an atmosphere of greater affluence. In the distance I can see some hills which are gradually getting closer. They are dissected by numerous ravines, gullies and small canyons – scenery that I have seen before but only in films. We ride parallel to Route 91, sometimes passing over and under it on a fabulously smooth tarmac surface. The highway is incredibly busy with every lane full of traffic – mostly heading past us towards LA.


As we enter the hills we turn on to the Santa Ana Bike trail, another wonderfully surfaced route, and gradually head upwards to the second SAG. With the sun now shining brightly and the air gradually warming it proves to be just the spot to grab some fruit and top up my water bottles. I’m wearing a pair of brightly coloured socks which match the tour jersey and they catch Paula’s eye. In a moment of weakness I promise to give them (washed of course) to Paula at the end of the tour. Me and my big mouth ….

Approaching Riverside

Resisting the temptation to linger in the sunshine we head off again on the final leg of the stage. This proves to be the best part of the day. We roll gradually downhill and onto another long straight avenue. This time we are amongst some lovely houses. The avenue is lined with mature palm trees. For miles and miles, beautifully coloured roses mark the central reservation. In places I spot orange groves, heavy with their brightly coloured fruit. What a wonderful way to end a great first day! As we near our destination Robert takes on the mantle of tour guide and shares a few snippets about Riverside.

Arriving at the hotel, anther Marriott Courtyard Inn, check-in is a breeze. I take my bike to my room to find my two bags are already there. (Thanks, Itchytoo – you are a ‘top man’.) Then in true pro-rider style I jump into the shower, fully clothed to wash my riding gear. Once I’ve peeled off the lycra it’s time to wash me. Then after wringing out the lycra, rolling it in a towel and hanging it up to dry overnight I search out a milkshake and a slice of lemon drizzle cake to complete my end of ride refuelling. Within an hour of arriving Pete and I are sitting round the hotel’s pool in the sunshine, enjoying a refreshing a bottle of beer and reflecting on our first stage. I have a sneaky feeling that, based on today, this tour is going to be a blast. Laters, readers!

Redondo Beach and Back with Brunch and The First Tour Meeting (21 Miles) (LGD -1 Day)

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Here we are on the eve of the big event. All being well, this time tomorrow I should be somewhere east of Los Angeles having finished the first stage of the tour. I am quite excited. Well, no – I am VERY, VERY excited. And I am a tad apprehensive. This tour has been a long time in the planning so it is a bit of a relief to be about to set off. I originally booked my place in March 2017. Regular readers will know that I have been counting down the days to Le Grand Depart (LGD) ever since. I started at LGD –423 days and a now it’s LGD –1 day.

Over the last few days the tour members have been assembling. Everyone seems pretty friendly and we have been introducing ourselves to each other. Having met so many new people in such a short time I am finding it quite difficult to link names and faces. I’m hoping that as we progress that will get easier. Rather amusingly each of our bikes has a name badge affixed to it – to signify that the bike has passed muster from the tour organisers – my CV was inspected yesterday.

With one more day to go before we leave I was in no doubt about what to do – go for a last LA ride with Pete Wilson. After a quick coffee at the hotel we headed to the coast cycle route and turned south. Our plan was to ride to the end of the route and enjoy a spot of brunch somewhere along the way. As we headed out, the sky turned grey and sure enough light rain started to fall. Fortunately the rain stopped within 5 minutes. This was California making me feel right at home; I would have much preferred some of California’s legendary sunshine though.

Riding along parallel to the beach was completely enthralling. Saturday morning was a 5-star opportunity for a bit of people watching. As we rolled along the ‘Beautiful People’ were out in force partaking of every activity and form of exercise imaginable. Apart from hundreds of riders, runners and walkers I saw people playing beach volleyball, surfers, divers, footballers (American and soccer) and softball. There were people practising martial arts, yoga, tai-chi and countless other types of exercise. And the greatest thing was that people of all ages, from parents with babies in buggies to seniors, were enjoying themselves. And if the sights on the seaward side weren’t enough Pete commented that any of the properties on the land side could have featured in an episode of Grand Designs. Was that Kevin McCloud I saw lurking in the shadows? Without wishing to sound overly evangelical I couldn’t help feeling that life doesn’t get much better than this!

Reaching the end of the cycle route we turned around and headed back to Hermosa for brunch at The Rockerfeller. I opted for scrambled eggs, bacon, country potatoes with peppers and onions and brioche toast. I did hesitate over the Pork Belly Benedict but decided that would be a step too far. We sat at a table on the sidewalk and watched street life pass us by. Suitably refuelled we headed back to El Segundo for a shower before going to the pre-tour briefing.

I spent part of this afternoon at the first meeting of the tour. It’s was great to finally meet everyone – riders and tour support crew. They seem to be a great bunch of folk and I am really looking forward to getting to know them better as the tour evolves. We each had to introduce ourselves which has heightened my appetite to get chatting. Most of the riders come from all over the US – and they seem to share similar aspirations for the tour. Quite a few people, more than I expected, have ridden the tour before – some several times which bodes well. A few are leaving the tour part way along and others will be joining us as we progress. There was lots of laughter and happiness in the room so the dynamics feel very comfortable.

Paula Farmer, the tour leader gave us great safety briefing and shared several important messages based on her experience. One detail that I am going to have to work at are the various hand signals, some of which have different meanings in the US of A to back home in the UK. Good communication between riders moving in a group is essential for everyone’s safety. I must remember to point my arm downwards when I intend to stop – back home I am used to sticking my arm straight up in their air! Having covered all the essential bases we had our first Route Rap. This is when Paula discusses key features of the following day’s ride covering the route, potential hazards, feeding points (SAG Stops), timings and so on. And while on the subject of timings we have an early start tomorrow – breakfast at 5:30am; wheels up by 6:30. On that note and as Zebedee of Magic Roundabout fame used to say – “Time for Bed”. Goodnight readers.

Another Item Ticked Off The Bucket List (54 Miles) (LGD -3 Days)

There are some things you’ve just got to do, so today was a doing day! A couple of weeks ago I planned a route to a special site that I just had to visit. Now, not knowing the Los Angeles area or having any experience (at that time) of riding on its roads, choosing the route was a bit of a challenge. My tool of choice for route planning is Ride With GPS which is pretty easy to use; you just select a starting point and then click on the roads you want to follow to reach your destination. The trip I wanted to make involved riding about 25 miles right across the heart of Los Angeles and I had absolutely no idea of which roads would be suitable for the ride. All the more so because I also had little idea of the ‘rules of the road’. Well, I did know that they drive on the other side of the road here and they don’t seem to have roundabouts. Beyond that I was in the dark.

With Ride With GPS on my screen I also opened up Google Street view together with an LA cycling map. The latter showed that there were lots of opportunities – dedicated cycle paths and cycle lanes on various main roads. Unfortunately the ‘map’ was a diagram, not a true scale map so that only partly helped. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after a couple of hours of plotting and a certain amount of cursing I had what I thought was the ideal route for crossing the cities and minimising exposure to traffic. So, as they say “I was good to go”.

Last night I met Pete Wilson, who hails Miles)from Troon in Scotland and will also be riding to Boston. We had previously exchanged a few emails and had spoken on the ‘phone so it was good to put a face to a name. When I mentioned today’s plan, Pete was keen to join me and I was delighted as I knew it would be good to have company whilst riding across new terrain.

We had a bit of a false start before setting off when I discovered that I hadn’t actually downloaded the route onto my Garmin. There was no way I was going to ride blind across LA. Fortunately, I’ve brought a back up Garmin with me and that did have the route on it so after nipping back to my room to get the back up we were soon underway, heading for the coast and the cycle path north that I rode in Monday. Arriving at Venice Boulevard we turned north east. Now Venice Boulevard is a pretty busy road, a bit like Edgware Road in London if you know it. What Venice Boulevard does have that makes it suitable, is a dedicated cycle lane. It runs dead straight for 6 miles with, as we discovered, lots of crossroads complete with traffic lights which involved quite a lot of stopping and starting.

The CV’s first donut

This part of the ride was pretty dreary as we passed through  what would best be described as a low rise concrete jungle. Tightly packed housing areas interspersed with small fast food malls and budget shops plus an assortment of warehouses, depots, breakers yards and so forth meant that the view was rather less than inspiring. But it was the quickest way to make progress and with a tail wind we rolled along easily. Eventually we reached our turning point and decided a coffee stop was needed. We found a suitable place and I was able to introduce the CV to a ritual much beloved by its siblings. Yes, the CV enjoyed its first donut (note American spelling)!

Suitably refreshed we turned north west and in the distance, through the haze we could just make out our goal.  With a couple of turns onto minor side roads to get through Hollywood without putting our lives at risk on the exceptionally busy roads, we entered an area which was a total contrast to where we had been. Now we were amongst some spectacular designer houses set in quiet side streets lined with towering palm trees. This was clearly where the rich people live. Yes, the rich people, but not the very rich people – they are tucked away even further inland in the hills.

Job Done!

Eventually we reached the final stretch and the main event of today’s ride – a sharp 14% climb complete with hairpin bends up through Beachwood Canyon. The sun was shining so we were glad of the shade provided by the trees lining the road. Suddenly we crested the hill, the landscape opened out and following a short descent we arrived at our destination – a close up view of the iconic Hollywood Sign. This is one of the defining sights of the area. Originally constructed in 1923 to advertise a local property development, when it read ‘Hollywoodland’ it has remained in situ ever since and become one of the most visited sites in the area. The metal white letters are each 45 feet tall and it was built at a cost of £15,000 (equivalent to about £225,000 today). The sign fell in to disrepair and in 1978 was restored following a public campaign led by Hugh Hefner (Playboy magazine founder). Nine celebs paid for one letter each – Hugh got the ‘H’ (no surprise there); Alice Cooper paid for the penultimate ‘O’ as a tribute to his friend Groucho Marx.

After posing for photographs, we retraced our route back to El Segundo. We both agreed that despite most of the ride being uninspiring it had been completely worthwhile. And for me, it was another thing to cross off my bucket list. You can see our route by clicking here.

Palos Verdes and an Unexpected Riding Buddy (41 Miles) (LGD -4 Days)

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Only one of these two is a retired professional cyclist

I ended my last post with a little teaser courtesy of Gerry, the rider I met on yesterday’s ride to Santa Monica. Well I can now let you into the secret. This morning at 6:30am Gerry and I met outside my hotel and we rode over to Helen’s Cycles, a local bike shop to meet up with Jens Voigt who is in town to do some promo work in connection with the Tour of California which starts on Sunday in nearby Long Beach. Jens retired from racing in 2014 following an successful career which included wearing the yellow jersey and wining two Tour de France wins as well as victories in numerous other classic races. He also briefly held the world hour record. He is perhaps best known for his catchphrase “Shut up legs”.

Together with a group of other cyclists we rode over to Palos Verdes largely following the same cycle route as yesterday but in the other direction. Jens and I had a long chat as we rode along together. He was interested to hear about the tour to Boston and asked me about the other tours I had ridden. Our conversation wasn’t restricted to cycling – he quizzed me about Brexit (!) and we exchanged some thoughts about the (lack of) affordable housing in London.

Palos Verdes is another of Los Angeles County’s 88 cities. It sits atop a peninsula with dramatic views over the ocean.This is prime real estate country – the security gates and cctv, expensive cars sitting on driveways and some spectacular architecture all point to money – lots of money. One of the most spectacular buildings is the Wayfarers Chapel designed in 1951 by Frank Lloyd Wright. The glass chapel sits within a redwood forest and if time had allowed I would loved to have visited it.

Having made our approach along the seashore we reached the summit of Palos Verdes by a long climb with several hairpins and sweeping bends. Rising nearly 1,000 metres over about 5 miles this was the first bit of proper climbing that I have done for a while. It certainly got my heart rate rising. The fast descent was equally thrilling. A wide, smooth road with lovely sweeping bends meant that I could put the CV properly through its paces for the first time. I wasn’t disappointed.

Returning to sea level, we retraced our route back to Helen’s Cycles before we all headed off in our different directions. So having flown 5,000 miles it was quite a surprise and great fun to ride with Jens. It quite made my day.

I spent the afternoon doing the tourist thing with a visit to Hollywood to view the sights. And I have to say that I was pretty disappointed. Although it was quite amusing to be star spotting on the Walk of Fame I thought that the whole place looked pretty shabby. Walking along the Boulevard I lost count of how many times I was propositioned. No, not that sort or proposition readers. I’m referring to hustlers vying with each other to offer the best minibus tours of the area. I walked the whole length of the Boulevard, hoping it would get better and when I eventually realised this wasn’t going to happen I crossed over an retraced my steps, pausing top get a photo of the famous Capitol Records Tower. So feeling that I had rather wasted my time I got the metro back to El Segundo.

Arrival and the First Ride (32 Miles) (LGD - 5 Days)

After an uneventful but long flight (11 hours) I arrived at LAX (Los Angeles airport which everybody calls Lax) at 7:00pm local time (i.e. 3:00am UK time). We were swiftly off the plane and in no time at all passing through Immigration. After being fingerprinted (both hands) and photographed I got the all important ‘admitted’ stamp in my passport. Now at this point I must tell you that I breathed a huge sigh of relief. You see, one of my old passports bears a big red stamp in it stating: “Alien denied entry – carrier to hold pending immediate continuous transit”. Yes, I was once refused entry because of an admin cock up. Although I was only 11 at the time, ever since then whenever I see a US Immigration Official, my heart is in my mouth!

Once through Immigration it was time to retrieve my luggage. My hold-all appeared on the carousel pretty quickly and then I made my way over to the oversized luggage point which, when I eventually found it, had the air of being closed for the day. It was completely deserted and although I had been assured that it was definitely where I needed to be, in my jet lagged state I wasn’t convinced. Anyway, after about 15 minutes of standing around the carousel suddenly kicked into life and, joy of joys, out came my bike case. What a relief!

From there it was a quick ‘phone call to Yael at my hotel to arrange for the courtesy bus to collect me. She told me that their driver John would arrive in about 10 minutes in a black Chevrolet van and warned me not to accept any offers of a lift from anyone else. Well true to her word, John arrived and we loaded the bike case into the back of the van and set off. John was a lovely man and we chatted freely during the short journey to the hotel. He told me that there are 88 cities in Los Angeles County; Los Angeles is only one of the cities. John was almost speechless when I told him that I was going to be riding to Boston. He was fascinated by my bike and I hope I might get a chance to show it to him before I leave. John told me that if I wanted a good traffic-free ride to begin with I should try the coast cycle route.

John dropped me at the hotel in El Segundo and Yael quickly checked me in to my large room which has twin double beds and a balcony overlooking the swimming pool. After a quick shower to freshen up I was in bed by 9:00pm which meant that I had been awake for 21 hours. Fortunately I managed to get a good night’s sleep and when I awoke at 6:00am I felt completely refreshed. After breakfast in the hotel it was time to unpack and rebuild the bike.

One CV ready to go ...

I have to say that I was rather apprehensive at what I might find when I opened the box but I needn’t have worried as everything was still securely fastened. Thirty minutes later I had the CV fully assembled and ready to roll. So the time had arrived to have my first outing on American tarmac. Heeding the advice from John, I rode down to to the cycle path about a mile away which ran alongside the Pacific Ocean, and turned north towards Santa Monica.

Now readers, I have to tell you that this two lane cycle path is top quality. Smooth surfaces – even the rougher bits are smoother than I am used to riding on at home. And very popular too with cyclists of all descriptions and all ages as well as lots of people on electric scooters and roller blades. The route gently winds and curves its way along the coastline and was a real delight to ride. In one or two places sand had blown across the route which made it a bit treacherous for me as I’m not used to riding on sand. With all the new sights to take in I found it quite difficult to concentrate and keep a watchful eye out for the sand traps. The route just seemed to be calling out to me to up the speed.

 Morning haze at Marina Del Ray

I made my way past Venice Beach and Santa Monica Pier to the end of the route at Port Los Angeles Long Wharf – about 12 miles in all. After a pause for drink and a spot of people watching I turned around to head back. Click here for the route flyby if you’d like to see where I went. Ahead of me I could see a couple of riders so I upped the ante and hooked on to the back of them. After a while I introduced myself and learnt that Bruce was from Massachusetts whereas Gerry lived locally, just a few minutes away from my hotel as it transpired. So we rode along chatting and they were interested to hear why I was in California. Anyway with all this chatting I committed the cardinal sin of not paying attention and as I swept around a curve I suddenly felt my back wheel slide out from under me and I was down on the tarmac with a thump. Fortunately, apart from a dent to my pride and dignity, I escaped with only a few minor grazes to my left elbow and knee. But most importantly, the CV was completely unmarked. So after picking myself up I set off again behind Gerry and Bruce. Part way along Bruce peeled off and Gerry led me back to El Segundo where he lives and pointed me in the direction of the hotel. He has also lined up what I think may be a real treat for me tomorrow. You’ll just have to wait and see though.

Going to California (LGD - 6 Days)

It was over a year ago that I finally took the plunge and booked my place on what I hope will be a stupendous adventure. Initially it all seemed a bit like a distant dream but at the turn off the year the prospect of what lies ahead became much more real. As I write this I am sitting on the upper deck of a BA Airbus A380 with an 11-hour flight to Los Angeles ahead of me. So, as I have some ‘free time’ ahead of me I wanted to reflect on my preparations and look forward to the challenge that lies ahead of me.

The last few weeks have been quite hectic with lots of final details to be sorted out. Getting all the essential bits and pieces of kit together, making sure my bike is prepared and ready and also doing enough riding to stay in shape. Making sure I had sufficient time to ride has been really important. I belong to the Eddy Merckx school of preparation; the key to success being miles, lots of miles. As I leave the UK I have managed to put over 5,000 miles into my legs since the start of the year. Disappointingly, a higher proportion than I would ideally have wished has been done on the turbo trainer in my garage reflecting the crap weather we seem to have had. However in overall terms I am slightly ahead of where I was this time last year and I feel pretty fit. So the prospect of riding 3,400 miles over 44 days is something I am looking forward to. From the comfort of my plane seat at least.

Riding over the last 7 days has covered the full spectrum of British weather. Last weekend was wet and cold with, at one point sleet and hail. Yesterday was quite the opposite a hot 70 miles around the Fens with Nairo and Richard. If there is one aspect of my preparation that I have missed it is the opportunity to ride in sunny, warm or hot conditions. With the prospect of crossing the Mojave Desert (30 degree plus temperatures in the first week) I suspect I may be in for a bit of a roasting. And, disappointingly, my tans lines are rather feeble. I fear that my pasty white legs might provoke some disparaging looks from my fellow riders.

Most of my riding over the last few weeks has been enjoyable if somewhat uneventful. Tuesday’s outing boosted my heart rate when I was hit by a motorist cutting the corner at a T junction. Fortunately I managed to avoid any damage to the bike and the driver was probably more shaken up than I was. The only injury to me was a dent to my dignity as a result of my last second evasive gymnastic manoeuvres. In the couple of seconds of the incident, which seemed like minutes, I had visions of my tour ending before it had even begun. But it seems that the gods were smiling on me. I’m hoping that this was an omen for the coming weeks. Not that I’m superstitious.

I was up early this morning (6am) and after breakfast and a few last minute tasks, loaded the bike box and my hold-all into a hire car and drove down to Heathrow. I hate last minute rushes and would rather arrive far too early than be gnashing my teeth as I crawl along the M25 which I’ve done before! As it turned out there were no delays and I arrived nearly four hours before departure time. The biggest challenge was finding a petrol station to top up the car before I handed it back. It took a mere while 15 minutes to deliver the car and use the hire car company’s courtesy shuttle bus to Terminal 5. Checking in was effortless; the only delay was getting approval to take some Co2 canisters for inflating my tyres. After a phone call to the back office I was cleared to put them in my bag to go in the hold.

Once I had checked in and dropped my bag I had to take the bike box across to the oversized luggage counter – I was the only person there. The attendant looked rather bemused when I asked if he would take a picture of me. But after a bit of negotiation involving the use of the phrases “riding for my country” and “riding for charity” he grudgingly obliged. As you can see. Now at this juncture I just want to let you know that “my country” is Wales (the bike box is suitably flagged) and the “charity” is the Green Light Trust (GLT). I am sure that as the tour progresses my identity as an honorary Welshman will become apparent. And I am certainly going to be making a bit of a noise about GLT. You might even receive an email from me asking you to sponsor me (there’s a link at the top right hand side of this page) and if you don’t get an email, please don’t feel left out. You can still sponsor me by clicking on the Virgin Money Giving link. Despite the fact that Terminal 5 was heaving with people flying to all corners of the world, I was through security and into the departure lounge in under 5 minutes. I forgot to remove the coins from my pocket so I was taken to one side for a pat down!

That’s Greenland below

Somewhere below me in the hold is (hopefully) my bike packed in its case. We’ll be reunited later today and tomorrow’s first order of business will be to put it together and take it for a test ride. I’ve brought an assortment of tools with me to help with this. The box is scheduled to be collected from my hotel in LA on Wednesday and Fedex’d to Boston to await my arrival. My Bianchi Owners Club USA cousins put me in touch with a company called BikeFlights, which is run by some cyclists. You make a booking online with the dates and locations involved, they sort everything out and email back some shipping labels. So that’s one logistical problem less. The box is far to big to transport in one of the tour support vehicles.

So that’s all for now readers. At last I am underway! I’m feeling very excited, but also a tad apprehensive about what lies ahead. Apart from the riding and enjoying the scenery I am really looking forward to chatting to lots of Americans and finding out what makes them tick. It seems to me that this is a really interesting time to be in this country and learning lots. I’m hoping to make some new friends too with the other riders on the tour. Through these pages I do hope you will join me on the tour and share some of my excitement as I make my way east to Boston. I’m planning to have a real blast!