Updated 01 Oct 2013
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John and Pete cycle across America
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The start, Astoria OR
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The log-book of a 4,300 mile bicycle ride across America from Pacific to Atlantic, the curious and interesting society we saw there, and the strange things that happened to John and Pete in 66 days.
For more information, contact the author on
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Webmaster's comments 21sep2013
After 21 years nagging by me, Peter visited Dorset
today and gave me a memory stick. It held 70,000 words
typed from his log book of our cycle ride in 1992.
It was well typed too, and in .doc format. I have made no
changes to content or spelling. And of course it brings
back a flood of memories of incidents I had forgotten.
Bless you Peter.
John Palmer
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Done it, Yorktown, VA
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SEARCH this webpage
Use your browser SEARCH facility to find any
word you want on this webpage. The whole of Pete's diary
is on this single page, around 70,000 words.
Make the most of it!
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Across America Cycle Challenge – 1992
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in support of Cleveland County Cancer Campaign
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& North of England Children’s Cancer Research.
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In response to my cycling partner (John Palmer) who has summarised his diary of the above
challenge, I would like to highlight the fact that those 66 days cycling were to ‘change my
life’. For John’s desire to undertake the ‘cycle challenge’ and his wish to share the
experience with ‘another rider’, I am eternally grateful for all that we were able to
accomplish and achieve. Having had kidney cancer in 1986 which left me with just the one
kidney and having had my right hip joint replaced due to arthritis in ’89, my saying to John
that “everyday was a bonus”, may have been the truest words I could find. Here is my
response.
John made ‘that decision’ to advertise in Cycle Touring and Campaigning in November, ’91
and having had to retire from the Police Service after 35 yrs, I saw the advert and showed
it to my wife Barbara. Her response was, “Why don’t you go for it’. I thought…”Hey,
she wants rid of me!”. I recall writing to John and for ‘some reason’ I wrote in script
calligraphy and as I was writing I felt like a little boy who might be going on an adventure of a
lifetime. I thought only of ‘Cowboys and Indians’ and I remember saying that I had always
had a ‘Pipe Dream’ about one day being able to go to America. John received the 10 replies
and I recall him saying that his wife Rosie vetted each letter and on reading one, she said,
“Well, you’re not going with her!!” and a little later, “…. and you’re not going with her
either!”, so obviously two females had responded to John’s advert. I believe Rosie liked the
idea of my being a ‘pipe dreamer’ so I have her to thank for urging John to pick me as his
partner. We used the saying ‘three’s a crowd’ and immediately started planning. John is
extremely computer literate and by using the 12 maps of the 10 states we were to cycle through
from the west coast at Astoria, Oregon to Yorktown, Virginia on the east coast, he had soon
produced our route. Certain criteria (i.e. prevailing winds, elevation etc) enabled John to decide
on how far we might cycle each day and where we should stay each of the 66 nights.
Consideration was given to the fact that we should not camp out (primarily due to my arthritic
condition) and I am thankful. As a result of having ‘an itinerary’ of the 66 overnight stopovers,
I was able to communicate through the International Police Association and make contact with
13 Police family associates who would gladly provide ‘hospitality’.
Since my teenage years I have undertaken challenges for supported causes and I decided this
would be an ideal opportunity to support the above charities and John and Rosie supported me
in my efforts. Claud Butler cycles sponsored me and requested I use their bike to ride across
America, this bike was to be an integral part of our success and has continued to provide me
with the means of accomplishing more and more each year since 1992 to the present day, for
which I am most grateful. A local businessman who has always supported me, decided he
would like to contribute towards our air fares and donate to the chosen charities and we came
to an agreement, for which we were most grateful. He wished to pay half of our air fares and
to contribute to the two supported charities, in total his donation was £1,000, such a wonderful
gesture at this time of our planning.
Over the next months our preparations and planning went well. I received telephone calls from
American families who were to give us hospitality and as a result, this seemed to set the scene
for what was to become unbelievable friendships. One call was received just 4 days before we
were due to fly out, offering us the use of a beach cabin at Cannon Beach, Oregon, which was
to be our first nights stop en-route and we were to meet up with Linda, Stephanie and Sophie
Seaton, eat with them and enjoy their company. The views from the cabin, looking out west
over the Pacific Ocean with Giant Haystack and many other rock formations in clear view as
the sun was setting, created a wonderful introduction to what was to follow as we went on our
way along Highway 101 (Pacific Highway).
Barbara and I were to meet John and Rosie in Portugal in February, ’92 when they decided to
join us and a small group of cyclists from the Cleveland area. Whilst there John and Rosie met
a retired Dentist and his wife (Dr. Don and Muriel Hager) whose home was Boring, Oregon and
in general conversation John mentioned our forthcoming cycle ‘venture and like ‘Good
Samaritans’, they offered to meet us on our arrival in Portland, Oregon, put us up and take us
out to our starting point at Astoria. As you might expect, John was overwhelmed and keen to
let me know that he had been able to make such contact and arrangements. Although we could
not know it, the bigger picture of how the cycle challenge was to become ‘an experience of a
lifetime’ was already taking on a life and form.
On the 16th. April, ’92 at 4am. in the morning I received a telephone call from Detective Brumfield, Christiansburg Police, Virginia, he asked, “Sir, are you doing the cycle challenge across America?”, I said I was and he went on to ask me to verify the two charities I would be riding for and their contacts names and addresses, this I did and he said, “Yaw’ll be hearing from us, bye” and put the ‘phone down before I could ask him any questions, I wondered what the outcome of that communication would be. Some weeks later a parcel arrived from Chief of Police Ron Lemon, Christiansburg Police, Virginia and contained therein were 2 Police mugs, 2 first aid kits, a very encouraging and inviting letter together with information about the Motel and restaurant we would stay and eat at, courtesy of the Fraternity of Virginia Police. The letter requested we stay 2 nights, thus meaning we would have a day with their representatives as it was their 200 year anniversary and there would be many celebrations going on in Christiansburg and they wished us to be a part of this occasion. I gladly accepted and responded to their kind offer of hospitality, with thanks. As the weeks and months passed and our preparations and plans started to take shape I was able to reply to letters of ‘Invitation to stay’ at Seal Rock, Salem, Eugene, Sisters and Redmond in Oregon, also Rawlins, Wyoming, Pueblo, and Ordway, in Colorado, John really did not know what to think about the generous Police hospitality being offered and so this was to be an unexpected adventure and experience for him and I. One, retired Detective Inspector George Winterfeld who wrote from Sisters, Oregon was so concerned about our route (over McKenzie Pass on the Oregon Trail), he tried to persuaded us to change our route and travel via Santiam Pass, the reason being that McKenzie Pass may be snow bound and is usually only open for 6 weeks a year. George insisted we make contact with him a few days before setting off up McKenzie Pass as he would have done his home work to get the best weather and road reports available. So his concerns and the best wishes of all those who we were to meet were safely noted and recorded.
John dedicated a lot of time in aspects of planning and preparation for which I am grateful. We
were able to share necessary tools and spares, also keeping to a minimum any clothes we might
need (e.g. just the two charity designed ‘T’ shirts, one on, one off!!.) My hometown being
York, where riding a bike is the norm, I was riding a bike by the time I was 3yrs. of age and
soon learned how to build and maintain a bike, so John knew he had his own mechanic. I also
carried with me, letters of appreciation and pennants from the Mayor of Langbaurgh, who was
supporting us. The letters and pennants were to be given to all those ‘Samaritans’ who gave
us hospitality and took care of us.
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Barbara and I decided we ought to spend a few days down in Dorset, with family and also make
contact with John and Rosie in those days before we set off on this adventure, in order to
iron out any last minute problems. There really were no problems, so we all made our way
to Gatwick for one overnight stay at ‘Logan’s’ before saying our ‘goodbyes to Rosie and my
Barbara’ and departing with Continental Airlines on the 10th. August, ’92. Our bikes were
packed into boxes supplied by the airline and with little luggage we were well within the weight
limit. Leaving Barbara and knowing she was driving back home was not easy, ‘my heart
knows’. We have each exchanged cards which are to be read at a ‘quiet time’.
We experienced a late take-off but made up the time on our flight to Denver. The views with
clear skies were another bonus, Icebergs, Ice fields, pack ice of weird and wonderful shapes and
the changing colour of the sea surrounding the icebergs was really something to see. I found a
quiet moment to read Barbara’s card/letter, now I must remember what I am undertaking. Our
arrival and departure at Denver went smoothly and we saw our bikes being loaded on-board
our plane before we boarded for Portland, Oregon. This flight was spectacular too, with views
of The Rockies and the other snow-capped mountain ranges we knew we would be crossing
on the ride. Also the many rivers, particularly The Snake that seemed to flow on forever.
Then there were the changing prairies and forested areas before we saw Mount St. Helen and
almost clipped the top of Mount Hood as we descended to Portland air port to be met by our
friends Don and Muriel Hager who had their station wagon waiting to load our bikes into.
Although there was some damage to John’s bike box, the bike was in good order. So, to Don
and Muriel’s wonderful home with several acres of land, flower and vegetable gardens which
they took great pride in keeping, enabling them to supply, preserve and provide for their needs,
so much so we were soon eating Muriel’s apple puree and ice cream and they served smoked
salmon, which they had caught themselves, then had smoked and canned. This was served
with cheese biscuits and wine. I remarked with some enthusiasm that, “I’ve never tasted
salmon as good as this since 1976!”. This remark was to commence an ever on-going story
and supply of smoked salmon caught by Don and Muriel to this day. I believe we slept very
well that night, I had a bedroom in the main house and John used the ‘gardeners bungalow’.
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On Tuesday, 11th. August, ’92, about 8.15am. I went out into the garden where John and Don
were sitting, Don was eager to take us for breakfast, so we went along to L.A.’s, a new and
memorable experience. Then we filled up with ‘gas’, picked Muriel up and drove out to Mount
Hood, a spectacular snow-capped mountain, with all year round skiing, then to Timberline
Lodge, a wooden skiing Lodge and Hotel which was constructed during the depression by the
many local skilled workforces who had no work to do. This building is a work of art and a
treasure of pride. On to Don’s favourite place, Lost Lake, with the commanding Mount Hood
as the back drop. Then on to the awe inspiring Multnomah Falls along the Columbia River
Gorge. Time to head home and on the way we had a Chinese meal at a favourite restaurant
and on arrival back at Don and Muriel’s we went into the ‘hot tub’, what an experience,
drinking wine, listening to the night sounds and too many stars to begin to try and count,
the end of a very special day. I slept very well.
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At 7.30a.m. Wednesday, the 12th. August, ‘92, I went out into the garden to find John and Don,
we were witnessing the heat and heavy humidity, what a beautiful day, clear blue skies, little
breeze and homely surroundings. Don and Muriel were eager to show us more of their
beautiful State of Oregon, which is 8 times larger than Great Britain. After Muriel’s breakfast
we visited Walmart store for films at a ridiculous price, however John was showing signs of
fatigue and we returned to Don and Muriel’s home where John was persuaded to rest.
The bikes were checked over and found to be alright and ready for ‘the job’, I also made contact
with my home radio station, T.F.M. which had been pre-organised and spoke to Big Stu’ –
Stewart MacFarlane. This set the scene for all future communication with Stu’ and T.F.M.
The arrangement was to make contact with T.F.M. each time we crossed over a border and
entered a new State. I think Don enjoyed the experience of going out live to the listeners in
the North East of England and this enabled me to speak to Barbara after she had listened to the
broadcast because the radio controller was able to give her the telephone number I was at. John
came out into the garden and he was soon unwell and I tended to him whilst Don contacted his
Doctor friend, explaining the signs and symptoms, this resulted in John having to be admitted
to hospital for his care and observation. He was on medication and I suspect he had ‘got out
of sync’ due to the time difference. I wrote John a letter, thinking it was likely that I would
have to start the ride myself and that John would join me when he was well and I knew that
Don would oblige by getting John to where ever I might be en-route. Following John’s
admission we saw that he was comfortable and returned to Don and Muriel’s, keeping
contact with the hospital. I had gifts for Don and Muriel and we sat and talked with concern
for John. In spite of concerns for John I know I slept very well again, waking at 6am. to the
day John and I had prepared for, the start of the ‘big ride’.
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Thursday, 13th. August, ’92 started cloudy but still hot. News of John’s condition was good.
He had been stabilised and had decided to discharge himself so Don and I picked him up and
we returned home for breakfast. We had a discussion regarding John’s medication and came
to an agreement. John was quiet and subdued, however, we knew we only had a short ride on
this first day. John had a gift for Don and Muriel and presenting same seemed to lighten the
occasion. The bikes were loaded into the station wagon together with all our ‘worldly goods’,
we said our goodbye to ‘Mom’ – Muriel and set off with Don along a wonderful route taking
in the logging Columbia River, Puget Rock, stopping off at viewing areas and a visit to a
maritime museum on our arrival in Astoria. En-route we posted tins of smoked salmon to our
wives, courtesy of Don and Muriel. The bikes were checked over and panniers fixed
on, so it was time to head off into the ‘unknown’ at 5pm. after our thanks and goodbyes to
Don. I did wonder what Don might be thinking as we set off, he was most concerned about
how John would be, I was soon to find out. John was ahead of me and he looked around and
he lost his balance, caught the kerb edge. In doing so, he fell off the bike onto the footpath
and impacted with a fire hydrant. As a result he suffered minor cuts and abrasions which were
soon treated and we were on our way again. Our route was primarily along Highway 101
which is known as the Pacific Highway and occasionally along the scenic routes. With great
views, undulating roads following the contours of the coast with the Pacific Ocean on our
right, we passed through Seaside and on into Cannon Beach where we found the ‘beach cabin’
loaned to us by Steve and Linda Seaton. As mentioned earlier, we met Linda, Stephanie and
Sophie, went down onto the beach and had a short swim in the cold Pacific Ocean with the
awesome ‘Giant Haystack’ rock and other rock formations at this location with the sun setting
before eating in special Cannon Beach, a gem of a place. Linda and her children left us to drive 70 miles home, with one of our ‘letters of appreciation and a pennant’, this hospitality was to be the beginning of a lasting friendship for my Barbara and I. John was by this time, very tired, understandably, so it was time to get some ‘shut eye’. I had my Walkman and some tapes with me, so I was soon into my ‘comfort zone’, accompanied by sea shore and night sounds.
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Up and about at 6.45am. on Friday, 14th. August, ’92 and the day is a little cooler, being by the
sea but the right conditions for cycling. John is still sleeping and that is good, so with the
radio on I sorted the breakfast with provisions left for us in the fridge and cupboards
(cereals, milk, egg, bacon, brambles, toast and maple syrup), I’m not sure John realised what
was happening when he woke. He took his medication, had his breakfast, oblivious of who had prepared it. He was quiet and morose and it concerned me, however we were soon to ‘get moving’ after checking the beach cabin and making it secure . Once on the road, the weather got much hotter with a following wind and terrific views of surf and the Pacific. Through quaint cowboy towns with wooden sidewalks, railway tracks running through and lots of fishing activity. We reached a tunnel and John knew he had to walk through, his balance was not yet good. At Garibaldi there is an opportunity for John to board an old steam railway engine and more photographs. The day gets hotter and any shade is welcome, a first encounter with a barking dog, we growled and it ran off. Also our first snake, it had a red stripe down its back and about 15” long, it didn’t stick around. We called in at K.L.M. radio station to request use of their telephone, we had tried to use the public telephones but weren’t having any success in trying to make contact with our friends Griff and Lee Squires who were to give us hospitality
in their home at Seal Rock, our destination. The receptionist at K.L.M. was most helpful and
we were able to arrange a meet with Griff and Lee. Griff had been a traffic cop in San Diego
and on retirement had built the house we were to stay in almost on the beach with exceptional
views of whales spouting, seals and many eagles, hawks and sea birds, not to mention the
fabulous sun sets. As one Police Officer to another, Griff suggested a meet at The Lighthouse
at Lincoln, where he would introduce us to some micro ales!, we agreed. On meeting Griff we
checked out the menu of micro ales and I was too confused to even attempt to choose any one
so Griff’s choice was ‘Hammerhead’ at 6.1 proof. After the first pint John was feeling the
effects together with his medication, I assume. I will remember those two pints and we then
went on to meet Lee, Griff’s wife who is a psychologist, in order to eat at a Clam Chowder
House. So, it was a first for clam chowder and buffalo burger, it was big, with cheese and
onions, washed down with Salt Lake bitter ale. It was time to get to Seal Rock and some
much needed sleep. On arrival we were to meet ‘the family’, Amanda and Molasses,
thinking they were their children. Not so, Amanda is a rottweiller and Molasses a liver coloured
Labrador, we were humorously surprised. After a well needed shower, I relaxed out on the
open deck verandah listening to music and watching the whales whilst writing my diary up.
A perfect end to another memorable day and staying at this house with its individual design
was heaven. (Today’s ride was for my brother Dave – his birthday.)
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Up and about by 7.30am. Saturday, 15th. August, ‘92 , cool out on the deck and time to talk
some more with Lee and Griff which I found interesting and they were certainly interested
in knowing about our challenge, families etc. John is still settling down, I feel, has periods
of real quietness, however he is becoming more attentive. Griff fixed breakfast, Lee does not
partake , eggs over easy, smoked sausage and hash browns etc. We’re soon en-route on Hwy.
101 with more splendid views, headlands, lighthouses and much sea life. John has his second
puncture and a little later his chain came off, soon fixed. We head off in land and stop for
something to eat and drink and fortunately learn about a ‘Pow wow” of 8 Indian Nations near
Grande Ronde. At the entrance to the Pow wow we met Sheriff Tom O’Brien and 2 Deputies
who invited us to go onto the land and see for ourselves what was happening, whilst they took
care of our bikes. There was music, dancing, traditional dress, warpaint, paintings, handicraft,
beads, moccasins, buckskin clothing and weapons, quite a spectacle, a time for many more
photographs. We get back on the road after this wonderful experience and have climbed a little
today in reaching Salem where we are to stay with more Police friends, Mark and Sheri
Miranda and we make contact with them thanks to staff at a B.M.W. garage who were
inquisitive as to ‘what we were doing’. Mark met up with us and we followed him to his home
where we met Sheri and Mark junior. Mark junior had given up his room for us, one of us had
his bed and the other a camp bed. We washed that days gear each evening and in the main it
would dry and if not it was hung out to dry on the panniers as we went on our way, the next
day. After a well earned shower, we ate B.B.Q’d salmon and all the extras, thanks to Sheri.
We sat talking well into the night and enjoyed each other’s company. Today I saw a number of
the old American cars, Oldsmobile, Buick, Mustang, Lincoln, Dodge and noticed a nearly new
Honda Civic for $4,300 with everything as standard. Another interesting and enjoyable ride
today, now its time to rest with my music.
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Sunday, 16th. August, ’92 and I hadn’t slept well, it’s 8am. and it is dry and very warm. We
have a look at Mark’s Chevy pickup, Sheri’s small Buick and Mark’s 1100 cc Honda motor
cycle, also a power boat. John appears to be much improved today, more talkative. We have
an easy breakfast of pancakes, jam and syrup with fruit juice and after our goodbyes we’re
on the road by 10.15am. travelling Hwy 99W, with the Coastal Range of mountains to our
right and to our left and front are The Cascade range which we are going to cycle over soon.
I saw a sign Splish Splash – Auto Wash and start to notice words like ‘muffler (i.e. silencer)
and ‘trunk’ (i.e. boot) etc. We start to see buzzards overhead, some of the houses are very
individual Colonial style, pleasing to my eyes. I’m beginning to find a drink called
Mountain Dew most enjoyable and ‘can’t get enough of it’, also iced lemon tea is about
the most refreshing. It is getting hotter, around 95°, it’s alright whilst moving, but I leak
when we stop and can’t find shade. On into Junction City and we speak to a Jehovah’s
witness who tells us about a Scandinavian festival and we dropped in to see the colourful
dress being worn by the Scandinavian ethnic groups of American, also the food and drink
with massive sausages and drinking glasses, together with the singing, dancing and joy.
We talked to Jim Totton and Alan Smith who mentioned their relative who lives in Essex
and their grand son who had had childhood cancer at 7yrs. and was now doing alright. At
Meadowville we saw our first ‘twister’ (dust devil), about 50’ high, then roadside animals,
possums, raccoons, skunks and the horrendous smells! As we entered Eugene we came upon
a road traffic accident, with Police in attendance so it was appropriate to ask directions to our
next hospitality in Friendly Avenue, with Tom and Lauren Hager (son of Don Hager) and their
two sons, Zane 4yrs. and Jackson 6yrs. We receive a very warm reception and find the children
are very talkative and not at all inhibited by our presence. Tom and Lauren are lecturers at
Eugene University, they are also authors and once we sat down to dinner of chicken, sweet
corn, blackberries, ice cream and wine, we talked a lot and again enjoyed each others company.
Tom asked me about future arrangements of accommodation and he suggested I make the
telephone calls accordingly. As a result I arranged accommodation for the following night
at Horse Creek Lodge, McKenzie Bridge and also contacted our next Police family giving
us hospitality for the following evening. The day was not over yet as we sat out on the
verandah drinking peppermint tea, listening to the night sounds and the smells of Douglas
pine forests. I’m sleeping on a couch tonight so I have the lounge area to myself , with my
favourite music, I’m truly feeling at home, even though I’m so far away.
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I’m up and about at 7.10am. Monday, 17th. August, ’92, I hadn’t slept very well, guess I’m
still re-adjusting to the time difference. I spoke to Don Hager and promised we’d send a
card when we’d made it to the East coast, I know he was concerned about John, so I was
able to put his mind at rest. Tom and Jackson were making breakfast of eggs over easy,
toast, fruit, juice and tea. I then had to repair a puncture and as luck would have it, Tom
cycles to the University and we would be going via. his route so he rode with us to the bike
track near Springfield which then ran along side the Willamette River, a very pleasant ride.
On through Walterville where we stopped for drinks, it is really getting hot now and I’ve got
another puncture, John too, so these are fixed. We pushed on and up towards McKenzie
Bridge, stopping at Vida Cafe, opposite the McKenzie River, surrounded by pine forest but
very humid. There we had hot dog and coleslaw, plenty of water and 7 up. John lets me know
that he is feeling the heat, but he’s O.K. The river is ever present on our right with rapids and
white water rafting, we’re climbing to 1,200’ and at Finn Rock it’s time to strip off and me to
become Huckleberry Finn and have a swim. We enjoyed the swim in very cold water which
was coming from the snow fields high in the Cascade mountains. We just dried off in the sun,
got dressed and back on the road, still climbing to 1,500’ to McKenzie Bridge. There, it was
time to stop for a beer, in fact 2. The lady who served me said as I finished the first bottle,
“Gee, did that bottle have a hole in the bottom?”. We sat outside her store and spoke to
inquisitive and interested Americans. It’s almost 5pm. and we soon get to Horse Creek Lodge
where we are greeted by Sharon, with whom I had negotiated and she fixed the cost of our
overnight stay at $35. We are in a cabin, deep in the forest and it is the height of luxury with
2 king sized beds, 2 sinks, a shower and bath, T.V., easy chairs, radio, very comfortable. A
good bath is needed and we set some organisation in place, so that each of us knows what
is happening. There are always jobs to do, keeping the bikes clean and in good order there-
fore regular checks must be done, clothes have to be washed each day, preparation for the
following day has to be set in place, keeping our diaries well informed, post cards, letters to
write. All future overnight stays need to be booked or we need to inform our friends that
we are on schedule. A time to relax and assess that days progress and what it really means
to each of us. I know right now that I look forward to the next day, each day so far has been
a wonderful experience and if tomorrow is half as good, it will still be good and I just know
I’m going to be happy, who couldn’t be out there in ‘God’s wilderness’, I am so grateful
for everything so far. Once we have got sorted we go back out onto the main road to the
Log Cabin where I had a Chuck wagon steak wrapped in bacon , mushrooms with soup, salad
with 1,000 islands, beer, water and lots of it which cost $15. The night walk back through the
forest looking for any signs of wild life, hearing night sounds and looking at skies through the
tops of the pine trees, was another bonus. We talked to Sharon regarding our next days ride,
we already knew it was going to be a tough day. Our contact with our next Police friends
at Sisters was George Winterfeld. He had warned us that we may not be able to come up
McKenzie Pass which is usually open for only 6 weeks each year due to the Pass being snowed
up, however he had done his homework for us and said that the snow had cleared and that we
ought to be alright, but it will be a hard days ride!. Sharon was very helpful and enthusiastic
about our ride and we had our last drink with her. John had managed some rest earlier so
he was on form, however a good nights sleep was priority. I managed to relax and listen to
some good tracks before falling asleep.
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Up and about for 7am. on Tuesday, 18th. August, ’92 and on the road by 8am. after repairing a
puncture. It is a cooler morning with a pleasant breeze, the scenery is worth seeing along Hwy.
126 and on after we turn onto the 242 along the scenic route up McKenzie Pass (the old Oregon
Trail). The route is pine tree lined , we have set off without breakfast, hoping to get as much
mileage in before it gets too hot and it is already very humid and hot too. Our progress is
between 3 and 15 mph, we have more punctures, however we see more and more wildlife, we
hear muskrats chattering, buzzards fly high above the tree tops, another ‘belt’ snake, red
squirrels, butterflies and dragon flies seem to be floating just ahead of us in the warm breeze.
There is a most pleasant pine and wine smell in the air and it is only when I went into the woods
to ‘do what a man’s got to do’, that I realised the wine smell was fermenting brambles and very
tasty they were too. The McKenzie River flowed beside or down beside us on our right as we
weaved our way along the ‘Oregon Trail’ where we would see interpretive signs with stories of
how the ‘Overlanders’ coped with the conditions in their days. We knew that there was no-
where to get drinks so we carried what we were able and although the river bubbled with white
water, it was too far down into the valley to use our energies. We stopped a ‘hippy vehicle’
which was painted in psychadellic pictures and the couple gave us drinks. John looked at his
can and stated, “It’s bloody diet”, he hadn’t meant to offend and as it was he didn’t, he was
more concerned about getting some real sugar inside himself and quick. We’ve climbed
2,000’ and on through 3,000’, with more punctures. John finds it easier to get off the bike and
walk now and again and we are stopping every half hour. By the time we ride through 4,000’
we are entering the lava fields of Belk Mountain and there is no shade, it is extremely hot and
we are still climbing through a shimmering haze. We can see snow capped mountain tops to
our right, Three Fingered Jack and The Three Sisters with glaciers. The lava fields have dead
log poles sticking out from them and you can see how far the lava had rolled on down the Pass,
it is really hot now as we ride on through 5,000’ and need more drink, we are starting to get
the ‘bonk’. There in the haze, ahead of us was a pickup parked, there was a lady and I believe
her grand daughter sat in the shade of the canopy. In that shimmering heat haze I certainly
could not be sure that what I was seeing was not a mirage. We got to the pickup and said we
would appreciate some drink. Our luck was in, for there was a large container of water
in the shade of that canopy, so we sat in the shade and enjoyed that very welcome and most
tasty drink. It is like a cauldron now as we slowly make our way to the viewing area at
the crest of McKenzie Pass at 5,325’. Here we stop to admire the views all around, there are
vehicles and visitors who must have travelled up the Pass from Sisters, as no other vehicles
had passed us from the western side. We asked about availability of water and we were told
that Cold Spring was about 2 miles down the road, well marked and off the road into the
forest. We have just travelled 27 miles and it has taken us 5 hours, a gruelling ride, but we are
now going down hill all the way to Sisters. We start looking for Cold Spring around 2 miles
and after 8 miles we finally reach the signs. We parked the bikes off the road and walked on
into the forest, appreciating the cooler shade. There it was, a spring coming out of the hill-
side, a Garden of Eden and did we need it. John was suffering more than I and after he had
drank, he laid down and was soon ‘in the land of nod’, so he didn‘t see the muskrats, butter-
flies, dragon flies, chickadees, squirrels, and many small birds which visited that ‘peaceful
place’ and played about us. My thoughts were, “I must bring my Barbara here, one day”.
Back on the road refreshed and still descending, we see Llama on the plains and begin to
wonder, why. As we reach the outskirts of Sisters we find a general store, we need some high
energy drinks and chocolate bars, so John went for the drinks and I was choosing the eats when
I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned and looked upwards to a smiling face and this large cow-
boy said, “Mr. Peter Howe, I presume”. He shook my hand and introduced himself and his
wife, George and Barbara Winterfeld, who were to look after us that evening. George is
6’8” and 280lbs, a retired Detective Inspector and a real kindly soul, as is Barbara. They are
Lutherans and their care, consideration and compassion was ever present. Although we have
travelled only 42 miles, they have been the most testing, so far. We load the bikes onto the
Chevy pickup and en-route to George and Barbara’s log home, we call at a cycle shop for more
repair kits, much needed. Leaving Sisters we travel onto the high plains and reach George and
Barbara’s home, which George and his family had built during the last 8 years of his service,
It really is, ‘The Little House on the Prairie’, it stands alone with hardly any other housing
within half a mile. The distant backdrop are the snow-capped Cascade range of mountains and
in the distance, The Rockies, breathtaking and there was the smell of sagebrush. Our abode for
the night was the mobile home, parked beside their home. On entering their Log home, the
ground floor is one large room which incorporates a sitting area, dinning room, kitchen and a
study. Their home is very different, a large grandfather clock has pride of place, there are lots
of meaningful quotes to comfort and encourage, we meet Grrrr, their cat. Once we have washed
up and got sorted, we enjoyed Romanoff (meat balls and pasta,) salad, fresh warm bread, cherry
cheese cake, tea and beer. There was some Police speak, George was so interested in knowing
more about the British Bobbie and I too was interested in his service, which left John asking
many questions. We were able to make arrangements with our hosts for the following evening
and to let Dale and Pam Trink know that we were on schedule. To finish off a wonderful day,
we climbed into a hot tub and relaxed, listening to cayotes and other night sounds, the skies
very dark, with endless stars. Then back to the mobile home, John is in the back and I’m in
the compartment above the drivers area, I know I’m going to sleep well tonight and with my
music I’m helped along, I recall hearing ‘Home, home on the range!’, or was I already
dreaming.
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Wednesday, 19th. August, ’92, I was up and about for 7am, the cayotes were still calling. The
weather is very pleasant but another hot day is expected. We sat out on the verandah looking
out to the snowcapped mountain tops and had breakfast of muffins, eggs over easy, syrup, grape
juice, tea and plenty of water.. The bikes were loaded to take us back to where we were picked
up yesterday and we made a 9.15am. start, it is cooler, cloudier but it soon cleared and became
hot. We are on the high plains through Redmond and passed Eagle West Falls, seeing lots of
Canadian geese, some 3” scorpion like insects scurrying across the road. We’re now seeing
Ranches and passed a Christmas ‘all the year round’ shop, Santa Clause centre and reindeer
centre. As we descended further into a bowl to Prineville it’s got hotter again and the views are
spectacular. Here we meet up with Dale at the Court house and he too is a jolly, larger than
life ex. Police Officer. We are taken to the Central Oregon Newspaper office where we were
introduced to Kate Fredrickson who interviewed us and photographs taken, for an article about
our ‘cycle challenge’. We much appreciated Dale’s organisation in setting up this interview.
We loaded the bikes into Dale’s van and travelled a short distance to Dale and Pam’s ranch
where we met Pam and Bonney (13yrs), we were made to feel at home. We had a short tour
of their 10 acre small-holding ranch seeing sheep, rams, goats, alsation, cats and rabbits, it all
seems so idyllic and the setting was once again wonderful. We had made good time so we had
a late lunch of tuna sandwiches and had time to clean up, wash our gear, make our diaries up
and rest a while. Dave and Joanne had been invited for a B.B.Q. and we knew we were going
to eat well, the steaks were huge, accompanied by sweet corn, salad, wine, peaches and ice
cream. We were able to make a further link to T.F.M. radio back in Cleveland, England and
Dale was interviewed too, which he enjoyed and appreciated. There was a welcome letter
awaiting me from Barbara….’thankyou my love’. The company for the evening was most
pleasant and I for one appreciated their efforts to make us feel at home and we did. We were
able to make reservations at our next ‘port of call’, for the following evening, at Skyhook motel,
Mitchell. In conversation, Dale told us he was Director of a consortium who owned pedigree
Llamas and hoped to make a ‘killing’ by breeding and selling for stock and pets, I found this
venture to be ‘typically American’. John begins to get very tired and I need to write some notes
and listen to my music. Bonney has given up her room for me for which I am most thankful,
so I have her hi-fi system to play my tapes of music. We said our goodbyes to our hosts and
settled in for the night, another memorable day.
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Thursday, 20th. August, ’92 at 7am. and the day looks good again, but hot. Our breakfast of
eggs, bacon (but not as we know it) very crispy, muffins, hash browns, plenty of water, tea and
fruit juice. I was able to make a telephone call to Barbara, which was an unexpected joy.
The bikes were checked, loaded and Dale took us back into Prineville to start our days ride at
8.10am. after checking with Central Oregon newspaper, that they would be sending copies of
their newspaper containing our interview, to our homes back in England. We thanked the staff
and our host - would we ever meet again, I hoped so. Our route takes us onward and upwards
to Ochoco Pass, the first of many to come, taking us from 3,000’ to 4,720’ with beautiful
Juniper trees and nature at it’s best in real cowboy surroundings. We pass an Ostrich farm and
see eagles about us (colour of sparrow hawks but 5 times bigger, maybe Golden eagles). We
pass Mount Batchelor Academy and see students practicing self defence, then stopping at a
lay-by to use the toilet (gross), we then meet a Mr. Buchanan, 73yrs of age who had been
hunting and he was interested in our endeavours and offered us water melon, which went down
a treat. We then came across road works and a female ‘flagger’ who asked about our ride and
urged us to eat at ‘The Blueberry Muffin’ in Mitchell. There was to be many occasions when
we would experience ‘road side smells’ and we soon came across a dead deer with a large
vulture sitting on the fence nearby, however it decided to fly off and it returned to come in
behind John, he thought it was coming in for the kill, quite a sight. Our route is undulating and
we pass Sergeant Rock and stop to eat bagles, cream cheese, bananas, dried fruit and plenty of
water. Here the rock formation is spectacular and when descending some of the scenes are
‘Megamungusly beautiful’ (one of Dale’s sayings), we made many stops to take in the views.
On into Mitchell, calling at a general store for drinks and post cards, the proprietor said he had
been over in the U.K. towards the end of the 2nd. World War, he too showed interest in our
ride. We tried checking in at Skyhook Motel, but no-one there until 4.30pm., so we found ‘The
Blueberry Muffin’, learning it was open until 8pm. We wrote our diaries up and several post
cards and we learned that the whole of the town of Mitchell had been hit by flash floods with
400 people dying in 1940, therefore the town is now built on the hill-sides. John is flat out on
the grass beside Skyhook Motel, it’s 97 in the shade and below 20 per cent humidity (hard on
the throat when cycling). We see lizards here for the first time. Jena greets us at ‘Skyhook
Motel’ and fixes our accommodation at $15. We need the time to get washed up and relax and
on to Blueberry Muffin, on foot, it’s like a real cowboy town, unfortunately too many cars are
passing through. I took a photograph of an old Model T Ford (the kind you would see Laurel
and Hardy travelling in!). Pauline served us at Blueberry Muffin, I had Chicken steak, eggs,
hashbrowns, muffins, cream, jelly and lots of Mountain dew, it cost $7.65, we were made very
welcome. I said we would be in for breakfast, Pauline shouted through to the kitchen,
“They’re in for breakfast”, the reply was, “O.K. hun”, I then said, “About 6.10am.”, Pauline
shouted , “They’ll be in at 6.10am.”, the reply was, “Well, I’ll be doggone”…this caught my
sense of humour!, and there would be many more to come. Back to the motel and I gave Jena
one of our pennants and a Mayor’s letter of gratitude, I believe we ought have paid at least $45
for our accommodation. We have an early start in the morning so an early night beckons,
accompanied by my music….the end of another memorable day.
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It is still dark as we get moving at 5.30am. on Friday, 21st. August, ’92, it’s cooler now and the
forecast is for it to be so. Down to Blueberry Muffin and we meet a couple of truckers, one
who is very talkative and inquisitive about our ‘venture. We said our goodbyes as he and the
other truckers left. I had cheese omelette and mountain dew and as we went to pay for our
meals, Pauline said that the ‘trucker’ had paid for our meals, I said, “Marvellous”, Pauline said,
“He will be repaid in full I’m sure”, how right she will be. We met Christopher Postema, a
Dutch cyclist who had been on the road since 12th. July, ’92 travelling West to East but via.
a different route and not all the way across U.S.A., he had heard about the Blueberry Muffin.
I’m starting out without a hat on, as it is much cooler and more pleasant for cycling and we are
soon climbing on up to Keyes Creek summit at 4,357’. The ride down from the summit is a
picture, a little like North Yorkshire moors. There are deer with their fawns and many hawks
overhead. On down to Picture Gorge with differing rock strata, sometimes looking like
The Wainstones back home but reddish in colour. The lands are beginning to look barren,
less trees with tumbleweed and sage brush. I have a spoke break, I have spares so I’m able to
fix it temporarily, the wheel is not true. On into Dayville and I managed some help from two
hunters to true the wheel. We stocked up with chocolate bars and drinks, also some more post
cards and I tried a few Stetson hats on!. Leaving Dayville we went on by Picture Hills (Indian
pictures on the hillside), quite a sight. On to Mount Vernon and the land is getting drier with
no tree cover. I get a second broken spoke which I am able to fix and we ride on in to John
Day, where we find a cycle shop and the owner obliges by truing the wheel for $2. His son
and him are interested in our ride, where we are from, also our accents!, they say they will
get the atlas out that evening. We tried some motels and B & B’s but they were pricey. I told
John that I would try the local Police Station to see if they could recommend somewhere to
stay and eat. At the Police Station we were met by two helpful officers who said that the
County Fair was on and that just about everywhere was full. However, they made telephone
calls and we were soon booked in at Gold Country motel. We received a ‘voucher’ which
was courtesy of the local Police, so I left a pennant and letter of appreciation. I fixed another
puncture and we go on to our motel, handing the ‘voucher’ to very interested owners. Our
room is very good, we’ve got a double bed and a put you up bed. Once more we get ourselves
organised so far as showers, washing, bike maintenance, diary up to date, post cards etc and we
are ready to eat. The town is busy with side-shows, horse breaking, roping and branding,
music, helicopter rides and the ‘real dudes’ are riding into town with their ‘long-rider’ coats
which cover the horses hind quarters, these cow boys really look the part and they will tell us
‘they are the real cow boys’. It is clouding over and spots of rain fall as we reach The Grub-
steak Mining Co. – Mother Lodes where I had Clam Chowder, Chicken breasts in sauce, beans,
bacon, cheese, rice and a few beers. John had Clam Chowder, T bone steak, baked potatoes
and beer, the lot cost $32 which was not expensive but more than the average price. We’ve
reckoned to eat twice as much and pay half as much as back home. We wrote a few post cards
and went on to see what the County Fair had to offer. A lot of work had been put into the Fair
with animals being shown, cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, flowers, fruit, vegetables, a fairground
with attractions, a real piece of western history. I enjoyed walking around the stalls and seeing
happy people (all cow boys and girls), we must have looked somewhat out of place, short hair
and all!. There was James and Liam Banks Rodeo Band playing C & W music, so we sat up
in the balcony and listened, joined in and I thoroughly felt the experience. The band consisted
of 1 base, 3 rhythm and lead guitars, fiddle and drums with most of them singing and enjoying
themselves. As we made our way back to the motel I wished I could buy some of the buck-
skin gear and T shirts to be able to show back home!. We are expecting an early start in the
morning and the forecast is for cooler weather. I noticed that the floral decorations are dried
flowers and teasels. Another special day and it is time to rest and reflect with my musical
friends. I had expected the Police to have said, “And be out of town by 8am.” (classed as
Drifters passing through…having been given the ‘voucher’.) We’re also in the John Day
Fossil bed region and it would be good to have been able to stay a while, but we have a job
to do and a schedule to keep to.
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We make a 5.30am. start on Saturday, 22nd. August, ’92, there’s a dew in the air and we are out
on the road for 6.5am. For the first time, I’ve got a light top on over a T shirt and my hands
are cold first thing. We see lots of deer leaping/crossing the road and herds in the fields,
plus buzzards, vultures, a black and white wood-pecker and a dead porcupine, no wonder the
buzzards and vultures were ‘hanging about’. We’re on through Prairie City and climbing again
to Dixie Summit and on into Austin Junction from 3,500’ to over 5,277’ and down to 4,600’.
we stopped at Austin Junction for tea and learned that there was ‘snow in Montana’, which for
us is 5 days away. We continue to rise and fall over Tipton and Sumpter summits at 5,124’ and
5,082’ before arriving in Baker City at 3,600’. On our way we called at Jefferson Cafe where
we talked to the owner about the ‘gold seekers’, with the Powder river now running alongside
us and a large ‘gold digger machine’ dated 1861 beside the cafe. Beside the cafe was McEwan
School house with lots of memorabilia of prospecting days with sculls, tools, skins and
photographs. We’ve seen green peckers, more hawks, herons and wild turkeys on our way
into Baker. We called at the Municiple Office, signed the visitors book and obtained a list of
motels which took us to Western Motel at $33 where we were not far from the rail road with
the sound of Union Pacific railway trains. Another puncture fixed, bike cleaned, especially
the chain and gearing. The bath was very welcome and after washing up, diary up to date and
time to relax, we went to Inland Cafe. It’s been raining hard, the wind is favourable, should
it continue through the night. I ate veal steak, mixed veg’, French fries, soup, salad, 7 up and
tea which cost $8.25. I’ve seen more teazles and notice the rock strata, like basault, good
shapes, a bit like Scotland, weather wise too. Walking back to settle the meal we see a covered
wagon in the main street and lots of cow boy tack shops, also typical saloons, which we will
soon try!. Back at the motel, some more post cards and diary up to date before resting the
bones and listening to some good music, ready for it.
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Sunday, 23rd. August, ’92 and we make our way along the main street for breakfast at the
‘Stockmans Cafe’, the morning is cool, clear and quiet. As we enter the cafe we realise we
are amongst many retired local men, most with their walking sticks and this is their regular
Sunday morning meeting place. I hear one of them say, “No rest for the wicked”, to which
another said, “I guess us good guys don’t need any”. Then another asked, “George, you’ll
be going to church?’, to which George replied, “Sure am, I’ve got a whole load of repenting
to do”. Then a late arriver was greeted with, “Hi, Joe, we thought you’d died”, to which he
replied, “Well, you know I’ve still got the bride and she can be pretty hornry “. I got the
impression that this place had many a tale to tell and those present were keeping the stories
going. We were pleased to have dropped in but were on the road for 7.45am and soon at
Campbell where we came across a ‘farm implement sale’, there were antiques/old tractors,
harvesters, ploughs, trailers, buses, cars, wagons and we were soon to learn that Sundays
are not just for going to church, we would see many a ‘garden. yard, garage’ sale. So, after
going to church people would make there way home and visit all the sales along the way for
that bargain or someone elses tat. We pushed on to Flagstaff Hill where we came across an
Oregon Trail Memorial with many a tale of the ‘Overlanders’ hardships, we felt humbled by
their endeavours in those days. Looking out from Flagstaff Hill, I imagined seeing a lone
Indian on horseback making his way across the prairie with a dust storm in the distance, or
was it a herd of bison!. We soon reached the Powder River on our right and we followed
it’s course, every corner turned is a real eye opener, shoals of carp, kingfishers, eagles,
buzzards. I saw and heard a large eagle calling from a nearby crag, there was a car parked
nearby and a man was climbing the lower slopes. The eagle took flight down to the river and
the man did not seem best pleased, it was a beautiful sight. We stopped at a roadside cafe/
house where the cowboy proprietor produced a diary for us to enter our visit therein and we
noted that the last rider to pass through was on the 8th. August, ’92. We passed the time of day
as we sat in the shade of this ‘shack’. Soon after, I had another spoke break, I soon fix it and
we are on our way. The day has improved from cool to warm and very pleasant. We reach
Richland where I was able to get the rear block off, so as to replace the broken spoke and true
the wheel with help from garage staff. We called at a local cafe and had turkey and cheese
sandwich and salad with coke, which cost $4. I bought 5 ‘button buddies’ for, Anna, Laura,
Naomi, Julie and Barbara and in talking to the proprietor who was making ‘Yorkshire
Puddings’, I was able to tell her that I was a Yorkshire man from the city of York and that
Yorkshire puddings are a favourite back home. We climbed on up the Pass to 3,653’ and
the views looking back onto the plain were superb. We then had a long run down to our
next overnight stay at Halfway and on the way in we stopped at a rodeo where we watched
roping and branding. Sitting on the fence I began to imagine being a cowboy (as in any film)
and in conversation with the locals who were inquisitive about our ‘venture, as a result I was
soon up in the saddle of a 3yr. old stallion and did I enjoy the experience. We’ve had yet
another very enjoyable and interesting days ride and we find accommodation at ‘Halfway
Motel’ at $35. Time once again to check the bikes over, to wash the gear we’ve worn today
and the bath was welcome. Time also to relax and make our diaries up to date. We go on
to Wild Bills for a pizza (Canadian ham, pineapple) and beer which cost $8.25. We wandered
the town and called at the Fire station, the locals were interested in our ‘venture, with our
short hair and dressed as we are, we are a curiosity. We also spoke to two other cyclists who
are taking 99 days to undertake the across U.S.A. challenge in the opposite direction. John
checks our route for tomorrow and it appears to be a more difficult and testing ride, but that’s
for tomorrow, today has been very good and to relax with my music, it’s been a perfect day.
Time now to sleep well and I think I did.
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It’s 6.15am. Monday, 24th. August, ’92 and another cool start, we have to remember we are at a
fair altitude (above Ben Nevis, if we were back home). We are aware of Hurricane Andrew
which is causing havoc in the south east of America and is making it’s way north west. Also,
in the news, Princess Sarah Ferguson is causing a stir with her antics on the sun lounger with
her American admirer. We’ve been made aware of the raging forest fires out of Boise, Idaho
and we know that we are going towards Oxbow and Brownlee Dam where the reservoir will
separate us from the raging fires. We are aware that we may have to detour (Pine Creek may
be closed) however we are able to get through and the road is undulating, sometimes steep.
As we turn towards Oxbow we see helicopters with bucket/sacks hanging beneath and they
descend to Brownlee reservoir to pick up water to drop onto the fire zones and we can smell
the burning fires now. The day is becoming hotter and we are now conscious of the deadly
‘Texas tack’ (or goat head seed) which is the cause of most of our punctures. This seed lies
in the gravel at the roadside and if perchance we are to ride into the gravel we are most likely
to suffer more punctures as the needles of the seeds stick into the tyre and a magnifying glass
and tweezers are needed to get the needles out of the tyre, quite a tiresome and painstaking
task but also very necessary. We learn to keep away from the roadside gravel and to stay off
the verges. We are crossing our first border from Oregon into Idaho and also a time zone,
putting our watches 1 hour forward, it’s now 12.35pm. The views are stunning, wild sun-
flowers, lots of butterflies and a large light brown moth (perhaps a Death head) with a large
wingspan, looks like a small bat and it glides in the thermals just ahead of us, also 3 snakes
lying fast asleep at the roadside and bulrushes beside the reservoir. We join a road which leads
down to Hells Canyon though we don’t have to travel that way (we would have had to drop
some 3,000’ and then climb back out and it has a reputation of being a forbidding place with
many snakes, extreme heat and cactus). We are able to get drinks and snacks at Gateway Lodge
cafe where we meet a Californian lady, Robin Parer who was about our age and her Australian
niece , Brooke Hutchinson, they are completing the across U.S.A. cycle challenge travelling
East to West, so our meeting was most helpful and informative. Along the way, we have
descended to 1,800’, back up to 4,131’, down to 2900’ and on up to Council at 3,100’ so quite
an interesting and testing day, one I would not have wanted to miss. I managed more Mountain
dew at Laskeys and John asked why I liked ‘mountain dew’, he was drinking coke. My only
explanation was, “Because I like it”, John then examined a can of mountain dew and he said,
“No wonder you like it, it’s got nearly 3 times more caffeine in it”. I have to say, I had noticed
that the drink did seem to give me a boost!. We passed through Cambridge where we saw a
game of American football being played, one of the teams was called ‘Bull Dogs’, (I took a
photograph because my two sons Kevan and David play in a 4 a side soccer team called the
Bull dogs.) On into Council and we found there was no accommodation so John went off to
check other motels whilst I called at the local Police Station and the Ace motel were able to
take us at $12.50 each (separate rooms), so we got settled in, washed up, diaries up to date and
bikes checked over. Where we are staying and other accommodation is taken primarily by
fire fighters and volunteers from all over the area, so we got to talk to some of them about the
job in hand, how vast the problem is and we learned that over 275.000 acres of land had been
burned/destroyed but that it was under control and some of the volunteers would be going
home tomorrow. John and I went through to the Grub steak cafe where I had liver and onions,
French fries, mixed veg’, soup, strawberry ice cream and a few beers which cost $7.50. John
knows he’s had a beer or two so he was ready for a good sleep and his own room too. I got
talking to one of the helicopter pilots and his crew which included a woman and they had been
operating in the Oxbow area, so I was able to tell him we had passed through there earlier in
the day. The pilot talked a lot about classic cars, 66/68 Mustangs, M.G.’s and Aston Martins
and they were very interesting people and interested too in what we were trying to achieve.
I walked the main street and took in the views, the sky and stars before resting my head and
getting a really good nights sleep. Some day!, thankyou. A backnote:- When we were in
Halfway we had sampled Boisenberry and Marianberry pie, it was wonderful, must tell my
Barbara.
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Tuesday, 25th. August, ’92, I’m up and about by 6am. wandered the main street. This town
has a ‘hard look about it’, I bet it has a reputation, the bars have that ‘Western shoot out’ look.
On returning to my room, though comfortable but pretty grotty, tobacco stained, high ceilings
with chandelier lighting, I guess it was once painted ‘off white’ in 1861, but it is very grey now,
linoleum on the floor and it has that feel of Wyatt Earp having just left. The bathroom is O.K.
with a bath\shower with pipes all over, situated in the middle of the room, like the one Meryl
Streep languished in as she fantasized over Robert Kinkade in the film Bridges of Madison
County!. We are on the road for 7am. it is cold this morning so we have to wear jackets.
This is logging country and we see the stacked logs with water being sprayed onto them. As
the water splashes off the logs it leaves icicles about 1’ long and the spray freezes before hitting
the ground and there on the grass is a field of what looks like ‘diamonds’. The sky is clear and
though it is warm in the sun, the route is now tree lined therefore in the shade and together with
a slight wind, the chill factor is very present, so much so John had to put thermal gloves on and
on the down hills we’re feeling the cold. We also have to contend with the logging trucks
(Oregon Toothpicks), they travel too fast and the road is two lane and narrow, with very little
or no hard shoulder, so we have to be on our guard. We hear the blast of the logging trucks
horn and in the main that means, “Get out of my way”, however, there are always the ‘good
guys’ who wave and give an encouraging blast, but they are a problem and can be alongside
you for minutes as they overtake, with two trailers it can be hairy. We climb on through
Tamarack at 4,250’, dropping down to New Meadow, Pinehurst, Pollock and Riggins seeing
many Blue peckers and lots of high flying eagles, often hovering menacingly overhead, at the
same time, a beautiful sight. There are many dead animals, possums, skunks (boy, do they
stink). With the Salmon River often beside us we often see white water rafting rapids and
shanty villages with as John puts it, “Disgustingly large caravans.” The Salmon River gets
broader and cuts through Salmon Canyon, we pass over the 45th. Parallel (half way between the
Equator and the North Pole). By Riggins we are onto pack 3 of the 12 packs of the route across
U.S.A. here we stop at ‘This Old House’ for soup, ham sandwiches and plenty to drink. We
took time to look at the ‘to scale’ profile of our route and John pointed out that we had ridden
10 passes and had another 14 to go, in The Rockies. I am enjoying the climbs and the day has
got warmer, here at 1,900’ I’m sitting outside with the sun warming the shoulders. We passed
over Salmon River several times and went into and out of the different time zones as a result.
We’re just in T shirts now, it has got hotter and we stopped at Lucille for drinks and spoke to an
old lady who talked about the gold diggers and that some sifting still goes on. Pushing on
alongside the Salmon River with it’s craggy rock formations, barren landscape and tinderbox
conditions we rode into White Bird (this town is on the side of White Bird Pass which we will
climb tomorrow) and is named after a Nez Perces native Indian Chief. We saw helicopters and
fire appliances and it became obvious that White Bird had many fire fighters and crews staying
there and we soon found there was ‘no room at the Inn’. I called at ‘The Mangy Moose’ where
I asked one of the bar staff if there was anywhere in the town that might help us and she said we
should go to ‘The Silver Dollar’ and see Reese, he might be able to help, so I rode along to see
Reese, he was about 4’10” and just about as broad/fat and I got the impression that he had been
drinking for perhaps 6 days (during the time the fires had raged). I put our problem to him and
he said, “I’ve got a shack up in the town, I’m doing it up and you can stay there,” and as he
looked up at me and raised a finger, he said, “But leave it as you find it and I might bring a
friend back so don’t come through the back”. Carrying a can of beer he then got in his little
car and drove up the main street with John and I following on behind. We arrived at a small
bungalow and on entering found there were hardly any furnishings. He showed us around and
one part of his D.I.Y. had been the bathroom, which turned out to be ‘probably the best and
most satisfying shower’ I took on the ride, the water power was therapeutic. So, our beds were
easy chairs pushed together and a sofa, our covers being curtains and a couple of cushions. We
sorted out as best we could, knowing we had an early and tough start in the morning and then
went looking for somewhere to eat. We’d had a couple of beers earlier and John bought some
milk for the morning which he said he would put in the fridge, we did not know if we could get
breakfast early next day. We had a meal at The Silver Dollar and joined 3 other cyclists who
were on a similar route to us but not travelling all the way across U.S.A. The bar was busy
with all kinds of folk who had volunteered to fight the fires (Coal miners, stockmen, lumber-
jacks etc) and all that night the beer flowed (draught into iced glasses) and we were never
allowed to pay. John started to feel tired and so returned to get his head down and hopefully
manage a good nights sleep (we realised with no heating it was going to be quite cold). I
stayed on in The Silver Dollar and got talking to a local about his way of life, he told me he
earned $8.65 per. hour, paid 25% tax and he had all on to run his car and pay for medical
insurance. For me, in that environment, I sort of returned to my ‘undercover days’ as a
detective and mixing with all these people who had been brought together to fight the raging
Idaho fires, I was really enjoying myself. They knew I had been a Police Officer and they
made me feel at home. As the night went on and the beers kept coming, I realised the night
was going to go on and on. Many of the customers went out to the back of The Silver Dollar
and there they started ‘throwing horseshoes’ (like our quoits) and I got drawn into competing.
I found I had my supporters and opposition and as the knockout rounds passed I found myself
in the final. I reckoned most of them were more under the influence than I was (the beer was
not that strong really), anyway I ran out the winner and it was only then that I was made aware
of the fact that ‘bets had been taken’ as to who would win and as a result $20 was given to me
for my fundraising (this is the kind of support we experienced in many ways as we went on our
way). I thanked them for their hospitality (all the free beers) and made my way back to the
‘shack’. I listened to some music on my Walkman and soon drifted off to sleep, however I
woke twice in the night to put more clothes on as it got colder, but I did sleep, thankfully.
Back note :- We stopped for drinks at Dee Dee’s Transport and met the most obnoxious
woman so far (totally out of character). I said, “She’s a witch without. her broom”, not a nice
lady.
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Up and about by 7.30am. on Wednesday, 26th. August, ’92, it is cool, clear and there are icicles
in the shaded areas. John went to the kitchen and what he thought was the fridge, only to find
he had put the milk in the freezer, so the milk was a block of ice trying to get out of the carton.
We heard the sound of ‘someone’ coughing and thought it may be Reese or his friend but we
did not enquire. I left a letter of appreciation and a pennant for Reese to find and we went on
down to the market store, which was open and we stocked up with chocolate bars, milk and
drinks for our bottles. We were soon climbing to White Bird summit at 4,100’ and we then
dropped down to 3,300’ to Grangeville where we stopped at Cross Roads for breakfast,
2 poached eggs, toast, jam, coke and hot chocolate. We continue to descend to Harpster and
we are alongside the Clearwater river travelling through the canyon and it is an absolute
picture, every turn and twist of the river, the sights are breathtaking. We make good progress
along the canyon, lots of interesting scenery and we start to see Historical Interpretive signs
with information about Lewis and Clark, we will see more and my interest in their expedition
will become so important to me. Crossing over the Clearwater river we see Osprey, one on
the nest and the other on top of a log pole, a beautiful sight. On into Stites where we called
at the Council Offices and spoke to Irene Noe. She explained that her family came to U.S.A.
from France in 1714 and that she made the ‘Who’s Who’ in 1979. We asked if we could make
a telephone link with T.F.M. radio back home and she spoke to Arlts Howard, the Mayor and
he agreed to our request, so we got to speak to Big Stu and we learned that many calls had been
made to T.F.M. about our challenge with lots of interest, thankfully. Irene continued her talk
about gold diggers, Indian reservations where we would meet Crow, Cheyenne and Blackfoot,
also the site of Custer’s last stand and Sitting Bull at Little Bighorn, this information was so
welcome and I wondered when and what we might see and learn. We pushed on through
Kooskie and on into Syringa where we called at Middlefork cafe where we decided we should
eat as the day was lengthening, so I had Chicken strips, soup, salad and drinks. We also made
the decision to telephoned forward to arrange accommodation at Wilderness Inn Motel, Lowell
at $35 and we then rode on with picture post card scenes all around us…more, more, more.
We checked in at the Motel, sorted the bikes out ready for another testing day tomorrow, got
cleaned up, washing done, diaries up to date. We had drinks, wrote our post cards and could
mention that we were watching Ospreys again. Before settling in we telephoned forward to
Lochsa Lodge to arrange accommodation at $27. Time now for a good sleep, so I’m soon in
relax mode with my music, the T.V. is rubbish.
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Thursday, 27th. August, ’92 and it promises to be a good day, weatherwise and we are going to
climb from 1,700’ to 4.000’ so we need to take high energy bars and plenty of drink with us,
not to mention a good breakfast of large pancakes, sausages, eggs tea, water, jam. We ate at
Wilderness Inn and met two of the three cyclists whom we had seen at White Bird. Outside
our window whilst having breakfast, we watched humming birds feeding, a beautiful sight
seeing such fragile birds. We are on the road for 8.15am. from where the Lochsa and Clear-
water rivers meet and we will have the Lochsa alongside us as we climb to Lochsa Lodge and
we know there is no other towns between, about 66 miles. We have some leaf cover so it is
cooler and we are seeing and hearing lots of crickets and grass hoppers. The scenery is craggy
rocks and white sandy beaches at some points along the river. We see Blue Jays, a Grey Fox,
lots more humming birds and pass many Historical Sites depicting battles with some great
names, Squaw, Papoose, Broken Arrow and we stopped at a Ranger Station as we neared
Lochsa. We also met Steve from New York who had a trailer hitched to his bike, he had a lap-
top and a guitar, he was recording his studies of tree roots and had been on the road for 4
months. With the comforting Lochsa River alongside us, occasionally we would see foot
bridges of rope and wooden lats and wondered where the homes would be in the forest. We
met a couple of cyclists from L.A. who were travelling in the opposite direction (she was
really fit!!). On arriving at Lochsa Lodge we were given log cabin No. 10, it is a dream,
straight out of a western film. My immediate thought was, “Why am I here alone, why isn’t
my Barbara with me?”. The log cabin had two King sized beds, a log fire and little else, the
shower and toilet block was nearby and each cabin had it’s own fences. We got ourselves
sorted, showers, cleaned up and I changed tyres, back to front, by now one of them is almost
bald and we need new ones really soon. Time to eat and it’s a 16oz. steak, shrimp, baked
potatoes, salad, soup and beer, this cost us $32 for both meals. Whilst eating a man came to
talk to us, he was of Russian origin and he was most interesting and interested in our ‘venture.
John really enjoyed talking to this man and he needed to say, “U.S.A. doesn’t know how well
off it is”, as his observations so far, were concerned. It’s been another marvellous day and if
tomorrow is half a good, I will be so grateful, so it is back to the log cabin with all the night
sounds, a coolness in the air and a tiredness, praying for a comfortable night.
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Friday, 28th. August, ’92, a new page (in my diary), a new day. I got up at goodness knows
what time it was (between 1 and 2am.) to go to the toilet block and as I emerged from Cabin 10
to see a most beautiful slate blue night sky, full of stars through the tops of the very tall pine
trees, it was to be savoured, so I sat on the fence and ‘thought of home and wished Barbara
could see this’ (one day perhaps). I did go back to sleep but our day started about 7.15am.
It is a cooler morning, but sunny and promises to be another fantastic day. We went for
breakfast and passed a filling station (gas supplied by Conocco), this company is one of my
named sponsors (through our oil and chemical industry company is on the site of I.C.I. near
to my home.) My breakfast was 6 sausages, hashbrowns, 2 eggs over easy!, tea, water, toast
and jam, costing $4.50. We got some more post cards, chocolate bars and drinks for our days
ride. We are soon climbing and this can have an effect on tired well used muscles, first thing
in the morning, it demands patience (I know that the tortoise will always get there at the end of
the day!!) We are uphill from 4,000’ to Lola Pass at 5,235’ and it gets the lungs opened. There
is the pleasant smell of brambles all the way up the pass and the river runs down to our right.
We reached a historical site and whilst reading the information a large Buick pulled up, a man
got out and walked to us, put out his hand, saying, “Hi, my name is Bill Clinton, how is your
day?” (He wasn’t THE Bill Clinton), but he obviously made mileage out of his name and the
fact that the elections were taking place soon, he showed a great deal of interest in our ride and
I guess, when he saw and read the information on the T shirt I was wearing it caused him to
mention that his wife had had ovarian cancer, having had the last chemo’ in ’85 and all clear
now, which thankfully made for a positive story. He also mentioned that the weather was likely
to turn colder and that snow was a possibility. We climbed Lola Pass, stopping at another
Historical Site relating to Lewis & Clark and there took time to speak to a most pleasant female
warden before continuing and crossing the next state border into Montana. There are wonderful
rock formations and the crests of the mountains are razor like and snow capped. On to Lola Hot
springs, down hill and making good mileage and time. We met a couple who had been on the
road, cycling for 4 months (male and female), they had tremendous tans and were heading for
Eugene. With the breeze at our shoulder we were moving along at 22 to 30 mph, we see lots of
horses, ranches, fields, homesteads and Lola mountain at 9,000’ to our right as we are crossing
high plains. Back note :- (Montana Blessing – May your vision be as boundless as our sky.
May your soul have the strength of our mountains. May your life be as peaceful as our gentle
snow and may your days be numbered as the trees in the forests.) At Lola we spoke to a local
lady who said there was only one motel in Stevensville, I checked my tyres and they are just
about ‘holding up’, but we do need new ones and soon. We leave the main highway and we’re
now on the Old 93 (it makes me think of the old ‘skiffle song’ – Wreck of the Old 97) and with
the wind favouring us we soon pass through Florence and as the wind changes against us we
stop at a Post Office to send films etc to our wives. We see another snake and phew!, another
skunk, before stopping at the County bar where we have a beer with Don, (he wouldn’t let us
buy). We telephoned forward to St. Mary’s Motel, Stevensville and booked accommodation at
$35. We reached Stevensville by 4.30pm. and whilst John was getting cleaned up, I sat out at
the front of the motel to write my diary up and some post cards, the sun was most pleasant.
John telephoned forward to Lost Trail Hot Springs (our next overnight stop) and booked at $46.
We also know that we must stop for tyres at Hamilton. I sorted the bike out for tomorrow,
washed my gear and had a very welcome bath before going for something to eat and ‘were we
ready for it’. I had chicken legs, egg rolls, meat pasties, potato bits, Mountain dew and short
bread cookies, costing $9.50. We talked with a local family who were interesting and very
interested in our ride and our stories created some humour, (John falling off his bike, buzzards
overhead, waiting for us, the time changes crossing the Snake River.) Before leaving the cafe,
we made sure we would be alright for breakfast and they are open from 6am., however we don’t
have to make an early start. John reads the papers available and laughs at the judgements in
matrimonial cases (‘we ain’t spoken in a month, she sleeps on the sofa and grunts when I come
in’, ‘does her brother still handle divorces?’). We called at a bowling alley and had a beer
before making our way back to the motel and I’m soon into my world of Walkman music
before sleeping.
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At 2.45am. on Saturday, 29th. August, ’92 I woke and thought of my Barbara, who would be
getting ready to go to a wedding, I soon ‘nodded off’ and slept until 7.30am. The day is cooler
but seems to be a little like yesterday, so all should be good. We went along to St. Mary’s
filling station cafe where I had sausage/cheese buns and milk which cost $4.65 before returning
to our cabin and motel to telephone Hamilton cycle shop to see if they had the 700 x 32 tyres
we needed and that we would be at the shop around 11am. We took a look at the scene to the
rear of our cabin with the Bitterroot mountain ridge snow capped with overnight snowfall. We
set off, climbing to Corvallis, a small, tidy provincial town with 4 churches, spoiled only by
cars abandoned at the outskirts. There are more dead skunks en-route, ranches, beef, horses
and sheep stock. I noticed signs which appealed to me, (Laura Lane and Mockingbird Creek).
On into Hamilton where we found Valley cycles, buying the tyres needed and sun glasses. The
new tyres were fitted before heading off to Darby where I saw a sign at Wilderness Motel
(Fishing is not Life or Death, it’s more important), here I bought apples and ate one. On into
Connor and we’ve climbed from 3,300’ to 4,000’, here we stopped for a turkey sandwich and a
drink which cost $3.30. Riding these undulating roads is so picturesque and as we coast down
a pass we came upon Bunky Ranch which had a re-enactment scene of ‘Custer’s Last stand” on
its land. We stopped and saw the headstone and other memorabilia and we were then greeted
by a stocky middle aged cowboy called Smutt Warren who showed incredible enthusiasm for
his Ranch and his Museum which we were soon to visit. He was very interested in what we
were doing and he asked if I would let him have one of my T shirts for his museum. I explained
that I only had the ‘two T shirts’ for my ride, but that I would send him a T shirt, signed with
messages from John and I, once I’d returned home and Smutt promised to send me a donation
for our chosen causes. His museum was quaint ,when thinking of America’s history and one
important item was a ‘dentist’s chair’, which Smutt insisted we sit in and have our photographs
taken, we obliged. I took a brochure relating to Bunky Ranch and ‘dreamed’ of perhaps one
day returning to stay here and go hunting or fishing, I’m dreaming again. We said our farewell
and climbed on to 5,300’ to Lost Trail Hot springs and our cabin was way into the forest, a
great setting. I left John to sort himself out, I went for a soak and swim in the Hot springs
pool, very relaxing and it was warm enough to sit out on deck chairs to write my diary up and
also post cards and listen to Walkman. I returned to the cabin and washed my gear and then
sorted my bike out ready for tomorrow. I had a bath, felt really good and ready for something
to eat. The restaurant is Mexican so I had Chicken taco, Enchillados, French fries and a few
beers. John asked about Law and my Crime Squad work and we had a very interesting and
involved debate. We know we can’t get breakfast before leaving in the morning so we stock
up with chocolate bars ready for tomorrow’s ride and we know we will be climbing for about
6 miles from our start. Back at the cabin, John always likes to study his route and I respect his
thoroughness, he often describes what we are to expect, personally I prefer to encounter the
next days challenge without knowing too much about it, but it makes some sense of our
differing personalities. We are on schedule and keeping to John’s route and his plans, so he
is most content. We have had words on occasions, due to the Police hospitality which has
taken us slightly off route in the early days, however it is all a case of ‘give and take’. I do
realise that John’s planning is second to none and he is having to give a little to accommodate
the Police hospitality involved and my purpose is also driven by my fund raising effort. I
soon settle with Walkman and good melodies.
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Sunday, 30th. August, ’92 and it’s 8.15am. when I awoke to a clear day and it looks good again.
We decide to get on the road and find somewhere to eat, if possible. We’re straight onto the
Lost Trail Pass road, climbing all the way, this certainly opens the lungs!. We keep on keeping
on (another American saying) to our highest peak yet at 7,242’ at Chief Joseph Pass, crossing
the Continental Divide. From here we learn much about Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces tribe
and the battle at Big Hole against General Howard and his troops. The tragic story told of
Chief Joseph (a proud man) who died of a broken heart, when he and his tribe were forced to
leave their home lands, never to return. We visited the interpretive centre at Big Hole and the
photographs of Chief Joseph certainly depict him as a ‘proud man’. We have dropped down to
the battlefields so the ride was relaxing, we saw another porcupine and a mole, plus chipmunks
so I wrote ‘Cheeky Charlie Chipmunk’ for Laura. The countryside is beautiful, vast plains and
Big Hole (the result of volcanic activity) with mountain ridges in the distance which is the
perimeter of the volcanic hole. The road across the prairie is straight and in the distance we
determine that we are seeing our first buffalo, herds causing a dust cloud. We push on to
Wisdom, dropping to 6,100’ where we stop for our first meal of the day at Pioneer Mountain
Restaurant. I had Mushroom Swiss burger, soup and drinks, very tasty, costing $5. We then
climbed out of Wisdom, on to Jackson to 6,300’ and as we entered the town, we heard a voice
shouting Prince Andrew and looking across at Roses Cantina we saw a man waving (he had
seen the Union Flags on our bikes) and we later learned he was the proprietor of Roses Cantina
and his name was Andrew, also with Hurricane Andrew causing untold damage down in the
South East of America he was making mileage of the newspaper articles regarding Prince
Andrew’s wife ‘Fergy’ and her recent promiscurity with an American (photographs of her on
a deck chair having her toes sucked by her new admirer!.) We called to see Andrew and had
a couple of beers, there we me another cyclist, Jim Kloss who had set out from Maine in ’91,
had had to hold up in the winter and would be on the road into ’93, he seemed to be a cycling
drifter. He was tall and extremely thin, he was sat on a tall stool and I saw him doing what I
had only ever seen a woman do and that was to cross his legs three times (across his thighs,
behind his calves and then across his ankles), ‘that’s how thin and wiry he was’. We checked
in at Jackson Hot Springs Motel at $37 and also spoke to the barman who was to arrange our
next overnight stay at Twin Bridges, he knew the owners. We got ourselves sorted, I again
decided to relax in the Hot Springs pool and then to sit out and write my diary up, cards and
letters too. We were ready to eat and went on to Roses Cantina where I had Cod and French
Fries, Soup, Cherry Pie and beer. We got talking to Andrew and he was eager to relate the
U.F.O. story in Utah, at a ranch where 29 cattle and his father had died of radiation/cancer, he
said his father saw a ‘green frog like man’ and there were sightings of U.F.O’s. John also
introduced the subject of ‘corn circles’ and produced post cards to engender discussion!!. It
was still pleasant enough to sit out on the front porch of Roses, where I had a photograph
taken wearing a Stetson, drinking my beer and relaxing ‘outside the saloon’. We returned to
our motel and had a last beer and it was time to relax and listen to my music and zzzz’s.
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John was up and about by 7.15am. on Monday, 31st. August, ’92 and the day looks good, the
morning air is fresh and clear. John is really into ‘dreams’ (he had one during the night). We
have to fix a blown tyre before starting out. Back note :- last night as we reached our motel,
we spoke to the owner of the motel and she said, “Good night”, then she said, “It’s bottling
time” and I have to say, I did not follow up on the comment. However, as we entered a part
of the motel, we saw many hands, ‘filling bottles with spring water’ and we learned that the
bottles were going to Florida as part of the relief aid following the devastation caused by
Hurricane Andrew. We went on to Roses Cantina for breakfast and saw Andrew, who was
keen to talk about the ‘Nazca Lines’ and the ‘corn circles’. I had ham, eggs, hash browns,
toast, tea and then went on our way with Andrew saying, “Chinese say, have a rice day”. We
make our way up Big Hole Pass to 7,360’ and the climb gets the lungs and the muscles awake.
The climb is 10.3 miles, we see more fences, hay stacked, ranches are sparse now and the
colours of the mountains from black, through to sandy and brown, fantastic shapes all around
and we must be able to see 50/60 miles in each direction, with clear blue skies. From the
peak we have a long down hill run (cookie time) and I reach 42m.p.h. Then suddenly, I saw
a large grounded eagle ahead and to my left. I let John know, we were able to slow down and
stop quietly. I got off the bike and made my way towards the eagle, which let me get closer
and closer. There were cattle at the other side of a fence and they were making noise, I also
heard what I thought might have been young birds but never saw any. The eagle moved away
into the undergrowth but did not fly away, I could still get closer, getting to within 4’ of it.
It was a Golden eagle and it stopped, looked at me and rose up, opening it’s wings in a
defensive pose and I felt that it would gladly take a piece of my arm, if I went any closer. At
this point John had his camera and took a couple of photographs before the eagle ambled away
towards a spring, but did not fly off. We pondered as to why the eagle had let us get so close,
why it hadn’t flown off and why the cattle were making so much noise. I took a photo’
of these animals. We went on down to Badger Rock and Pass, here we saw a really neat
homestead (someone’s dream home and paradise). We pushed on to Dillon (I thought of the
stories I’d heard about Matt Dillon!). Here we stopped at the bank and called for something
to eat. We still have a long run down to Twin Bridges at 4,800’ where we are booked in at
King’s Motel at $30, here we meet Mel Petersen whose family came to America from the
U.K. in the 1700’s. Mel also made arrangements for us to stay at our next and only port of
call at Cameron at $42. Time to get cleaned up, sorted and organised ready for tomorrow,
so it is time to relax, write cards, letters and diary. Along the way, I’ve been writing to most
of my family and friends back home and some cards to schools where the children and
teachers are supporting me, so I’m using subjects like wildlife, characters with Mark Twain
like stories of the countryside, especially stories for Laura about Sydney Skunk etc. Ready
for something to eat so we went along the main street to Blue Anchor Cafe where I had
Mushroom and Steak, mushroom soup, peach turnover and beer, very acceptable it was too.
Here we met a couple that were staying at King’s Motel, they were Joseph and Greta Scodro
from Indiana and were enjoying a fishing trip. We thoroughly enjoyed their company and
their eagerness to encourage us. We walked the main street to ease the meal off a little and
wandered the cafes, bars, hardware shops, antique and general stores. It’s once more time to
take stock of the wonderful day we’ve just lived and to relax ready for tomorrow. I think John is soon into his ‘dreams’, he’s grunting and snoring….sleep well pal!, I’ve got my
music to keep me company.
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Tuesday, 1st. September, ’92, it is 7am and another beautiful day with clear blue skies, no wind
and the forecast is for it to remain that way, so we can expect the day to be somewhat like
yesterday, we have been blessed so far. We went along to the Blue Anchor for breakfast of
toast, jam, tea, I’m not too hungry this morning and returned to say our goodbyes to Mel, Joe
and Greta. This resulted in Mel handing me a cheque for $30 made out to C.C.C.C. and Joe
and Greta handed me a $50 note for our fundraising, these gestures were very much heartfelt
and appreciated. We went on our way with the kindness and hospitality shown to us once
again. We’re climbing again to Sheridan, we’re seeing ‘crawlers’ (massive wheeled watering
implements which stretch for 300’), which are continually on the move, crawling over the land
watering it. Making good time we pass through Sheridan and on up to Laurin and Alder, we
are seeing deer and pedigree cattle. Still climbing on to Nevada City, I have another spoke
break, which I was able to fix and here we seem to be in a time warp, this town is like a
film set or museum. It is a ghost town with an old railroad running through (Wells Fargo).
I also took photo’s of the old ‘Laurel and Hardy” style cars which were left abandoned. We
pushed on still climbing to Virginia City at 6,100’, here is another ghost town ‘film set’ with
it’s own Boot Hill cemetery. Each of these places have a feel of history, with tumbleweed and
sage brush, boardwalks and places to tie your horse up!, a great memory for me. We still keep
climbing to the pass at 6,900’ and here the panoramic views are wonderful, with what looks
like sand dunes and ant hills, trees growing to the tops of the mountains, around 10,000’. There
is an incredible view down to the Madison River which we know we will reach as we pass
through Yellowstone Park in the next days. On now, down through Ennis and Cameron at
5,200’, before we realised we’d passed the place we were staying at. Cameron is a General
Store, Post Office, Gas Station, Motel rolled into one and we soon find out that 8 people in the
Warren White family run the whole business which accommodates around 11,000 people each
year who stay and pass through….there is no where else to stay for many a mile.
05a CAMERON, Montana - "Big sky country, no people, no traffic"
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Back note :-
I saw two Triumph Thunderbird motor cycles today. We have another cabin tonight. It is
time to get sorted, cleaned up and I need to make sure the spoke I’ve fitted is doing it’s job and
to make the wheel true, so there are the necessary jobs to do before we can relax and take in
the breathtaking views of the distant ranches and mountain range which looks so close but is in
fact 9 miles away, at this altitude everything is so much clearer and looks nearer and the
mountain range is magnificent. Once sorted I went over the road towards the mountain
range and had to take 3 photographs in the hope that I could make the one panoramic picture
I was seeing. We had arranged with Warren to make contact with T.F.M. radio back in my
home town and speak to Tom Davies (whilst Stewart MacFarlane is on holiday). Warren is
eager to speak on the radio too and he really enjoyed the experience. I’m sure the folks back
home would appreciate some of the stories Warren was telling and I know Tom found him
very interesting. We went back to the cabin before eating and I reflected on one or two things
of importance during this day and noted them in my diary. I’d travelled at 45m.p.h. today,
we saw rocks piled at the sides of the road near the river at Virginia and Nevada City and
learned they had been left there by gold diggers, that gold could still be found and I’d picked up
some small nuggets of ‘fools gold’ as we passed along the way. Ready to eat and we ask about
the pedigree Angus herd nearby, also we learn that the mountain range is around 12,000’ at the
ridge. By now cowboys are arriving from the nearby ranch to eat and we get talking to them,
they are wiry, lean and we enjoy their company. We mentioned our experience of the Golden
eagle and their explanation was that a) there may have been young birds nearby and the eagle
was there to protect, b) it had eaten so well, it was not yet ready to fly, or c) it had had some
problem with other animals and may have been injured. So, although we still don’t know why
we were able to get so close, I favour the first two explanations. The local cowboys talk about
the Irish potato famine (and I recall Barbara reading a book on the hardships of those days).
There is a juke box in the bar and I don’t need to choose anything, the locals are appreciating
what I also like to hear (a couple of tracks are Grover Washington Junior’s – In the name of
love and Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack), I am thankful. I ate Hamburger steak, soup, baked
potato, sweet corn and had a few beers, most of which I did not pay for, the cowboys would not
hear of it!. In talking to the locals, we learned that their seasons and way of life are dependant
on the weather and is usually April through to September, the rest of the year, it is too cold.
They are extremely interested in our ride and the fund raising causes and we talk about world
affairs, their way of life, being so different to ours. After all of today, it is time to take it all in
once more and to thank God for providing all that we are experiencing. I am tired, our cabin is
comfortable, I am ready to sleep well and I did.
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It’s Wednesday, 2nd. September, ’92, I’m up and about by 7am. The day is cooler, it is sunny,
there is a wind and the mountain range we can see has a Sphinx shape to it and is shrouded in
dew. John has had another one of his ‘dreams’ and relates dancing with monks and knives.
Breakfast is omelette, toast, tea. We are ready for the road by 8.30am. into a head wind on the
open plain, but the views are incredible, looking down to the Madison River with fishing
cobbles. We’re able to maintain a speed of 13m.p.h. against this head wind and around 12 noon
we reach Hebgen Dam at 6,800’, with it’s story of the earthquake which created Quake Lake
following the landslides in 1959. There is also the story of a blind woman and her dog who
out during the earthquake and the dog is said to have steered her to safety. As we pass the lake
we see the remains of log poles sticking out of the surface of the water, like sunken super-
structures of vessels, a fascinating sight and the lake has a look of Loch Linne in Scotland
which looks as though it will open up to the sea (not so at this altitude or location). Here we
stop and sit by the lake, I’ve got a tin of salmon (the one given to us by Don and Muriel),
therefore we decide to eat it with cheese biscuits. We recall Don and Muriel with great
fondness and appreciation. Whilst here at this launch area for boats we see eagles, one of
which I could swear has been with us for a while!. We are also seeing Osprey and Bald Eagle
now and to watch them fishing is a special moment, carrying their catch. We drop down to
West Yellowstone at 6,700’ and enter a busy commercial town, lots of motels, eating houses,
bars, shops for tourists. We stopped at Whispering Pines motel and booked in there at $36.
I need to get my wheel sorted so I visited the ‘Cycle Centre’ where Les stripped the rear wheel
down, fitted 6 spokes, trued the wheel at a cost of $8, he did a good job, he’s a gem. Time now
to get cleaned up, clothes washed and update the diary with all the wonderful happenings of
another eventful and memorable day. Time also to arrange for items to be sent home by post
(brochures, catalogues, cards, films, badges etc, so after a well needed bath we walked down
the town to Gringo’s restaurant. I was ready for Fort William Chicken steak, salad, soup and
my favourite Mountain dew and afterwards I began to wonder if my stomach was starting to
‘rumble’. After the meal we walked the main street and I bought a couple of new cassette tapes
(Earl Klugh and Bob James, also Frankie Beverley and Maze) which I was soon to appreciate.
We called in at the Casino Bar (a low dive, but no lap dancers) and had a beer, it was time to
return to our motel (my stomach was ‘revolting’), however, I was soon O.K. I soon settled in
with the new music and sleep wasn’t too far away!!, the end of another wonderful day.
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I was up and about by 7.30am. on Thursday, 3rd. September, ’92. The day is cool, clear blue
skies and looks like another perfect day and we know that we are entering Yellowstone Park
today, so I am full of expectation yet thankful for all that we may see. We called at the Tottem
restaurant for breakfast of toast, jam, water and tea and the service is overwhelming!. We have
to return to the ‘Cycle Centre’ as I’ve realised Les has supplied me with the wrong spare spokes
so I went off to the Post Office to post mail and arranged with John to meet at the Cycle Centre
so we were a little later than usual in starting our days ride, it is now 10am. We are soon
climbing again to Madison at 6,900’ into Wyoming, the entrance to Yellowstone Park. I spoke
to Beth Halladay and Roger Anderson who are ‘Park Wardens’. It is usual to pay the fee for
entering Yellowstone, however Beth and Roger asked us about our ride and the entrance fee
was waived, so I left a pennant and letter of appreciation with them with thanks. Roger also
telephoned ahead to Grants Village Lodge, he knew how popular the ‘Park’ is and advised us
to make sure we had a confirmed booking. This he did, however it was going to cost us $64,
a bit steep, but we have nowhere else to go!. On into Yellowstone State Park and we are soon
seeing Bison resting by the Madison River, eagles were everywhere, fishing in the river. The
day is turning out to be perfect, not too hot, a slight wind, we stopped at a Madison sign and
I took a photograph of it for one of my sponsors (Tony Zivanaris who owns a chain of night
clubs in the North East of England), I thought he would appreciate the thought. We soon got
to Old Faithful, a fascinating area of geysers spouting and mineral beds of yellow, green and
the smells. The area still shows the signs of the great forest fires of 1988, the Old Faithful
Motel was saved and nearby we watched the geyser spout, what a sight to remember. On and
up after a pizza and drinks for lunch, to Craig Pass at 8,261’ and the Continental Divide at
8,391’. We see our first coyote and stopped when we saw Moose in the forest, so I went into
the forest and managed to get photographs of the mother and her young, whilst the bull looked
on. I could not have expected anymore than we have experienced today and we soon reached
Grants Village Lodges, a fine building and for $64 our accommodation was luxurious (room
F118). We were able to make arrangements for our next nights stay at Moran Junction at a
cost of $61, but once again we know that this is a commercial holiday makers paradise, there-
fore we are grateful, we are booked in at The Hatchet motel. It is time once more to make sure
all is right for tomorrow, John as usual checks the route and I am grateful he is so focused so
far as this task is concerned. A good bath, diary and post cards, time to relax and listen to my
music before we went for a meal of Chicken Tihiti, salad, soup, beer and more beer. We were
able to continue to write our diaries up, post cards too and a letter to Barbara. I also got to read
about Yellowstone and it’s history (the fact that it is a time bomb, waiting to erupt!!). It is
time now to relax and be ready for tomorrow in the company of my music…good night.
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Today, Friday, 4th. September, ’92 at 7am. and what a difference to the day, it is raining hard.
At 5am. I awoke and John was into one of his ‘dreams’, it was thundering and lightening, an
horrendous storm. I managed to sleep on but wondered what the new day would bring for us.
on our way to breakfast to the restaurant overlooking Yellowstone Lake, there were patches of
blue sky over the mountains, we were being optimistic. A breakfast of toast, jam, tea and
water, we looked out over the lake and there we saw seagulls. (I thought, the nearest sea has
got to be at least 1,000 miles from here). Anyway, it made me feel somewhat at home and I
wrote some words for Laura ‘Seagull, seagull…..’. We have to put our wet weather gear on,
spats and all!. On our route, the visibility is not good therefore we do not get to see the Grand
Teton Range of mountains in all their glory, but we are starting to see signs of the ‘fall’ and
the colours promise much for future days. We see waterfalls along the way and still the results
of the great fires with dead scorched log poles. We reached the exit to Yellowstone Park and
we pass through Lewis Canyon with white water rapids flowing beside us, very impressive.
We pushed on, it is still raining and reached Flag Ranch where we stopped, I had some hot
chocolate and found some more post cards. Through Coulter Bay, Jackson Lake and into
Moran Junction at 6,900’ we’d stopped again for a hot dog and another hot chocolate, the rain
is still coming down (I think of a Creedence Clear Water Revival song - “Who’ll stop the rain“)
and I wonder!. We checked in at The Hatchet Motel and we are in a cabin again, it is 3pm.
and we have made good time and distance. Though the day has not matched earlier days so
far as weather is concerned, it has still been a good day, we’ve seen squirrels, one carrying
something it had caught, chipmunks and many eagles. We’ve also seen a number of Easy-
rider motor bikes and Cadillacs. A back note re: yesterday :- At the top of Craig Pass I saw a
lilly pond which created a beautiful peaceful photograph. We passed through Shoshonee
Indian territory and the views from the top of the pass back over a large lake were special.
Time now to get sorted, some real cleaning of the bike (T.L.C.). We’ve soon got clothing
drying and hanging from anywhere in the cabin. Plenty of time to write the diary notes and
post cards. I”ve written a verse for Barbara….”One turn of the pedals…..”, but that’s for
another day. John has been recording the footage we are climbing and he announces that
we’re up to 37,000’ (over Everest once!). The weather has cleared and I had a walk out to
the Rangers station, with smells of sage brush and wet pines. We went for a meal and I had
Chicken breasts, chilli, salad and Mountain Dew, very enjoyable. Back to the cabin and most
of the clothing is dry, thankfully. I’ve got new batteries in the Walkman so I make the most of
my musical interlude before sleep at the end of another fantastic day.
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Saturday, 5th. September, ’92, it’s 7.15am. and John has been ‘dreaming’ again. Although it is
overcast and cool it is a better day than yesterday. I had toast, jam and tea for breakfast and we
met Pete Smith a cyclist from Montana who had built his own bike (he has a bike shop). Today
our first task is to climb from 6,900’ up Togwattee Pass to 9,658’ about 26 miles and Pete is
first off with John in hot pursuit, I tend to use the principal of the tortoise and the hare and I
know I will always get there (besides my left hip joint is not good and needs replacing…and
that’s my excuse). I’m seeing eagles sat on the tops of log poles, it is cooler as we climb
though the endeavour keeps you warm. Looking away to the right I can see what I believe
is a blizzard some 70 miles away, over the mountain tops and I suddenly realised my nose was
bleeding (the effects of altitude, I presume), but it did not cause me a problem. A herd of
steer crossed the road and prairie dogs are popping their heads up at the roadside, wild lupins
blooming along the way, together with herbs, ferns, sage and pines. At the top of the pass
we all met up again and it was snowing a little, we had to put extra clothes on to make the
descent. We stopped for eats and spoke to the bar owner who was going to Alaska to bring
his family back to Wyoming. Also, we learned about Ostrich farming, the stupid birds can
live anywhere (here in Wyoming), 50% cholesterol of chicken, though it is red meat. The
skins are ideal for boots, fertile eggs are worth $1,000 or would make 12 omelettes. They
are said to be able to live anywhere once they are 6 months old. As we descend it gets much
warmer and the scenery with rock formations and colours is tremendous. The storm or
blizzard is still raging over to our right. We’re down to 6,900’ as we pass through Dubois
and on to Red Rock and is it any wonder the place is called Red Rock. The red sandstone
rock formations are beautiful, like paintings, unbelievable shapes and sizes. We arrive at Red
Rock motel which is way out in the wilds, there is cowboy activity with roping and branding
competition and horse breaking, so we got to have a look and as I’m sat on the coral fence,
talking to the cowboys, I get another chance to ride a stallion, what an experience, he was very
frisky and I learned a little later from his owner that he was wanting to go back to the stables
to the mare!, he rose up onto his hind legs and nearly threw me off, thankfully I managed to
avoid an accident. I also wondered what I must look like, riding the stallion wearing T shirt
and shorts!, still, as Don would say, “You got’ta do what you got’ta do.” and I enjoyed trying.
On checking in at $36 I saw a number of cowboys already eating, I could see them sitting
around an oval table and I looked at what they were eating and decided ‘that will do for me’.
Within the grounds of the motel there were domestic bison and a number of tepees which are
used as accommodation when the weather is favourable. We checked our bikes over and put
tyres front to back as there was little tread left on the rear tyres and we need new ones soon.
We get ourselves sorted, washing done and the welcome shower or bath is always special and
makes a difference. With all chores done we went to eat and ordered a 16oz. prime rib steak,
baked potato, salad, soup and beer for $14 and it was the most tender and succulent steak I’d
ever eaten, so far. The steak was about an inch and a quarter thick and 8” x 5”. We made a
telephone call to Horseshoe motel at Lander and booked for £36 and the proprietor of Red Rock
motel gave us a contact name and address at Jeffrey City, our stop over place in two nights
time. After finishing my beer I went back to our room and wrote some back items :- about
Fergy being pregnant and the photos in the newspapers of her and her bald American friend.
Also, Princess Di’s affair with her telephone lover!!. When we called at a general store in
Dubois we were asked about these articles and I assured them that it had absolutely nothing
to do with me!!. I also recalled the American who stopped his Chevy when he saw me trying
to take a photograph of the steers crossing the road up in the mountains, and he took a photo’
of me taking that photograph (if you see what I mean). I’m feeling tired now, should go for
a walk, maybe it is the excellent meal together with today’s endeavours, anyway I decide it
is time to relax, listen to music and hit the sack, I’m a happy rider.
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I woke during the night and into Sunday, 6th. September, ’92, to thunder and driving rain, it
wouldn’t surprise me if snow hadn’t fallen. I’m up by 7am. and sure enough there has been
a snow fall on the tops of the hills and it looked good, but I was pleased to see clear blue skies
and a favourable wind. We went for breakfast and only need toast, jam and tea. We get to
talk to Cathy the proprietor and she said that 2’ of snow had laid in Yellowstone last night and
at the Ostrich farm at Riverton. The conversation became somewhat political about the tribes
of Indians who are respected (Shoshones) and those who are not (Arapahos) who live on their
reservations and receive government hand outs weekly from birth, who don’t work or give to
society, have untold crime, suicide, deaths and drugs, yet others who do give and provide
within society. We just listened, not wishing to offend anyone. We keep hearing about the
El ninnio and the Le ninnio winds which blow and the fact that you do not want to be caught
out on the high plains of Wyoming when the thunder and lightening is rumbling around the
skies during the afternoons, you’re not safe. It is time to get on the road, but we have to fix
punctures and the tyres are almost bald now, however we know that there are three cycle shops
in Lander, but it is also Labour day week end (like our Bank Holidays). We met Pete Smith
again and a couple of cyclists travelling in the opposite direction. I had to ride back about 2
mile, after I learned John had another puncture, all was made good. The land around us is
barren and like scenes from western films. As we pushed on we came across a herd of
Pronghorn deer, beautiful timid animals, we must have been up wind of them. We rode into
Fort Washakie and called for drinks. On returning to the bike, I find another spoke broken, so
work has to be done to fix it. (By now, I’m beginning to want to know the fellow who built the
rear wheel of my bike…ON A FRIDAY). We make good time, however, we are aware of the
rain and thunder way over in the mountains and we are hoping it does not reach us. We are
blessed with sunshine and it stays with us into Lander, by now we have dropped down to 5,300’
and we must find some tyres. Although we booked at the Horseshoe motel, we decided on the
Western motel at £30 and asked for help regarding tyres. We were directed to Mr. T Palmer
who is an eccentric, an alcoholic, a bike collector (scrap collector really) and he creates much
interest with his 2nd. W.W. stories, however he isn’t able to help us, so we move on to Desert
cycles, there, no-one can help. So on to Freewheel cycles and eventually to the Police Station
where we are helped by Sgt. Alan McOmie. He tries to contact a keyholder without success.
We decide to look for other options and we were making our way down the high street when
Sgt. McOmie drove passed us, he had seen a young man who is an employee of Freewheel
cycles, so we made our way down to the shop, however Tim Martell did not have any keys for
the shop. At the rear of the shop there were roller shutter garage doors, I explained I was a
retired British Police Officer and if there was any way we could enter the shop without using
keys or damaging anything, I could do it and that Sgt. McOmie would be made aware. It was
therefore in order for me to ‘spring’ the roller shutter garage door, which gave us access to an
unlocked door into the shop, where we were able to purchase our much needed Continental
tyres which cost $47, including a spoke key. Time is moving on and we still need to get our
bikes sorted, mine particularly so far as the wheel needing truing. We had showers, got our
gear washed and we had arranged to meet Pete Smith at the Maverick restaurant for a meal.
We managed to meet up at 7pm. and found Pete to be a real character, especially with his own
unique sayings. He would start a sentence off, “Jes” (as in Jesus) that’s awesome….” and he
he had a cheeky ‘Charlie Drake’ face. I had steak, salad, baked potato and beer which was
once more very good and cheap. More Pete Smith sayings, “Gee, that’s great….and stuff,
and stuff”. Pete had a telephone card and he insisted we use it to make arrangements with
Police hospitality at Rawlin where we are to stay with Chief Tony Rose and his family in two
nights time. This we did and Tony was pleased to know we are on schedule with an E.T.A.
and meeting place in Rawlin. Another wonderful and eventful day, full of incident and we
are ready to rest, so it is back to the motel, to write our diaries up, for John to check our route
and then relax with some music before I lay my head down. Back note :- After paying for
our tyres etc, I left an apology note for Tim Martell’s boss, for my having to ‘spring the
roller shutter door mechanism’…..and ‘no, I will not tell you how I did it and Sgt. McOmie
was present, honest’.
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I was up and about by 7am. on Monday, 7th. September, ’92 and I checked the spokes of my
wheels with Pete Smith, to make sure the wheels were as true as we could make them. It is a
cool morning, requiring extra clothing and gloves. The landscape is still beautiful with Red
rock formations to our left. As we continued on our way the landscape became more and more
sparse and open, almost bleak and desolate with very little vegetation. The views are still very
stunning when looking back as we climb to the next summit at 7,000’, there are no homes, few
animals and the mountains in the distance must be 70 miles away and snow capped, a really
magnificent sight. The foreground below us seems to be stepped, on various levels with
shapped mounds and becoming more barren with sagebrush everywhere. We rode into Little
Dallas, a typical quaint cowboy town, a sort of potted history town, with lots of signs and
stories. The signs were for the Sheriff’s Office, Court, Marriage/Deaths/Births. The people
here are cheerful and I guess they tell the stories, like the one about the cayote killing sheep,
can’t poison it, have to shoot it. We push on to Sweetwater Junction and we needed some-
thing to eat so we called for a sandwich and got talking again to the locals, who seemed to think
we were leaving our cycle ‘venture a little late, however, when we told them of our route and
progress so far, they agreed that ‘we might just make it’, making reference to the ‘snows which
were around and about, due at any time’ We also learned that there were extensive road works
along our route and sure enough we soon encountered a very poor road surface, demanding a
great deal of concentration. Thankfully, the winds were blowing across the road, right to left
otherwise the dust storm would have been a real problem. These conditions were with us for
8 miles, we were thankful for the new tyres. We see eagles again, but no other wild life on
this prairie. The weather has got warmer and more pleasant, so no need for the extra clothing,
I’m in a T shirt again thankfully. We ride on into Jeffrey City at 6,200’ and we learn that this
place used to have a uranium mining industry with a population of around 450 people, now only
50 people remain. We booked in at a motel, $24, excellent value and it is time to clean the
bikes, particularly the chains, due to all the dust. Time also to get our gear washed and a good
shower/bath, ready for something to eat at the Driller’s Delight. Pete Smith is still with us and
he ate with us, I had Chicken, soup, salad and beer at $8. Pete’ continues to entertain us with
his accent and saying, “Jees, that’s awesome”, “Jees, you guys” etc. This ‘town’ is a real dead
and alive place, nowhere to go, so it is back to the motel, to write our diaries up and for me to
listen to some good music and a good sleep. Backnote :- It is just an observation, but there is an
array of soaps (Camay, Cashmere, Dial), in the bathroom, I found it unusual/different. It has
been another great day, once more with variety and much to remember.
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Tuesday, 8th. September, ’92, I woke at 6.10am. and dozed until 7am. Outside our motel room,
rabbits were playing. We were soon sorted and ready for breakfast at the Driller’s Delight,
Pete’ joined us for the last time, he was heading off back home. I had toast, jam and tea. We
then visited the Post Office to send post cards, films etc and I spoke to one of the staff whose
husband had come from Andover and had died of cancer some 4 years ago (my T shirt with the
cancer concern illustrated thereon had prompted the conversation). We were on the road for
8.30am., it is a bit windy and not so cool. The wind aided us with speeds of 27m.p.h. reached.
The terrain is still somewhat desolate but still has a rugged beauty. The road is not straight so
we have to cope with riding against the wind, 17 miles in the first hour and 12 in the second
hour. At Muddy Gap Pass at 6,250’ we turned into a head wind and pushed on up hill to the
summit at 7,142’ and over the continental divide, quite a slog. Here we saw a side winder
snake lying at the side of the road, John was about to take a photograph when it started to cross
the road as a vehicle came along and unfortunately ran over it. I had another spoke break and I
managed to fix it in 20 minutes (I’m getting plenty of practise, unfortunately). We rode down
into Rawlin at 6,800’ and on the outskirts of the town we called at the Fire Department. Here
we met Scott, who allowed us to call Tony Rose (Chief of Police) to arrange a meeting place
and also to make a call to T.F.M. radio station back home, to arrange for a link whilst we would
be with the Rose family. We found the Rose home and met Sarah, 13yrs and her friend. We
were shown to our rooms and made comfortable. We talked with Sarah and her friend until
Tony and Meg arrived and made us feel at home. By now Iced lemon tea is becoming a real
favourite. The radio link with T.F.M. was made and John and I were interviewed by Tom
Davies before Tony went on air and it seemed to go well, John thought ‘the folks back home
would appreciate Tony’s contribution’. I learned that the radio controller was not able to
contact my Barbara (I’m almost sure she has gone to see a show in London). We then met
Stephanie and we all sat down to an evening meal prepared by Meg and the girls which was a
real treat, with steak, salad, baked potatoes, apple pie and ice cream and beer. Afterwards we
talked a while and Tony asked if we would like to go out ‘on patrol’. John was totally taken
by this and he was ‘put in the cage’ (the back of the patrol car), he was eager to learn more
about the police work, so we visited Police H.Q. where John was in his element with the array
of computer equipment. We then patrolled the town for a while, with radio messages and
information regarding ongoing enquiries being broadcast, then it was back to the Rose home
where we had a beer. A telephone call was received by Tony regarding a ‘making off with-
out payment’ and a subsequent 100m.p.h. chase. Tony then showed us his armoury (which
did not appeal to John and I), however a short while later, a further call was received and
Tony told us that the driver of the ‘black van’ which had ‘made off without payment’ (for
gas), had been arrested, a warrant to search his van had been obtained and the vehicle was
found to carrying a large number of firearms. Tony assured us that once the driver was taken
to court, he would ‘go away for a long time’. So, we’ve had another interesting and eventful
day, topped off with incidents to recall, but now it is time for some rest. I had my music and
a letter was awaiting me from my Barbara, so time now to dream and think of home and my
love. Back note:- One of the mountains we saw as we set off this morning was Table moun-
tain, which had a flat plateau top (like Table mountain in South Africa). Also, at one stage our
speed was 4 m.p.h. when dealing with the head wind.
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Wednesday, 9th. September, ’92 and I’m up and about by 6.30am. It was a pleasure being able
to talk to Meg, Sarah and Stephanie as they were preparing for college. I was able to make a
telephone call to my Barbara and she returned the call, so it was a surprise and comforting to
talk to her. I learned that our son Dave, had recorded the T.F.M. broadcast for Barbara. We
said our goodbyes, then Tony, John and I then went for breakfast at the Pantry where we met up
with members of Tony’s staff, particularly detectives who discussed the case of the ‘making off
without payment’ and the criminals vehicle being ‘loaded with firearms’, also, his possession
of ‘drugs’. I had sausage, eggs, toast, hashbrowns, jam and tea, then we were ready for the
road. The day is perfect, blue skies, I watched the sun come up and the skies had a hazy purple
hue. Before getting on our way, we stopped at a store for toothpaste and cards. The landscape
is still somewhat barren but has character, we haven’t seen any animals yet. We pass signs off
State Hwy 287 (where we are permitted to ride on the 9’ hard shoulder in Wyoming), the signs
show Laramie and Cheyanne. With a steady wind on our shoulder we make good mileage into
Saratoga seeing pronghorn deer and prairie dogs. We met two cyclists travelling in the
opposite direction (Kevin and John, who had travelled 3,000 miles in 12 weeks and were going
to L.A. They were raising funds for The Anna Supinia Memorial Fund, we had an interesting
chat with them. I’m beginning to suffer from an upset stomach, but don’t know why, except
the altitude at nearly 7,000’. We travel south for a while and the wind is not so favourable, still
quite strong and more of a cross wind. I was able to make a ‘comfort stop’ and lost some
weight, feel so much better now, thankfully…..(wonder if it was the ice cream). We rode into
Riverside and booked in at Lumberjack cabins costing $29, very comfortable. We’ve seen
Ducks, sidewinders, rabbits and hares today and one of the post cards I have bought is of a
Jackalope (a jack rabbit with antlers!!), thought Laura would appreciate this animal. At the
cabins we spoke to Richard L Goodman a cattleman from Cheyanne, who showed a great deal
of interest in our ‘venture. We got washed up and checked the bikes ready for tomorrow and
made our way down to The Mangy Moose where we had a beer or two and met Charles M
Ham of Century 21 (Real Estate) who offered us accommodation at Cheyanne (which we were
not able to accept as we were going in the other direction, we thanked him accordingly).
Charles went on to talk of his Navy and Military experiences, that he was a Firearms expert,
however John was not impressed, so we made our way to the restaurant where I had pork,
baked potato, salad and beer which was O.K., but nothing special. Walking back to The
Mangy Moose, the skies were very clear, wonderful stars formations, nearly a full moon
and not too cold. We called for another beer or two and met up with a number of locals who
were very ‘under the influence’ and less sociable. Here I ended up throwing horseshoes yet
again, very interesting company. John was becoming tired so we made our way back to the
cabin and I made my diary up, wrote some post cards and listened to some good music.
Back note :- One of the firemen at the Rawlin Fire Department referred to John and I as the
modern day Lewis and Clark and reference to us as The Overlanders (It was nice to know we
could talk about such history and appreciate the hardships they encountered). And so to sleep
after another wonderful and memorable day, thankyou.
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Thursday, 10th. September, ’92, I woke at 7am. and there is a cool feel to the morning. By
7.30am. I had looked out and there was frost on the roof tiles of houses, but there are beautiful
blue skies and no wind. We left our cabin and made our way to the General Store for post
cards, chocolate bars and then on to Encampment Oasis for breakfast. It really is turning out
to be a fantastic morning. At Oasis I had muffins, jam, toast and tea and met Pam Norland who
served us and was very pleasant. She asked if I could let her have one of my T shirts, I said I
would send one to her following our return home. We also spoke to some locals as they
showed interest in our ride. We went on our way and climbed to 7,900’ to Cowdrey, we saw
herds of deer to our right and picked up a beautiful blue bird, unfortunately it had been hit by
a motor vehicle, however, I plucked several of its feathers, to take with me (what a beautiful
colour). Almost everyday we see delicate yet strong chicory and it becomes my favourite
bloom, so much so, I find it so comforting (photograph for Barbara). Away to our left the
peaks of the mountains look like organ pipes reaching up into the sky and on the other side the
mountains are higher and has snow in the canyons between. The foliage is beginning to show
‘fall colours’ (yellows, burned orange) and there is a purple haze mist around the base of the
hills/mountains. We cross over the border into Colorado and into our 5th. State. The road
surface changed once more and the fences of latise shapes. We made steady unhurried progress
into Walden by 2.15pm. where we booked in at Hoover Roundup Motel where we met a really
pleasant and friendly lady called Bette Hoover (who is a relative of the ex. President Edgar
Hoover). John decides it is time to wash his shorts (I’ll say no more!) and we have the use of
a washing line so we make good use of it. We have an informative talk with Bette, much of it
related to ‘the American way of life’ compared with ours (air conditioning, altitude, heat etc.)
We then made our way to her Museum and bearing in mind America’s 250 years of history, it
was somewhat comical (Singer sewing machines, flat irons, wash boards and mangles), I could
only think of most of these artefacts in ‘my grandmothers home’. On leaving we find that the
town is larger than most we have so far passed through, so we walked the High Street with its
cafes, saloons, bars, general stores, motels. We called for a meal, we had seen a pizza place
called Starv’in Marvins and decided to eat there, we had an enormous pizza with just about any-
thing and everything on it, plus the extras and pitchers of ale at a cost of $20, some meal it was
too and John was starting to feel tired so he went back to the Motel and I called into The
Stockman bar where I talked to Tom, Clint and Ed (it was like being in some bar back home as
a detective!). I returned to the Motel by 10.30pm. and the T.V. was on. I was interested in
hearing music by The Moody Blues and knowing they were in concert at Red Rock, Colorado (I
would like to have been there), instead I had my own music and Dionne Warwick to soothe and
allow me to reflect on another superb day.
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I’m up and about by 7am. on Friday, 11th. September, ’92 and the morning is similar to yester-
day. I had been up in the night, needed drinks, I think the pizza from last night was telling me
something. We said our ‘goodbyes’ to Bette and went on down the main street to Elkhorn Cafe
for breakfast of 3 slices of French toast, jelly and tea which was excellent. We then called at
the Post Office with letters, post cards and John called at the bank before we made a telephone
call to Steve’ Samek at Pueblo, he and his family would be taking care of us on the 14th. of
September and we wanted him to know that we were well on schedule. We then got on our
way, climbing towards Muddy Pass at 8,772’ and my throat is really dry, I begin to wish I’d
bought some mints (that reminds me, Barbara packed extra strong mints without me knowing
and they have up until now served us well, can’t get any over here though). We’re passing
beautiful scenery with purple hue misted hills with green and yellow foliage and pockets of
snow, together with lupins again. Up over and along Grizzly, Arapahoe and Colorado Creeks
the scenery continues to surprise us as the Creeks meander along, we see Beaver dams but no
Beavers, then a herd of Pronghorn deer and several dead animals, skunk (hold your breath and
your nose!!) also a deer and a red fox. That pizza seems to be taking its toll, mouth and throat
so dry and almost painful, I had a couple of throat tablets to get the juices flowing and have
been drinking a lot, need it. I comment that I feel as though I’ve been ‘broiled’ with the heat,
sun, the wind which has not helped and the terrain, but it has been yet again, a spectacular day
for me. We reached Kremmling by 3.30pm. and checked in at Western Motel at $31.35, it is
once more very comfortable. John and I need something to eat and drink so we had (John –
Apple pie and Mountain Dew, I had Strawberry and Rhubarb pie and Mountain Dew) and did
we sure appreciated it. We went on to the post office and store for post cards, grapes, beer and
more drinks. We called at the Chamber of Commerce office and were able to book a room at
Wilderness Motel, Breckenridge for the following day. We returned to our motel, washed up,
had a well needed bath, had more drinks and some grapes. I also checked the bike over and
then rested up before writing a few post cards and my diary up to date. Once more we were
ready for something to eat and we went to the Wagon Restaurant where we were served by
Jackie who was originally from Swansea but had been over in America for 13yrs, she was so
interested in our ‘ventures and talking about ‘back home’. My meal was ground steak, baked
potato, soup, salad, Mountain Dew and beer which was very tasty. Whilst we were eating a
Police Officer came into the restaurant and went to a table of men who appeared to me to be
hunters, he sat with them a while and I said to John that I would go and introduce myself to
him, this I did and he immediately said, “I’ve got your letter in my car, I couldn’t do anything
for you, these guys here (pointing to the hunters) are Police Officers and they’re using my
cabin”. His name was Scott Koch, he asked if we were settled in somewhere and I told him
we were booked in at Western Motel (down the road) and he commented that we would be O.K.
there, I confirmed that we were very comfortable. Scott sat with us a while, he was a really
cheerful and open guy who showed a great deal of interest in our challenge. He had some
business to attend to and shortly afterwards we left to go back to our motel. About 10pm. there
was a knock on the door and Scott came in, he had been to see the proprietor of the motel and
as a result he presented us with a cheque for the cost of the motel room, courtesy of the Police
fraternity, he also handed me a black baseball cap which had written thereon (Fast Action
Response Team – F.A.R.T.), I was well pleased to receive this gift. He still had business to
attend to so we said our ‘goodbyes’ and I was certainly ready for some ‘shut eye’ and Dionne
Warwick helped easy me into sleep, thanks for another tremendous day to remember.
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Saturday, 12th. September, ’92, up and ready for the road by 7am. The weather is once more
similar to yesterday, a little cloudy but the sun is up and we wonder about the wind direction,
will it be favourable. We went along to the Moose Cafe for French toast, jelly and tea before
calling at Wagon Restaurant to see Jackie and say ‘goodbye’ to her. We then learned that she
and Scott had instrumented the issue of the ‘cheque’, so we were very thankful for their caring
and support. Before we left Kremmling we took photographs of the rock strata out at the back
of the motel and up on the ridge there were white stones identifying the town for helicopters
dropping in. We called at the general store for mints, chocolate bars, bananas and drinks, then
on to the Post office to dispatch our mail. We are on the road for 9am. and we see what seems
to be the first stone and brick built houses and to our right the hillside looked a lot like home,
quite English. The road is too narrow and John is not happy, the traffic is not very responsible,
doesn’t slow down sufficiently, so John is very irate. We had to be extra careful but we were
O.K. (no incidents, thankfully) and we reached a parallel road with bridges, which we took
alongside Blue River. Here I had to stop because a ‘verse was going through my mind’ and I
needed to write it down. We rode on to Silverthorne with Mount Powell quite majestic, here
we called at Wilderness Ways as my mileometer was playing up and needed a new battery. On
to a Wendy’s eating house where we had much needed drinks. We then went on under the 1-70
highway onto a rough track, we had to push the bikes up an incline (perhaps 1 in 2) to reach the
cycle track which would take us to Dillon. Along this track we did not have to concern our-
selves about traffic, we met other cyclists along this tree lined route. The road surface was very
good, undulating and winding through the forest on to Frisco. We realised we were in a
recreational area and with it being a Saturday, lots of people were making use of the cycle
tracks, I counted 209 cyclists and we learned there was another track on the other side of the
main highway, and most cyclists were wearing full protective gear, elbow and knee pads and
helmets. At Frisco we stopped, locked the bikes up and walked the high street where there
was a ‘classic and vintage car rally’ and I for one ‘purred over some of the models’, John had
a favourite, it was a black E type Jaguar, I couldn’t find the Masseratti I was looking for!. The
backdrop of the Rockies is a wonderful picture. Time to ride on to Breckenridge along the
cycle track, this town is all about recreational pursuits (climbing, horse riding, skiing etc) and
the main street is ‘full of retail therapy’ shops displaying all the latest fashions and fads at over
inflated prices (compared to the other areas we had cycled through). We called at the
Information office and they helped us to find a place to stay and eat. We went on to the Way-
side Inn and here it cost us $43, the staff were very pleasant and we settled in as usual, time
to relax, sort the bikes out, get cleaned up and up to date with the diaries. We had been told to
have a look at the menu and eat at Blue River Saloon, for a steak dinner and beer. We had to
ride to the saloon and there we were confronted by a most obnoxious (ass-hole), whose every
other word was obscene, fortunately he was leaving and once inside we met Larry Bardwell
(who is a double of the singer Michael McDonald) and my introduction was to ask him if he
was related to the ‘singer’, he smiled and knew where I was coming from and realising we
were English and talk took us to our cycle challenge. Larry was the manager of the saloon and
he decided we should ‘eat on the house’, we were most thankful. We also met ‘Mike’ who had
taken part in many Iditerod Trail races and had completed most (Husky racing), he was very
interesting as a character and showed a great deal of interest in our challenge. After a good
meal we made our way back to the Inn and I decided to use the ‘hot tub’, it was heaven with
clear blue skies, a pleasant breeze and all around mountains with snow capped peaks from
9,000 to nearly 12,000’, it was good relaxing therapy. From there it was back to the tasks to be
done and an early night, we knew we had quite a climb up Hoosier pass to 11,542’, the highest
pass on the challenge. John checked his map and our route, we are due to stay at a ‘Hostel’ but
John was not able to make a telephone call (it appears not to have a telephone). So my walk-
man became my friend and after a few more post cards were written I was with Patti Labelle
and soon into my comfort zone, thankfully, another unforgettable day.
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Sunday, 13th. September, ’92 and I woke in the night, it was raining hard around 1.30am, but
it is 6.30am. now and the weather looks clear, fresh with blue skies, little cloud and a slight
wind. As we went on our way we called at a store for chocolate bars and drinks (we think we
will need them today). From our over night stay we rode on towards Breckenridge, no other
cyclists seen en-route and we stopped for breakfast at Tom Mix Trading Post at Horseshoe, it
is quite ‘up market and swish’ where we had toast and tea. Passing through Breckenridge we
saw the affluence of this resort (lots of apartments, rented accommodation, log cabins etc) and
the shops I mentioned earlier. We have a stream and a river running alongside us as we climb
Hoosier Pass to the summit, we pass one runner. We climbed for 12 miles and on reaching the
top the views were spectacular in all directions for what must be a 100 miles, looking down
to lakes or reservoirs and the colours with changing autumn weather were wonderful. We took
time to congratulate each other on this achievement (the highest peak). We were talking to an
interested motor cyclist and we saw another cyclist coming up the pass from the other direction,
she stopped to talk and we learned that she climbs the pass twice a week as part of her race
training. Before descending, we donned extra clothing as we knew there would be a wind
chill factor to contend with. We rode on downhill to Alma which was a real ‘shanty town’,
we called here for more drinks and then on to Fairplay and we have dropped to 10,000’. Still
downhill and the scenery is a little more like home, it is green, lush, tree lined and there are
grass verges, on through Hartsel to 8,900’ before climbing Current Creek Pass at 9,404’ and
our final descent of the day to the Current Creek Hostel. Obviously, we could not know what
to expect but as we rode towards the ‘hostel’ we saw that it had high wooden walls like a
Cavalry Stockade and we rode into the ‘stockade’ through the two open gates. Once inside
we saw bunk houses dotted around the compound and then we met Warren (a middle aged
sixties hippy, he has a long pony tail and grey hair). We learned that there was no telephone,
no T.V. and I geared myself up for an uncomfortable night. We were shown to a bunk house
which was ‘spartan’ with bunk beds, no mattress, just boards, no heating, though we were
given sleeping bags. There was what I took to be a ‘netty’ (loo) beside the bunk house but
on inspection, it was a shower. Inside, it had a plastic container suspended, with a watering
can rose and a tap thereon. Warmed water was put into the container, the tap was opened and
water would sprinkle from the rose, there you have it ‘a shower’, and I used it to its full
potential, I was thankful. (I got John to take a photograph, as evidence). It begged the question
as to where the ‘netty’ (lavatory) was and we were guided across the compound to the elevated
corner and there we found that it was suspended about 200’over a creek (with perhaps white
water rafting taking place below!!.) Warren took us into his home where we met his wife
Lyn and their two children, we were shown the kitchen, we selected the foods we would eat and
drink and set about cooking our meal which was maccarone cheese, smoked sausage, potatoes,
peaches, ice cream and 7 up, excellent. All in all, the cost was Bunk house $3, shower £1, beer
$1, soft drinks 50 cents, meal $2, who could ask for more. Warren had attended London
School of Economics around about the same time as John, so they had much in common to talk
about and did they talk, it was interesting to listen as Warren is a ‘revolutionary character’, his
wife Lyn has M.S. and the children Issac and Hanna were present throughout the long period of
discussion (about 5 hours). The children were allowed to watch specific videos, but no T.V.
programmes, I found them to be somewhat precocious, though life out here in the wilds of
Colorado, is very different to back home. The children travelled 35 miles to school. Time got
around to 10pm. and we have a longish ride tomorrow, so it is time to ‘hit the sack’ and
hopefully manage some sleep. Back in the bunk house it was cold and had a damp feel, so I put
extra clothing on to stay as warm as possible. I listen to Tracy Chapman singing “Sorry”, as I
drift off, no time for cards just now, only time to try and sleep. Today has ended with more
stories of characters, incidents and for me a day to remember, thank you. (Back note for earlier
in the day, as we climbed Hoosier Pass, we came upon a ‘snake pit’, it stank to high heaven.
We assumed that snakes found/caught were thrown into the pit and it would be survival of
the fittest). John weighed himself today, he’s 18lbs. lighter than 31 days ago!!.
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Sunday, 14th. September, ’92, I woke at 6.30am. and I know I didn’t sleep very well on boards
(my arthritis is making its self known this morning), I must get moving, warmed up, so I took
a couple of pain killers to numb the pain. There is no hot water, so its back to basics and a cold
water shave, clean teeth and swill down which really did wake me up. The weather is great,
there is a sharp coolness at this altitude but it is sunny and visibility is really good. We joined
Warren and Lyn for a chat and a cup of tea before heading off at 8am. The scenery is once
more a sight to see. I have put extra cover on for our start, we are dropping down from the last
pass in the Rockies and there is that wind chill factor. Although there is a lot of greenery about
us many of the creeks along the way are very dry. We reached the junction with the S50 high-
way and there stopped at a cafe for breakfast of toast, jelly and tea. Away in the distance we
could see the highest suspension bridge in the world (in Arkansas), over Royal Gorge. From
here we travelled along the S50 which had a wide hard shoulder, we travelled at good pace and
saw prairie dogs popping their heads up to have a look at us as we passed by. We have dropped
4,000’ therefore the views and visibility are more limited. We cycle through Canon City and
Florence at 5,800’ and climb a little to Wetmore at 6,000’ before descending once more towards
Pueblo at 4,800’. We know that we are staying with Detective Sergeant Steve Samek and his
family at Pueblo and we need to make a telephone call to Steve who is expecting us. We called
at a Super 8 motel in Pueblo and remained at that location so that Steve could drive out to meet
and pick us up. We waited about 15 minutes and on his arrival we loaded our bikes onto his
pickup and he took us to Police H.Q. to the Internal Affairs Dept. where we met the Assistant
Chief of Police before going on to Steve’s home. There we met Rena and her children Sarah
7yrs. and Hanna 4yrs. Rena is Steve and Bev’s house keeper and she made a real fuss of us,
we were made to feel welcome. Steve’s children arrived home and we met Nathan, Ashley and
Matthew who are 7yrs of age and triplets, also Alison who is 10yrs. of age. We immediately
found them to be happy, communicative and excited children, so much so Matthew seemed to
take to me and wanted me to sit with him, to come here, go there, tell him about this or that and
he seemed to be by my side most of the time, I’d found a friend. Steve invited us to telephone
home so John was first to do so and I gathered that Rosie was still sorting out what to do with
and about the insurance claim (regarding John’s stay in hospital overnight at Portland, Oregon).
When I telephoned home I was able to talk to my Barbara and it was so good to be able to do
this, I also spoke to my sister Sandra and my mother Nancy, so all in all a special occasion for
me. Also, there were two letters awaiting me from Sandra and Barbara which was a most
pleasant surprise. As we were with Steve, we also made a link with T.F.M. radio for them to
return our call and for us to go out live a little later being interviewed by Tom Davies. When
John was on air, Tom was surprised to know that John was a 17 stone cyclist. The transmission
seemed to go down well and that pleased us, thanks to Tom and T.F.M. At one stage of the
late afternoon Steve sat the children down and he said that the Chief of Police was coming to
dinner (we had noticed the large oval table with an Irish linen table cloth and knives and forks
place settings around the table), Steve obviously wanted his children to be on their best
behaviour, but then he said to them, “I also want you to watch how John and Peter use their
knife and fork”, I thought immediately (we too need to be on our best behaviour and set an
example). I suppose I knew why Steve had said this, because the Americans do not tend to use
their knives very much at all, they just use their forks to scoop up any and everything. We then
met Bev and she together with Steve prepared the meal as we talked to them and the children.
Chief of Police John Ercul arrived and we all sat down to sweet corn, chicken, spinach, beer
and fruit pie. I was sat between Nathan and Matthew, so John had the girls beside him. In
my pocket I had a crayon picture which Laura had coloured in for me before leaving and she
had said, “Have it with you where ever you are on your ride”, she said it is a picture of you on
your bike. I showed the picture to the children and told them what Laura had said, this caused
Matthew to leave the table and a little while later he returned with his own drawing of what I
do believe is a ‘Ninja Turtle’, he gave it to me and asked me to keep it with me as I cycled on
across America. I was moved by his thought and caring for someone so young. As we
finished our meal, I asked if I could at least leave a toast of appreciation (one which I had used
on other occasions whilst receiving the kind of hospitality we were privy to). I then said,
“Here’s from me and mine, to you and yours and if you and yours should ever come across me
and mine, I hope that me and mine can do for you and yours, all that you and yours have done
for me and mine”…. I was then asked to write it down!!. During our meal we were made aware
that Steve was on special security duties, taking care of Al Gore who whilst in the Police area
of Pueblo needing 24 hour security and surveillance and that he would be going into work early,
that we would have to go into work with him and we might meet Al Gore who was touring the
country before the forthcoming elections. We talked on until 10pm. and we needed to call it a
day. Fortunately, Steve and Bev had a collection of L.P.’s and C.D.’s of artists I appreciate,
therefore I was in my element as I relaxed into ‘dream land’ listening to Kenny G. Thanks to
everyone for another special day, topped off by wonderful friendship and hospitality.
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I’m awake at 6.15am. on Tuesday, 15th. September, ’92 and I can listen to tracks by Pattie
Labelle and Peabo Bryson. The morning looks good and we have breakfast of 2 eggs, sausage,
fruit juice and tea. We say our goodbyes and the bikes are loaded onto Steve’s pickup and we
are taken to Police H.Q. where we meet Steve’s boss, Bob Young, who needs to take a photo-
graph of us to go with the newspaper article and a record of our visit. We are on the road for
9.15am. and called at the Post Office to send our mail. The roads are much straighter and much
flatter, visibility isn’t as clear at this altitude, though we can see the Rockies way back in the
distance. The weather is soon hotting up and many buzzards pass over us. We ride on into
Boone and stopped for drinks and on through Fowler to Olney Springs where it seemed some-
one was waiting for us. As we entered the town we came upon Ding Dings cafe and the owner
a Phillipino girl was standing outside her cafe, waving and cheering as we approached. She
beckoned us into her cafe and she supplied us with home made fruit pie and ice cream and
drinks, which we could not pay for. All she asked was that we write in her diary, this we did
with much gratitude. She waved us off with enthusiasm and we pushed on through Crowley to
Ordway. Along the way we saw a number of massive locomotives (4 hitched together) pulling
what seemed a mile of trucks and these would be alongside us from time to time, quite a sight.
On arriving in Ordway, we knew we had hospitality offered to us, we called at the Police
Station and saw the Under Sheriff Alan Turner who directed us to a house nearby, where we
met Alan and Gloria Kimball. Gloria is a ‘dispatcher’ for Ordway Police, she takes letters
and correspondence between Police Stations within the Police district. It appear Alan and
Gloria have literally been waiting for us to arrive ever since we set off on our challenge. She
tells us that the table has been laid, waiting for us to arrive, that the Sheriff and his wife and an
Ordway New Era reporter were coming to dinner, so we really did feel privileged to have all
this fuss made of us. We got cleaned up quickly, because we had been asked if we would like
to have a look around a penitentiary which was in the Police district. I was up for it and John
showed a great deal of enthusiasm (I guess he had never had such an opportunity and I certainly
had never been inside an American Prison). So we set off in Patrol cars across arid desert like
land with John sat in the prisoners section of the car (the cage) and I sat as observer. We must
have travelled about 50 miles and we entered the penitentiary through 2 sets of security doors
and when we got out of the car, I can’t imagine what was going through John’s mind, I just did
not want him to ask any of the inmates, “And how long have you been in here?” or, “What
brought you in here, then?”. Fortunately he was speechless and we were shown to several
areas of the prison, where one prisoner in for life (a murderer) was air-brush paint spraying
wonderful designs on T shirts, the design he was working on was a bald eagle. We visited a
cell area, also work and recreation (gym) areas and I spoke to several of the inmates and guards.
I made a note that I thought John was ‘totally gobsmacked’. We returned to Ordway Police
station and I said to the staff that John had been to a number of Police Stations, in Police
vehicles and homes but that he had not been in a cell, so they obliged and then I suggested he
aught to have his fingerprints and photograph taken so the staff duly obliged. I watched as John
looked at his ‘mug shot and prints’ and he said, “I’ll have to send them home to Rosie” and he
did, next morning. We returned to Alan and Gloria’s home and she was preparing the evening
meal, also Julie the reporter from the Ordway New Era was waiting for us, so we sat and talked
to her, she took photographs and she said she would send copies to our homes, we thanked her
and the Police staff for making such arrangements. Sheriff Dale Anderson and his wife Sue
arrived, they were very affable people and we enjoyed their company. In conversation we
learned that many of the Police Officers who work in the rural areas like Ordway, have worked
in big Cities and have grown tired of that style of Policing, so they apply to work in the quieter
areas, also that Police equipment is often 2nd. hand, Patrol cars are ex. Highway Patrol and even
the uniforms are obsolete issue, but they all seemed to be happy in their jobs. We sat down to
eat beef, potatoes, carrots, sweet corn, gravy, coleslaw, iced tea, apple pie and ice cream, it was
so homely and excellent. Dale and Sue left about 7pm. and we talked on with Alan and Gloria
until about 9pm when I just had to have another piece of Gloria’s apple pie and ice cream.
At 9.30pm. I felt it was too hot in the room I had been given, so a fan was installed and it did
make the room more bearable. I was ready for bed, so ‘walkman’ and my music helped me to
‘drift away’. Another eventful and rewarding day with lots to remember and people to thank,
‘sleep tight’.
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I woke at 7am. on Wednesday, 16th. September, ’92 after a good sleep, the weather is fine and
dry, looking good and I think it is going to get hotter. After sorting the bikes out we had our
breakfasts with Gloria and Alan (toast, bacon, crepe, jelly, honey, orange and milk). We have
enjoyed our stay with our hosts and we then visited the Police Station to ‘Thank’ Sheriff
Dale Anderson, his son and staff for arranging our stay. We then went on to the Post Office
to send our letters and post cards before starting out at 9.30am. We soon reach Sugar City on
long straight roads with the rail track along side us. There are power poles to one side of the
road and telegraph poles to the other, the roads go on for ever with low grass, some cactus and
other plants. We are to see mirages (refracted light), the wind is light and almost a head wind.
through Arlington, very little of note here, then on to Haswell where the only shop was closed.
We needed water and called at the Post Office where we were allowed to use the hosepipe. We
see some wild life, deer, eagles, a muskrat crossed the road in front of us, what seemed like
millions of grasshoppers of many colours, a large raccoon, I think a rattle snake and two others
lying dead. We are seeing more and more sun flowers and the cactus may be ‘prickly pear’.
It really is hot now and I know John does suffer somewhat (he has straight handlebars, therefore
only one hand position), time for more sun cream. The heat is sapping, however we make Eads
and our destination for this day. We have the rail track and a train pulling in along side us, so
we speak to the driver, Dave White who invites us up onto the footplate and more photographs
were taken to remember this day. We had to contend with more punctures which frustrated
John, it is the dreaded ‘Texas tac’. On to the Police Station where the girl on duty telephoned
the Twilight Motel and arranged our accommodation. On to the motel where we met Sue who
was very cheerful, she showed us our room and we organised ourselves regarding maintenance
of the bikes, getting cleaned up and a good bath. I got my diary up to date again and wrote
cards and a letter to Barbara. Our motel room is $26 and we eat a steak meal costing $10,
which was excellent. After today’s ride and the problems with punctures, we are ready for
some good sleep. I have my ‘walkman’ and listening to Frankie Beverly and Maze is all I
need. Oh, am I tired.
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I woke at 6.30am on Thursday, 17th. September, ’92, ready for an early start, however I needed
to fix a puncture in the rear tyre and I also feel I need to check the front tyre too, so I replaced
each inner tube after making sure there were no hidden sharp thorns in the tyres. It looks as
though it is going to be a ‘hot one’ again. We made our way for breakfast and met a man whom
I had spoken to at the off-licence last night, he was cheery and encouraging us on our way. My
breakfast was French toast, jelly and tea, then we are on the road by 8am. The roads are still
long, flat and straight and John is ‘off like a bat out of hell!!’, we can travel at 20 m.p.h. and we
pass deer and stag to our left. Away in the distance we see another ‘grain tower’ and it seems
to be there for many miles (like a church steeple in our country villages). We pass through
Chivington, Brandon and on to Sheridan Lake where we stopped for drinks, much needed.
The towns we pass through are like ‘ghost towns’, except for the ‘grain towers’. We pushed on
to Towner, Tribune and Whitlaw, each little town seemed deserted with fields of maize, barley
and large ‘crawlers’ watering the fields. On over the Kansas border and a time change before
riding into Leoti, we pass signs for Wichita and we’ve seen dust devils today, again. John is
suffering, he’s dehydrated so we take in more drinks. We booked in at Hi Plains Motel where
we meet Bruce who offers us our accommodation free (for our causes). I also met the Deputy
Police Chief and he said he had my letter in his office, that he had been waiting for me to get
in touch, whilst en-route (this made me think of all the places I had written to and whether each
of the Police Officers were awaiting a telephone call from me!). I told the ‘Deputy’ that Bruce
had offered us the accommodation, I also got to speak to the Sheriff and we may see them for
a meal later at the restaurant. John collected a few Police Patches and this pleased him. Our
room is excellent, what would we do without ‘air conditioning’. We got ourselves sorted,
clothes washed, diaries up to date, bike cleaned and maintained before a great bath. I walked
the main street and called at a general store and found another tape (Manhattans), for later.
At 7.30pm. we went for a meal, I had baked ham, soup, salad, fruit and tea which was
excellent and much needed. We set off to walk the main street and some of the food off, I
asked John if he wanted to call for a drink so we called at the Silver Dollar where we got split
up, I got talking to some interesting cow boys who wouldn’t let me buy a drink. As the night
went on John was not ‘best pleased’, I think he needs his sleep so he made his way back to the
motel and I followed at 12.10am. after a very entertaining and enlightening evening with the
locals. I was certainly ready for my sleep too, so the new tape (Manhattans) were to help me
to ‘dream land’, good night my love. Back notes :- John told me he’d been having horrendous
dreams again, involving Margaret Thatcher!!. Also, we learned that 14yr. olds can drive in
some states, with restrictions (e.g. to and from school/college).
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Awake at 6.45am. on Friday, 18th. September, ’92, John’s still fast asleep. Sorted the bike out
and we’re ready for breakfast by 7.15am. Breakfast was toast, jelly and tea. We loaded up
with drinks ready for the day and we are on the road for 8.15am. and John’s flying again (must
be the medication). We make good time and mileage to Scott City and along the way we are
seeing more and more maize, sweet corn and new corn fields being planted. We also see many
cattle and stockyards, presumably they are awaiting slaughter. We have a slight cross/head
wind but it doesn’t concern us too much as the roads are relatively flat. At Scott City I bought
some more patches (we need them, the number of punctures we’ve been having!). We started
to see ‘nodding donkeys’ (oil fields) and I pushed my bike over to one of the banks of
‘donkeys’ only to find I had 3 punctures to fix (a learning process – “don’t leave the road”).
Now we are in a pig farming area, what a smell with silage everywhere. The day is much
cooler so we are thankful for warm drinks as opposed to the usual iced tea. We passed through
Grigston and Amy and on to Deighton where there was music coming from a church and I
presumed there must be a wedding taking place. The weather today remains ‘English’ as we
Ride on through Geeler and into Ness City where we learned there was an American Football
match going to take place between the Ness City Eagles and the Quinter Bulldogs. We found a
motel and the facilities were excellent, I’m ready for a bath!. We got sorted out, bikes cleaned,
diaries up to date and I had that ‘bath’, much needed as today has been about 35o cooler. We
watch a bit of T.V. (usually it is awful, except for documentaries and for me the occasional
musical concerts), the £1 is suffering back home, I learn that the interest rate has risen to 12%,
then dropped to 10% and the £1 is taken out of the E.RM., couldn’t work it out. We then went
on to the Pizza Parlour and had a 15” Supreme which made 12 pieces together with a couple
of pitchers of beer which cost $18, excellent it was too. Back note :- We’ve ridden along side
the Aitcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe railway line and seen Union and Southern Pacific railway
stock , also the line meeting up with the Missouri Pacific line. After our meal we made our way
to the American Football stadium where we were invited in by the Lions association, we were
asked to put the $4 fee to our charity fund. I also got to speak to the local Sheriff who said that
had we called at the Police Station, he would have ‘put us up’, we thanked him accordingly.
He also suggested we telephone forward to Sgt. Mayres at Larned who he felt sure, would give
us every assistance, this we did and sure enough he would arrange our accommodation, we
thanked him and hoped we would meet. I certainly enjoyed watching the ‘match’, though it
was a walk over for the Ness City Eagles who were 40 – 0 up at half time!. Time to head back
to the motel, to enjoy some Manhattans music, I know I didn’t hear the full tape, must have
needed the ‘kip’.
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At 6.30am. on Saturday, 19th. September, ’92 I was awakened by the sound of the T.V., John
was watching (I guessed he wanted to know more about the state of the £1, back home). On to
the restaurant for a breakfast of Texas toast and tea. We topped our drinks bottles up and set
off wearing an extra jacket, the temperatures were still down. At the roadside we met a lady
selling onions and we learn that we will see more of this enterprise as we travel on. The roads
are reasonably flat but the wind is more troublesome. We pushed on to Bezine and we continue
to see the ‘grain towers’ high on the sky line. Still we see inquisitive animals popping their
heads up out of the roadside grass, to see who and what we are, I respect the fact that we are
the visitors/foreigners and we are invading their space. Nothing much to see as we ride on
through Alexandra and Nekoma but we stopped for drinks at Rush Center. There we spoke to
a man and his wife, they had obviously seen my ‘T’ shirt with the cancer cause shown there-
on and they spoke of ‘his’ testicular cancer, that he had been in treatment for 2 years and had
his last chemotherapy 3 months ago and that he had started to put weight on which was
pleasing. We also spoke to the owner of the cafe, he too was interested in our cycle ride and
we were able to say that we had ridden almost 2,500 miles so far. The day has not improved
and I keep a shirt on, over my ‘T’ shirt. It is still cool and overcast. I had another spoke break
in the rear wheel which took me 20 minutes to replace and true the wheel back up. We took a
side road from Timken which was quieter but we had to contend with a head wind at times,
which by now we were able to adequately handle. On arrival into Larned we went straight to
the Police Station where we saw Sgt. Mayres, who gave us a ‘voucher’ which needed counter-
signing by Father Chuck at Sacred Heart R.C. church. We rode on to the church and met the
biggest/fattest Father I’d ever seen, he must have been 23 to 25 stone and about 35yrs. of age.
He was a cheery and chatty man who asked lots of questions of us and our purpose before he
counter-signed the ‘voucher’ (these vouchers are issued to ‘Drifters passing through’ who are
somewhat destitute), however we learned how the ‘vouchers’ system worked for us (it is a joint
venture by the Fraternity of Police Officers and the Salvation Army). We had drinks and
‘cookies’ before thanking Father Chuck for the hospitality given to us. The ‘voucher’ gave us
a hotel room at Virginia Hotel. We called at the Police Station and we were able to make a
telephone call to T.F.M. radio, back home, to tell them we would be at Virginia Hotel to link
up with their presenter. We booked in at Virginia Hotel and the owner said that the radio
station had been in touch and would be ringing back soon. Once more our room was excellent.
We started to get ourselves organised, the bikes take up some part of our room, we put news-
papers down if we can’t clean them out doors. I had just had my shower when our call came in
from Tom Davies at T.F.M. radio and John seemed to think the transmission went well. Then I
was most surprised to hear my Barbara, it was a most special occasion for me, I also got to talk
to my long time school friend Keith Crosby (he and his wife Di were staying with Barbara). I
was handed back to Barbara and I realised even more, how much I’m missing her. I then spent
time making my diary up to date. Next it was ‘wash time’ again, the clothes I’d been wearing.
Now it is 7pm. and we need to eat and we have been told to eat at the Porter House which is
situated alongside the railway line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe . Once in the Porter
House we realise we are in, probably the classiest restaurant we are likely to visit. The waitress
is wearing a long black skirt and a white blouse, she looks very glamorous and shows us to a
table which is well laid with Irish linen table cloth and silver service placing and there is a
candle burning in a silver holder, also the lighting is from chandeliers and the dÈcor is not at all
‘western’. My initial thought was, “What the hell am I doing here with HIM, my Barbara
should be here with me, especially in a place as nice as this”. I guess I meant it in the nicest
way possible. Our waitress is most pleasant, a delight and she furnishes us with information
about Larned and the location so far as history is concerned and she directs us to pictures on the
walls with many a ‘western story’ (In 1860 Larned was a Fort with Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th.
Cavalry, stories of the Indian uprisings, of General George Custer, General Phil Sheridan,
Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickock, Chief Satanta, Yellow Bear, Sitting Bull and many many more
notable well known historical characters.) (I had heard of the book ‘Bury my heart at Wounded
Knee” and I knew it would tell me more about the many stories I had heard and learned about in
my ‘youth’ and was now ‘living that history’, so I would have to have that book when I
returned home.) I have to say, I was in my element, I did feel like that ‘little boy, thinking of all
the cow boys and Indians’, I just needed to know more and here I was feeling in the heart of
something memorable. John too is making the most of this occasion and is very affable. Our
meals were similar (mine was a 16oz. prime rib steak, soup, salad, beer and mints). Barbara
you really ought to have been here. This meal is the best yet and John said for a second time
tonight, “If Rosie could see me now!!”. We just have to walk this meal off (which cost us $20
each), so we roam the main street and learn we are in Pawnee Indian country and that we cross
the Arkansas river tomorrow. On return to our Hotel we spoke to the owner again and asked
about the Dan Does restaurant for an early breakfast, she said we would be O.K. there. I don’t
remember much after ‘laying me head down on the pillow’, what a day, what a meal and what
more is there to come. John and I have from time to time, ‘had words’, I realise we are two
very different characters, I know John is on his ‘medication, and that I need to be flexible and
feel I have to take stock of his manner, his attitude, bearing in mind he has prepared this very
detailed route for us and I (due to the Police hospitality offered us) will take him and I off his
route and I’m reminded of this by him. I know it does not concern me, but it does seem to
offend John, so I have to be conscious of this. He will from time to time go off into his ‘telling
me’ or ‘telling whoever we are with’, his story and there is a tendency for there to be no room
for questions or other points of view. He is a very interesting character and I appreciate his
company and stories, especially when he refers to any of his diary listed 100 most influential
people in his life. He is well read and an academic, having studied at the London School of
Economics, whereas my life and occupation has been all about serving and being a part of the
community, basically communicating and dealing with public matters. I suppose it would be
too much to ask, that we should see eye to eye all of the time, therefore we have to deal with
our differences and agree accordingly.
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John woke me out of a good deep and I think, long sleep, it is 6.15am. on Sunday, 20th.
September, ’92 and there is a foggy mist this morning. We got sorted in good time and were
on the road by 7am. for breakfast at Dan Does. It is not sufficiently light yet, it is also cool so
I have a shirt on over my ‘T’ shirt and we are wearing our fluorescent tabards. I enjoyed my
toast, jelly and tea and we made a start for the days ride at 8.15am.. There is a wind and it is
favourably on the shoulder, so we are able to maintain a reasonable pace. Through Radium,
Seward and on to Hudson and bypassing Stirling, we have covered about 50 miles in two
and a half hours, so it is good cycling, sometimes around 20 m.p.h. and occasionally up to
28 m.p.h. As the fog clears we begin to see hawks and a flock of pelicans. On reaching the
Nickerson road with the Stirling road we learn that the bridge over the Arkansas river is closed.
John decided we should take a look for ourselves, because it is the route we should be on.
however on arrival at the bridge, John accesses the situation and decided not to try to cross the
bridge, I took one look and satisfied myself it was not safe. We backtracked to meet the S 14
road and John examined his route materials whilst I spoke to locals who were able to guide
us to another route in order to get us to our destination at Newton. John continued to study his
route material, therefore he had theories about which route we should take. I spoke to a driver
who furnished me with the same route as previously given and eventually we set off along S
14 road to State Hwy 50. Our route is more English and we are able to ride on to Hutchinson,
we have seen tortoises along the way (a bit like a mass migration.) We are still maintaining a
good pace and we pass Buhler air port where we see many old planes and in conversation with
locals we see a Cessna Mk.1 which looks like Bleriot’s monoplane and we learn that it was a
copy of a Cessna Mk.1. There was a Fokker tri-plane and the conversation turned to the Red
Barron who flew one. We continue to see different wild life, a flock of egret and Ibis, a
Beautiful sight. We continue to make good mileage and we were often cruising at 26 m.p.h.
and I reached 31.6 m.p.h. when I tried and put my foot on the ‘gas’. Along the route I came
upon a fruit seller and I stopped at the roadside and bought some apples. I was ahead of John,
however he didn’t see my bike at the roadside, so I had to put my foot down to catch him, he
believed I was ahead of him. Fortunately I was able to get back to him as we were entering
Newton, our destination for that day and we called at the Police Station to ask about a motel
for that evening. We were directed to 1.35 motel which was on our route and we booked in
At a cost of $31.50. We arrived at 4.15pm. and I had cycled 133.14 miles in 8 hours. It was
to be our longest daily mileage of the challenge, so we were pleased with that days endeavour.
It was also to be a day which required thought, consideration, decision making and tolerance
and we ‘came through’. John was very dehydrated and had some sun burn on his arms and
face (he is very fair skinned and his hair is almost auburn, so it is not surprising) todays sun,
though not too strong together with the continuous winds had done him some damage which
was taken care of once we had reached our room. Along the way we also saw flocks of
swallows and what looked like meadow larks near a wild life reserve. John needed drinks to
help the dehydration and he relaxed/rested after his shower, but there is still the washing to
be done and the bikes to check over ready for tomorrow. As we head off for a meal I thought
that Newton was a nicer town than Larned, however I heard some young people using the
foulest of language and I was not best pleased. My meal was spagetti, salad, cold tea, apple
pie and ice cream and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We wandered the main street which had lots of
motels and saloon bars, however, we had covered some distance and I knew John needed his
sleep so it is back to the motel and John soon has his ear plugs in and mask on and is ‘off like a
baby’, thankfully. I listened to some music on ‘walkman’ but I ‘didn’t need any rocking’….
ZZZZ, I’m very sleepy too. Back note from yesterday :- John was bitten by a Katydid (a sing-
ing Grasshopper,) he knew about it, it hurt him. He caught the Katydid and put it into a film
container, only to find it decomposed some days later!!.
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After our longest days ride yesterday what will today have in store. I woke at 7.30am. on
Monday, 21st September, ’92 and the weather is a little like yesterday, some misty fog about,
but the sun is trying to break through. We had the T.V. on for a while, John wanted to know
the state of the £1, Miss America was speaking out regarding Aids and there was a 51% French
turn out by voters, also the regional weather reports are often helpful to us. We went on to
Dales Pancake Cafe for breakfast and I enjoyed French toast, jelly and tea. We got out on the
road for 9am. with tabards on, it is still a little misty. We maintain a steady pace though it is
very humid and we are on a County road which has a rough surface, so we don’t expect to see
many people. The road is undulating and we ride into Cassoday (Prairie Chicken Capital of the
world) We push on to Rosalia and along the way I’ve seen more luppins, lobielia, sun flowers
and what look like purple blue bells, also more tortoise, lots of horses and cattle now. The
scenery is open with very few trees. We called at O.D. Hat, Rosalia where there was a diary
for visitors to write their comments therein. I noted that John Ramsey Graham of 66
Belmangate, Guisborough, North Yorkshire had called at the cafe on the 27th. August, ’92 (this
address is just 8 miles from my home, must look him up some time.) I had 2 small pieces of
cherry and peach pie with ice cream and we included our comments in the diary. As we
pushed on along S 70 we rode alongside each other and John recited part of ‘footprints’, the
road was so open with little traffic, then however we had to drop into single file as vehicles
were coming up on us from behind and would you believe it, one pickup overtook us correctly
whilst the other overtook us on the grass verge, at the same time. After this and prior to, we
had not seen a vehicle for some 20 minutes!!. Then a while later a pick up came alongside us
and slowed down. One of the occupants shouted abuse and threw an empty can in our direction
which missed both of us. I had this mental picture of the ‘thug’ (he looked like one of the
members of a heavy metal band called Z Z Top, so he was fat, had a long beard and was
wearing a base ball cap and the thing I recall most was the ‘perfume smell’ coming from the
cab of the vehicle… I thought they must have a gay persuasion). We rode on into Eureka and I
called at the Sheriff’s Office where I met Deputy Sheriff Tony Wilhite and they were very
obliging by contacting Blue Stem Lodge motel and arranged accommodation for us, saving us
$32.50, courtesy of the Fraternity of Police Officers. Tony then escorted us, so we followed
him in his patrol car to the motel, John was captivated by the treatment we were receiving. At
the motel we saw Charlotte and registered. The first thing I noticed on arrival at the motel was
the outdoor swimming pool, so as soon as we were sorted, gear washed, bikes maintained ready
for tomorrow, I had a quick shower and donned my trunks and enjoyed a relaxing swim and
sitting by the pool I made my diary up to date. I was ready for a good bath and at 7.15pm. we
went on to the Truckers Stop for an evening meal. I had a ham salad and meat pie with tea
which was once more very good. Afterwards we walked the main street and posted post cards
and letters, then it was back to the motel to settle in with ‘walkman’ and some good tracks to
‘rock me to sleep’. Back note:- That reminds me, we passed over the Rock Island Line today.
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I woke at 7am. on Tuesday, 22nd. September, ’92 from a ‘tremendamungus’ dream (Barbara
knows what I’m talking about). The day looks really good, suns up but it is more humid, just
hope there is no wind. I went to thank Charlotte before setting off down the road for some
breakfast of French toast, Jelly and tea. We were on the road by 8.30am. and we have a side to
head wind as we ride on the 54 which is busy but has a reasonable shoulder. We see snakes
dead at the roadside, tortoises and an Armadillo, the countryside is more English with greenery,
trees, streams and rolling hills to either side of the road. We left the 54 and onto the 155 to
Toronto and called at a Post Office and for drinks at Sandy’s Cafe . Back on the road through
Coyville and on to Benedict, now the wild flowers are interesting with lots of purple thistle,
Cornflowers blue and purple in colour, clover, also white and purple flowers, the kind used in
bouquets, two kinds of sun flower, one with a dark centre and the other all yellow, like a big
daisy, also white daisies and some attractive blue and purple flowers like blue bells. John has
been eager to meet Yodelin’ Katy (we have information from our maps regarding Katy and
John really does wish to meet her). As we entered Chanute, our next overnight stay, I called
at the Highway Patrol Police Office and I began to asked the desk Sergeant, “We are looking..
the desk Sergeant interrupted and said, “You’re looking for Yodelin Katy….etc”, and he then
directed us straight to the area where there are mobile homes. I suppose my instincts took me to
the right mobile home where a lady was working in the garden, she was wearing a Stetson and
had a loud T shirt on and as I was about to speak she said, “Yes, I’m Yodelin Katy, come on
in”, she had the biggest smile and together with her accent, her greeting was friendly and
sincere. We parked the bikes outside of her ‘home’ and entered to find a home full of all kinds
of nic nacs and memorabilia (it looked like, everything that had ever gone in to the home since
it was first occupied by her in 1957, had never come out of it…except human beings!!). She
was so overtly friendly and insisted we go to her home for an evening meal, she also made a
telephone call to the nearby Holiday Park motel and secured a price of $30, which we were
happy with. I began looking at lots of photographs in albums, scattered around. I could see
she loved her music and that she made regular visits to Branson, Missouri where she goes to
sing and record her material (singing/yodelling and playing her ukelele). John tells Katy how
much he has been wanting to meet her and begins to tell her about trips and visits he’s had to
‘places in the world’. I continue to look at her albums of photographs and I can see that she
is a well travelled and interesting lady. Without invitation, we realise she has contacted the
local radio station via telephone and she said, “There’s a call for you Peter…!”. I’m not aware
of what she has arranged and as I answer the telephone I realise that I am being interviewed
by the Radio station and the transmission is going out live, it was an inspirational experience,
then John followed me on the ‘phone and Katy too, we thanked her for setting this unexpected
situation up for us. We then left Katy to prepare the meal and we went to the motel, checked in
and started to get sorted, clothes washed, diary to write up, post cards, letters and a welcome
bath for me. John was quite excited at meeting Katy and was soon off back to her home some
30 minutes before I set off to join them. On arrival John was telling Katy about his experiences
and I found an album of photographs from her visit to Alaska, then the meal was ready and we
had pork, rice, savoury mix, green beans, salad, fruit and iced tea, it was very good and I
thanked her for making us feel at home, she said, “I’ll sing you a song”, and she picked up her
ukelele and started singing about John and Peter cycling across U.S.A. leaving our wives Rosie
and Barbara back home etc, etc. I was totally taken by her confidence and then she sang, “If
you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands” and “Pass it on” (about passing on your Joy,
Hope and Love), so all in all, we knew we were in the presence of a real character. After the
meal, it was agreed that we would go to Hardies for ice cream and take Katy. We also had to
take Katy and her bike via her (bike surgeon) Rex, as she had a problem with her bike and she
uses it every day for many tasks (delivering her home made food produce, visiting schools and
people). So we set off in her estate vehicle, calling via Rex’s to leave her bike and on to
Hardies for ice cream and drinks. We realised why Katy had wanted to go for ice cream, she
wanted the ‘folks here in Chanute’ to meet us and what a reception we got, of course we were
not permitted to purchase anything. I had vanilla and caramel ice cream and we were kept very
much entertained by Kathleen who works at Hardies and Katy. What a pleasant surprise and
evening. Then it was back to Katy’s and on to the motel. Katy had insisted that we return to
her home for breakfast and we agreed to do this. So after another eventful and memorable day,
meeting Katy and spending time with her was a wonderful experience, one I will not forget,
what a lovely lady (she’s 65 and uses all her energies, it seems, in everything she does.) So, it
is back to the motel and I soon have ‘walkman’ on whilst I catch up with my diary and after
today, I’m ready for some ‘soothing sleep’ and ‘It’s a good night to you’.
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I was awake by 6.30am. on Wednesday, 23rd. September, ’92 and up and about to sort the bike
out and make it ready for the road and day ahead. As agreed, we went on over to Katy’s for
breakfast and Katy was soon singing more songs. Katy had recorded the radio transmission of
our interview and it was replayed about 8am., so that was a surprise, then whilst having our
breakfast, Katy’s son Dan arrived and he was very cheerful and eager to know more about our
ride. Dan also was into fundraising so we were able to exchange ideas, then Chris, a reporter
for the Chanute Tribune local newspaper arrived and he set too and interviewed us about our
cycling adventure. Photographs were needed so Steve’ from the newspaper organised us and
also took shots whilst we were out on the road, Katy also joined us for a short ride out from
her home (she has two bikes and had work to do, delivering her goods/provisions). We said
our most sincere thanks to Katy and I hoped that we might be able to meet again…what a lady.
It is now 10.10am. as we start our days ride, we detoured through Erie and on to St. Paul, the
weather was pleasant and the scenery more English again. At St. Paul’s catholic church we
stopped, the church was impressive and on entering if was beautiful. I bought some Post Cards
of the church and thought of the friends I would send them to, I also took time to relax and say
a prayer for all that John and I had experienced, the hospitality and friendship we had been
afforded and the pleasures of each day in ‘God’s Wilderness’. John was sat outside the church
making notes in his diary and this presented a very appropriate photograph. There was a head
to side wind as we pushed on to Girard, it was not too troublesome. On reaching Girard I tried
to get some more Post Cards without luck, so we went on to a cafe where we spoke to a girl
who was from Buckinghamshire, who had been over in America for 3 years and had married,
she too showed a great deal of interest in our challenge. We continued to make good time and
keep to a reasonable pace, there was a wonderful display of roadside wild flowers, lots of
colour and variety and we are now looking for a ‘telegraph pole with a certain number on it, at
a cross roads’. At this cross roads there are no road signs, therefore we need to find the said
telegraph pole in order to turn ‘left in Kansas’. John’s detailed route is excellent and we find
the telegraph pole, there John wants to take a photograph and I need a drink as we’ve rode
about 60 miles. As John is taking the photograph of the number on the telegraph pole, which
is just the other side of a small hedge and in a garden, we see a man (who looks just like Mr.
Magoo) running down the footpath from his detached bungalow, he had no shoes on. As he
reached John his hand came out from one of his pockets and he thrust $30 into John’s hand and
said, “Get yourselves a meal boys”. John didn’t readily take the $30, however he saw the ‘T’
shirt I was wearing and he said, “Well, put it to your charities”. What an introduction, to be
greeted by such generousity, his name was Karl Hudson and he then asked if we wanted a
drink. We surely did need a drink and he led us up his footpath to his home. By now we could
see that he was holding a cigarette in his other hand (you know the way some people smoke,
they seem to hide the burning end of the cigarette in towards the palm of their hand, as if to
make it appear that they are not really smoking). He would draw on his ‘ciggie’ and then take
his hand and place it behind him, so that you’re not supposed to have noticed. He went into
the house and came back out with a litre bottle of ice cold milk which we much appreciated
and as we were drinking and passing the time of day, there was a female voice calling from the
house, at this Karl immediately responded and I have to say, I have never seen a cigarette end
disappear so quickly (thrown to the ground) and in stocking feet he stubbed it out and hurriedly
went into the house. John and I thought it ‘must’ be his wife, however on his return we learned
that the voice was his mother’s (she was bed ridden, having a heart condition) and Karl was her
carer. Karl was a cheery, inquisitive funny man who just talked and seemed to enjoy our
company and when we were ready to leave, he drew another $5 from his pocket and handed it
to us. We thanked him and as we set off he called, “Yaw’ll call and see Walmart” and he was
pointing to a large colonial style home way over in the distance. We could only assume that
the ‘Mr. Walmart” (of the super market business), was who he was referring to. We did not
head off across the prairie to the home, however I did think that Karl had thought it may be a
good idea to let ‘Mr. Walmart’ know what we were doing as we made our way across U.S.A.!
Having turned ‘left in Kansas’, we went on our way to Pittsburg where I called at the Police
Station, there I saw Dennis Jameson, Crime Prevention Co-ordinator and through the Police
Fraternity and Salvation Army we afforded accommodation at Townside Motel and for us to
eat at Otto’s Cafe, so from the Police Station we went straight along to Otto’s where we were
greeted by a very frail young woman who weighed about 90lbs and she announced that she had
been a truck driver. She looked after us and served us Liver, onions, soup, salad, raisen pie and
tea which was excellent. We told her we would return for breakfast as it was right on our route
from Pittsburg. We then made our way to Townside motel and checked in to a very
comfortable room. By now we were in need of a good bath or shower and the other necessary
tasks needed to be done, washing, cleaning the bikes, the diary to make up to date and the Post
cards and letters. Time to relax and take in another eventful day, especially meeting “Mr.
Magoo’ (Karl Hudson). Back notes :- We have passed through Pawnee and Cherokee Indian
Territory, we’ve seen tortoise and turtles and hedge apples which had bobbles on the skins.
We also saw our first and perhaps our only Woolworths store. I set about writing the Post
Cards from St. Paul’s church to friends Barbara and Jim near home and Cliff and Margaret in
Northern Ireland (Cliff is a member of the R.U.C. and was a Law Instructor with me at Law
College), I know they would appreciate my sending these cards. I didn’t have ‘walkman’ on
for very long before I was ‘drifting off’ (after all, our vouchers were issued as if we were
‘Drifters passing through’.
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I woke at 6.30am. on Thursday, 24th. September, ’92 and we were soon sorted and ready to go
to Otto’s for breakfast of French toast, jelly and tea and we were able to talk to the local Patrol
Sergeant before getting on the road for 8.30am. We have a slight head wind, it is sunny and the
skies very blue, so I’ve got the sun cream on, we know we have a long day and some distance
to travel today and we cross over into Missouri from Kansas into the Ozarks. Along the way to
Golden City we talked to a local cyclist who had cycled parts of our route and he spoke about
Branson being the music centre for country and folk music (we knew that Katy visited there).
We pushed on through Pennsboro and Everton, the scenery is stunning with the foliage starting
to turn colour (the ‘Fall’ coming on). We’re in ‘The Ozarks’ and we have lakes and hills, it
is as if we are on an old Roman road, but we know that we are going to be rising and falling
for the next six days and some of the gradients are steep, however, we do have some 2,800
miles in our legs by now and I’m really enjoying the hills. It is necessary to take in plenty of
liquid today, so we make regular stops. We see cattle ranches, pig farms, horse ranching and
there is also a wheat belt. I think we must be a strange sight for the cattle, they seem to stare
and move their heads to continue to stare (a little note for Laura). John is finding it hard today,
I feel he must be a bit under the weather, he has adopted a dominant attitude of ‘being right’
and when he starts ‘telling people’ instead of communicating and listening, I am embarrased
and feel it is offensive to who ever he is speaking, so I make it known to him that I will not be
a party to such conduct and if it happens, I will apologise and leave him to it. We push on to
Ash Grove and Walnut Grove and keep the pace steady because we know we may have a much
later finish to the day. On through Fairgrove and we’ve seen more large ‘crawlers’ watering
the crops, also vultures. I feel John is under some pressure today, perhaps it is the medication,
he has walked a little on some of the hills, he finds it easier. I have to say, it is easier for me to
keep the pedals turning with the gears I have (my left hip joint is badly worn and it is more
painful to walk) and the cycling is less weight bearing too. Time and the miles pass as we enter
Marshfield, it is 6.45pm., the latest finish yet and our shadows in the evening sun are now long.
On our way in we called at a liquor store and bought a beer and Sprite, then on to Fair Oak
motel which we found to be very comfortable. We got ourselves organised, clothes washed,
bikes cleaned and maintained, a most welcome bath, a short rest up whilst making my diary up
to date and John whilst studying his route, estimated we had climbed some 5,000’ in our 118
miles today, so it has been ‘quite a day’. We’re both ready for a good meal and John makes it
known ‘he is starving and needs to replace 10,000 calories’, so we find a meal for $6.50 which
is an ‘eat as much as you like’ for the fixed price, so we tuck in to meat, soup, salad, sweet and
drinks of iced tea, it was excellent and I certainly felt ‘full’. We walked back to the motel and I
wrote some more Post Cards and a letter, also diary up to date. John felt he needed to go over
the ‘disquiet’ of which I have mentioned, so we had a ‘clearing of the air’ session, I just hope it
is as a result of the medication he takes and the fact that it has been a ‘testing day’. I had a
further beer and a Sprite whilst listening to ‘walkman’, John is watching a programme about
President Nixon, then he gets plugged and masked up and is soon ‘away with the fairies’,
thankfully and hopefully he will get then sleep he needs, for we do have more hills to climb
for a few days to come. What a day we’ve had and what satisfaction in completing todays
mileage, I guess it is time to get some ‘shut eye’. Back note :- In Kansas we saw many large
concrete posts (about 2 cwt.) for fencing which were about 150 yrs. old.
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I woke to a misty and wet morning at 7.15am. on Friday, 25th. September, ’92, so we need
weather proof and fluorescent tops on and we’re soon on our way for breakfast at Tyneys, I
had toast, jelly and grapefruit juice. On the road we are travelling along the 38 for most of the
day and the rolling hills/roads will continue, so lots of use of the gears. The Post cards I had
bought yesterday of the Ozarks, showed the scenery in all its ‘fall’ colours and we are now
seeing it live, it is a beautiful sight with burnt birch type bushes and maple leaf changing all
the time. We called for iced tea at Debi’s Delli, Hartville, owned by an older lady and her two
waitress daughters, they were ‘real dolls’, haven’t seen so much makeup!!. We see garden
ornaments of animals and the occasional older couple of ladies – ‘bending over’!!, obviously
tending their gardens. It is raining a little harder now and we seem to be cycling through cloud
most of the time. The gardens here are open plan, neat and tidy and the ‘small holdings’ are
smart, we see lots of bikes in gardens, but no one out on the road. There is an incessant sound
of the ‘katydids’ chattering. On through Bendavis, Fairview junction and Bucyrus, we see pig
and dairy farming and horse ranches and many turkey vultures, at one time John was almost
hit by a flock of these ‘ugly’ looking vultures as they tried to fly away from a carcass of a dead
raccoon. There are more dogs too, however they have not been a problem. We rode into
Houston which does not appear to be a very attractive place, however, it is where we will stay
tonight and we book in at the Lazy ‘L’ motel and Cafe which is owned by a Korean family. We
made a telephone link with T.F.M. radio back home at 5.15pm. our time with Big Stu’ (Stewart
Macfarlane) and we both went out on air, together with the owner of the motel, Song Cha
Yoon, which seemed to go very well, thankfully. There were messages from my Barbara, also
my cousin Dorothy from York who had heard earlier transmissions, so this was a very pleasant
surprise. My Barbara had found out from the radio station, where we were staying and she
called me, this too was a lovely surprise. We got sorted as usual, today our clothes are soaked
anyway, so ‘wash day’ again, the bikes cleaned, they needed it and a good shower. There was
time to relax and write cards, letters and the diary before going for an evening meal and it is
another ‘All you can eat for $5’, so there was fish, chicken, ham, salad and sweets, great value
once more. By the time we returned to the motel, our washing was dry (there have been times
when the washing hasn’t dried, so we have hung it out to dry on the panniers to dry in the sun).
So to rest, to reflect on another different day and one to remember, ‘let tomorrow be as today,
maybe even better’, I can’t believe how this adventure is evolving, thank you.
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Saturday, 26th. September, ’92 and I’m up and about by 7.15am. I turned the television on and
was pleased to see and hear Dionne Warwick, she was being interviewed and sang some of her
songs, she has been a life long favourite of mine. John took over the remote and flicked
through the channels to find the local weather reports. We were ready to leave and go for our
breakfast by 7.45am. and the weather is much better than yesterday, it is sunny and clear
visibility. I had toast, jelly and tea which I enjoyed. John told me that he had a minor problem
caused by all the cycling (sitting in the saddle), I had some ointment which he agreed to use to
ease the discomfort and he bought a tube, just in case. We were on the road by 8.30am., the
terrain is ‘roller coaster’ again, this is ‘The Ozarks’ and the beauty gets better and better, we
have to contend with a side wind and the gradients are often 1 in 4 (up and down), which
creates quite a picture with the road being straight and many crests of each hill ahead, together
with the ‘fall’ colours, road side foliage and the many lakes. On through Yukon we see a field
of goats, I can smell ‘green beans’ and we soon see a field of them and we come across garden
sales (where everything/anything is there on the lawn – ‘For Sale’). We pushed on through
Eunice and at Summerfield I stopped for a drink, John was some way behind me so I waited a
While. The price of petrol here is 99.9c a gallon. No sign of John so I decided to go back, I
also stopped a car and asked the driver if he had seen another cyclist. He told me he had so I
continue to retrace my route and met John who told me he had seen a flag in a garden which
was a combination of the ‘Stars and Stripes’ and ‘Union Jack’, so he had stopped and met Peter
and Phyllis Lowe, he was from East Anglia and she was American, he had enjoyed tea and
biscuits with them. John also told me that he had been approached by dogs and he had kicked
out at one of them, the result was, he had hurt an ‘in growing toe nail”, so it hurt him whilst he
had to walk. Also, he had been given the name and address of a bike shop in Carbondale where
the owner might offer us hospitality and he had given them Yodellin Katy’s address. We push
on to Alley Springs and the countryside continues to get better, I see squirrels, muskrats, a
cayote crossed the road and ran off when he saw me!, I must smell!. On through Eminence
and on to Owl Bend, the roads seem steeper and John has had to walk some of the hills, he finds
it easier to do so, although the gradients do not have signs thereon, I guess many of them are
1 in 3’s and 1 in 4’s. I have noted that John does not use ‘toe-clips’, I certainly think that I am
benefiting from using ‘toe-clips’, the action of push/pull rotation is ideal, without ‘to-clips’ it
is not possible to cultivate this action, it is only possible to ‘push’, so I feel I am advantaged.
Butterflies, crickets and other insects together with oak trees and other deciduous woodlands
and roadside foliage creates a wonderful final leg of our day, into Ellington where we found a
room at Scenic River motel which cost $36, but it was very comfortable (it had a kidney shaped
bath!). We arrived at Ellington by 4.15pm. and we set too with the daily tasks before I had a
really comforting bath and relaxed with ‘walkman’ whilst making my dairy up to date. By
6pm. it has started to rain and water is standing, so we are pleased we arrived at our destination
earlier. There is ‘The National Scenic Riverways’ near our motel and the river has canoeist
on it. There was a country and western programme on T.V. which I appreciated whilst writing
post cards and letters, but now it is 7pm. and time to eat, I had chicken, baked potato, salad,
and tea, excellent. We returned to the motel, I had decided to write a note/letter to Gloria
Hunniford of B.B.C. radio 2 via. friends (Keith and Di), I wanted her to know that my Barbara
would be travelling down to Gatwick airport to meet me and that Barbara would be listening to
her programme as she was driving down and it would be a pleasant surprise for her. Reflecting
on the day, I would not have wanted to miss what I have seen and experienced today, another
wonderful day to surely remember.
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I woke about 1.45am. on Sunday, 27th. September, ’92, unfortunately John’s snoring was
reaching new heights, so I put ear plugs in…he told me later that morning that he had had the
most horrendous dream ‘again’ and at 7am. he was still snoring…’must be another dream’. It is
very misty this morning, wonder if it will be a problem. I mentioned to John about his snoring
and he did not appreciate my doing so. I realise we perhaps all ‘do it’, I’m sure none of us
know ‘how much we do it’, I’m told I am ‘worse’!!. (We agree to disagree) and go for
breakfast of French toast, jelly and drinks at Trimmers. Back at the motel, I made a telephone
call home and spoke to Barbara, Laura and our son Dave, which set the day up for me. We got
underway by 9am. and we had to wear our fluorescent tops, however we were soon cycling into
sunshine and the countryside is once more ‘heaven’ with the variety of trees, the greens and the
changing colours. The hills are still steep, the surface is good as we ride through Centreville
and by pass Lesterville and on through Mark Twain National Park where I’m seeing squirrels,
lizards, stick insects and 4 grey deer. We stopped for Burritos and Mountain Dew, really good.
We pass through tatty villages which I can only describe as having ‘tin can homes’, we pass
Barney’s Bait Shop and we learn that there is a re-enactment of the Civil War at Pilot Knob
and we are almost there. On arrival the ‘Civil War’ is in full action and it is a real spectacle,
one I was most please to see. So, it is 1868 at Fort Jefferson and the The Confederacy are
defending their territory from the attacking Yankies.. We rode on into Farmington where we
met an attorney and his wife who had married in November ’91 and had visited London for
their honeymoon and they wanted to tell us about their visit. On to Ozark Village motel where
we took a room for $26.62, it is not what we have experience before, however…it will do, I
guess we’ve been spoiled. We saw a man with a walking stick and he was wearing a black T
shirt with a skeleton thereon and John remarked, “That’s how you’re going to end up”, a
reference to the amount of weight we are each loosing. At the motel, we get ourselves sorted,
gear washed, bikes checked and maintained before a good shower. I was able to write some of
my diary up before going for a meal. I had soup, ham, hash browns, salad, fresh bread, straw-
berry pie and iced tea, once more it was good value and very tasty. I noticed that the vegetables
were not very inviting, hence I am not eating much. Back at the motel, time to get up to date
with my diary, also post cards and letters before listening to me music. I recall hearing 3 tracks
and no more…Zzzz.
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I woke at 6am. on Monday, 28th. September, ’92, the weather looks good, clear blue skies and
the sun is coming up. The weather forecast is also favourable, particularly the wind direction
so we are up and about and to breakfast for 6.30am. of French toast, jelly and tea. Our waitress
used many of the ‘Americanisms’ which we keep hearing, “You’re very welcome”, “Have a
nice day” etc. On the road by 7.30am., it is a bit cool as we start out but the roads is still
undulating quite steeply so we are working quite hard and the sun soon warms us through as
we travel through Coffman and Ozra and on towards the Mississippi river which we have to
cross into Illinois. Along the way we meet Henrik Heine a cyclist from Germany and he makes
a suggestion that we contact “The Bike Surgeon” at Carbondale who may offer us hospitality.
Henrik also gave us a route to Carbondale which would save us some 20 miles. We also met
George and Sue Glass from Connecticut who were cycling and had stayed at Goreville last
Night (which is on our route for tomorrow). They were a very pleasant couple and Sue (had
some figure!!). Crossing the Mississippi, the river was fast flowing, muddy in colour and about
half a mile wide and we rode on through Chester to Murphysboro where we stopped at a Post
Office with a parcel for Barbara and post cards for Rosie and Katy, then to a McDonalds for
drinks and I made a telephone call to Mark (The Bike Surgeon) at Carbondale and he asked us
to ride to his ‘bike shop’ and that he would ‘put us up’ and he gave us the route. We cycled
along West Walnut Street and found “The Bike Surgeon” bike shop in Carbondale and met
Mark Robinson. Once inside his ‘bike shop’ we met customers and talked to Mark and his
work mates. The atmosphere was friendly and very sociable. We wrote messages on a wooden
board which contained messages from other cyclists who have passed through and I made radio
link with T.F.M. and Stewart Macfarlane, so John went out live first, then myself and Mark was
eager to be involved and I know Stewart appreciated this transmission. We waited around the
bike shop until it was ‘closing time’ and we followed Mark on his bike to his home where we
would ‘rough it’, using sleeping bags, however, it was somewhere to lay our heads and Mark
was good enough to offer to have us stay. We were able to do our usual ‘chores’ – washing our
gear, checking the bikes over and I had a great shower, thankfully, before relaxing, making my
diary up to date and post card writing etc. Then we were to meet two more cyclists, Matthew
Ridout from Salisbury and Peter Thompson from Belfast who were University students taking
a year out. They had eaten, however Mark had an arrangement with a Pizza delivery shop and
we chose our pizzas, mine was a 14” all in one and coke. Whilst we waited for delivery, Mark
took us to his ‘garage’ where we saw 6 stretch limousines which he owned and hire out, also
as a collector there were many registration plates, one of them was English S.X.C.---E. Mark
is a real character, he explained about the ‘limos’, saying that he gets lots of business through
music groups, politicians, especially with Chicago being nearby. Back to Mark’s home and we
enjoyed our eats and the company of Matthew, Peter and Mark. The night went into the
morning, John got really tired, so at 1.15am. it was time to ‘make the best of our
accommodation’ and I don’t know what sort of a sleep I had, all I know is I’m ready for some
rest, no music tonight with four of us ‘dossing down’. Thank you for another wonderful day.
Back note :- Have seen a number of cars with ‘Le Bra’ (snuggle covers for the fronts of cars,
from head light to headlight), I am amused by these!!.
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I am up and about by 7.10am. on Tuesday, 29th, September, ’92 and there is time to write my
diary up whilst listening to ‘walkman’, the F.M. music channel is good. We talked to Mark and
the other ‘dossers’ before Mark had to go off to his work. Before leaving, Mark prepared a map
for us to follow out of Carbondale to take us back onto our route, John is concerned as we are
not exactly on his route, however we are on the road for 9.30am. and at the junction of Giant
Hill Road mentioned on Mark’s route I asked locals to verify our direction of travel and we are
soon back on John’s route, thankfully. By now we have travelled undulating side roads to the
148 main road and the weather, though cool, the sun is warming us and there is a slight wind.
On reaching Goreville we posted cards and letters and called for a breakfast of toast, jelly,
strawberry short bread and tea, delicious. I’ve noted that the people I’ve spoken to today are
really slow talkers and different to locals in other states. The weather stays good but I feel a bit
below parr (maybe yesterday was harder than I’d expected) as a result we stopped for drinks
quite often at Tunnel Hill, Simpson, Robb and Eddyville. On into Golconda and just off the
route we enquired about motels and also visited a B & B without luck, so we visited the Sweet-
water bar and had a couple of beers where we talked to a local called Larry Flynn who was into
selling Insurance. Into Golconda where we booked in at Michael’s Motel where we settled in
to the chores of the day, making sure the bikes are in good order ready for tomorrow, diary up
to date, listening to some much needed music and that more than welcome ‘bath’. We had seen
the Pizza Cafe on the way in so we went back along our route and ate there. The pizza was 16”
with extra toppings, Mountain dew (wow and fantastic, another delicious meal). We returned to
the motel, John was getting tired and thankfully he was sleeping/snoring by 8.30pm. I still had
some writing to do and I felt I needed another bath and soon the music was good company. I
feel sure I had drifted off to sleep by about 9.45pm.
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I was awake by 6.30am. on Wednesday, 30th. September, ’92 and rested until 7am., John is still
snoring and away with the fairies. The weather looks good, fine, dry but cool. I had time to
clean and oil the chain on my bike before going for breakfast at 7.35am. at Barri’s delli where
we were to see many local O.A.P.’s who seem to congregate for breakfast, a meeting place
before going on to church, once more it was quite an education. One man talked of York and
he enjoyed recalling his visit there. I had plenty of tea, toast, jelly. We then went on to the Post
Office, I had a letter to send to my Barbara who would be visiting our friends Keith and Di and
I hoped the letter would get there to coincide with her visit. On the road for 8.30am., it is cool
and there has been a frost overnight. We make decent time and pace, on through
Elizabethtown where I bought some more post cards, then on to Cave in the Rock where we
would cross the Ohio river on a ferry, I savoured the views whilst waiting to embark. The
crossing was a real experience, the ferry sailed up to the landing area, dropped a hinged section
of heavy plate steel so that vehicles could drive on board and it was open decked, so there were
clear views all around. By crossing the river, we had entered Kentucky (Blue Grass state) and
we soon started to see classy horses, beautiful Colonial style homes and fenced fields and the
grass does have a blue sheen to it. On into Marion where we called at a restaurant where we
gate crashed a ‘leaving do’ (actually the owner was leaving that day and everyone and every-
body who knew her was in attendance), so we joined in. There was a Scottish Piper who played
‘Mull of Kintyre’ and ‘Amazing Grace’ as the ‘official cake’ was brought in. John was in his
element as he wandered around and enjoyed his time here. I got talking to a lady District
Judge, Jula Tackett, she was very interested in ‘talking shop’ (British Justice system and Law
and Order etc) and I enjoyed her company. John was enjoying himself here and I had
mentioned to him about making another radio contact with T.F.M. back home so he was happy
to stay on at the restaurant. I set off through Clay and Dixon, the houses and gardens are smart
and neat, I’ve seen peacocks, dead snakes, 3 of them quite large, squirrels run across the road
ahead of me and people in their gardens are welcoming and pass the time of day. I’m seeing
the first of the tobacco being grown here, there are stooks standing in the fields and lots of
tied leaves hanging in large barns at the road side, the smells are pleasant, then there is the
smell of blue berries, plus the changing colours of the garden foliage and trees, a wonderful
day once more. I made it into Sebree where I was able to make the radio link due to us cross-
ing over into an new state. We found a decent yet cheap motel at $20.14 and settled in to our
usual tasks. I bought some more post cards so I was soon into writing about ‘Gregory grass-
hopper’ to Laura and making my diary up to date, checking the bike and a good shower. We
had seen Polly’s restaurant on our way in, so at 7.30pm. we ate there. I had steak, onion rings,
salad, lemon pie and iced tea, most enjoyable. Here we talked to a Mr. Edwards who
announced he was from Poole, Dorset, so John was in his element. Back at the motel, I did
some more writing and listened to my music whilst recalling what a wonderful day today has
been, how thankful I am. Back note :- John told me about David Stewart, the piper who had
played many more pieces of music and had piped him off from the restaurant with many of the
locals waving him on his way, it would be some sight and a pleasure for John.
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I woke at 7am. on Thursday, 1st. October, ’92 and the day looks good, clear blue skies, fresh,
fair with a cool feel. We checked the weather forecast with Weather T.V. and confirmed that
it should be another pleasant day. We went to Polly’s restaurant for breakfast, I had French
toast, jelly and tea, we met a Mr. Edwards and another ‘slow talking – drawl’ local farmer and
the farmer said of Mr. Edwards, “He has more money than Ged’ Clampett.”, the accents are
Southern with most words drawn out (ball – bawll), wonderful. I recalled a man yesterday
saying as he waited to be served in a shop, “That boy need to move, lickerty splickley” (I’d
heard the term used in a song by Waylon Jennings meaning ‘get a move on’), it sounded apt
and I appreciated hearing it. We started out at 8.30am. and on to Beech Grove, Glenville and
passing through these very small towns I began to think that today could be one of the best yet.
I’m keeping an open mind but the scenery is stunning. On to Utico where we stopped for
drinks and I cashed travellers cheques and I talked to the local Sheriff who was interested in
our ride and he talked of the beauty of Kentucky, I agreed. We also met an interesting 2nd.
W.W. veteran who was 73 and had been posted to England. We pushed on through
picturesque countryside, the houses were quaint, there are trees and meadows, it really is
beautiful here. On to Oklahoma where John joined the driver of a combined harvester (in the
cab) and harvested corn, he was very excited at being able to do this, I took photographs to
record the occasion. We are also seeing more and more ‘Halloween displays’ as we ride on
through Whitesville and Deanefield with lots of pumpkins and scarecrows dressed up. We
also see lots more tobacco fields and industry. I keep thinking, ‘today is spectacular’ and I
think of the words Barbara might use to describe what we are seeing, I guess she might say,
“It’s absolutely delightful!”, here we are riding through rolling hills, the tree colours are so
varied and changing all the time now with definite rich colours and so many shades, I just
hope that the photographs we are taking do justice to what we are experiencing and seeing.
On through Fordsville, I’ve seen a preying mantis and as we approach Falls of Rough where
we intend staying that night, I’m quite a way ahead of John and climbing a long hill, intent on
stopping for John when I reach to the top of the hill. To my right I saw a man who was sitting
on his front porch swing, he had a can of beer in his hand and as I looked towards him, I waved
to pass the time of day and he waved back. I reached the top of the hill, still with the garden
of the man I had waved to on my right and I looked back to see that he was walking towards
me. He was a cheery faced pleasant man of about 65yrs. dressed in denim shirt and jeans and
on reaching me he held his hand out for me to shake and he said, “Yaw’ll have a beer”, how
could I resist and said, “I sure will”. John arrived and he too was game for a rest and some
‘Southern hospitality’, so we went into the garden and sat on wooden benches at a wooden
garden table where we opened a can of beer. He introduced himself as Jack Bible and told us
that he had worked as a foreman at General Motors in Detroit. He went on to tell us that he and
his wife Jean had teaching degrees and that Jean had been teaching at the time of the Martin
Luther King race riots and that she had had to protect her school children during those riots.
Consequently, they decided that they did not wish to live and experience that kind of ‘city life’
anymore and decided to retire and come out to live in their favourite holidaying place which is
now ‘this home’. I have to say, as I looked all around, this place is definitely ‘a little piece of
heaven’. Well, we had that beer and another and another, then a friend of Jacks arrived and he
had a large consignment of beer and two bottles of Kentucky Tavern Rye Whiskey. He was
Bill Miller and he was delivering Jacks order. Bill joined us and we then learned that the state
of Kentucky is a ‘dry state’, that you can’t buy alcohol in the state, however it can be brought
in from out of state and it can be drank, so we went on to have another beer and then one of the
bottles of Kentucky Tavern whiskey was opened and I took a liking to it immediately. John by
now had consumed more than he really ought and was feeling the effects, especially as we had
not eaten very much. John is an authority in geneology, it has been a hobby and interest of his
for years and when Jack told John that his real name was ‘Biblinsky’, John questioned why he
should choose to use the name Bible. John was quite serious and insisted that Jack should use
his real name for the sake of family etc. It was a while later that Jack said to me (with a smile
and a twinkle in his eye), “John’s quite upset isn’t he, he shouldn’t be really”. Then he went on
to tell me that when he worked at General Motors, if he was working amongst any of the
Hungarian, Polish, Latvian, Slovakians etc., his name was ‘Biblinski’, however, when he was
working amongst the English speaking, Irish, Welsh, Scottish etc, his name was ‘Bible’, that
way, he was accepted by his work force. He didn’t feel he could tell John. So, there we were
passing the time of day, putting the world to rights and Jack asked, “Where yaw’ll staying
tonight”, I mentioned one of the three motels in Falls of Rough and he said, “Yaw’ll don’t want
to stay there”, so I mentioned the second and he said, “Yaw’ll don’t want to stay there”. I was
about to mention the third motel and he said, “Yaw’ll don’t want to stay there either”, so John
and I were beginning to wonder where we might be staying. At this Jack said he was going into
his home and we went on talking to Bill, I was still enjoying drinking the Kentucky Tavern.
Jack returned and he said, “Yaw’ll staying in our forest home down by the lake” and he turned
to his home where we saw his wife Jean, she had two large plastic carrier bags and Jack said
that Jean had prepared enough food and drink for an evening meal and breakfast. We were
more than thankful, by now I was beginning to feel ‘quite merry and euphoric’ and quite over-
whelmed by how we were being treated. Jack insisted we load our bikes onto his pickup and
we were taken down to the ‘forest home’ by the lake, it was so quiet and idyllic. The forest
home was on two levels, it had a balcony looking out over the lake and steps leading up to it.
We enter the forest home and Jack showed us round and familiarised us with its use. I had not
realised until some time later that I had left my pouch with diary, wallet, etc, in Jack’s pickup,
John had also left his gloves, hat and sun glasses in the vehicle. We accepted that we would
have to make our way to Jack and Jean’s home in the morning, so we set too with tasks of the
day, washing our gear, making sure the bikes were in good order ready for tomorrow and I was
really ready for that shower. We then set about to cook our meal from the provisions supplied
by Jean, we had steak, sausage, potatoes, salad, ice cream and plenty of iced tea. I made some
notes so as to recall the rest of today and in order to make my diary up to date when I get it back
in the morning. I almost had to ‘pinch myself’ as I recalled how wonderful today has been,
topped off by meeting Jack, Jean and Bill, I though, ‘The best yet’. Having had that amount of
alcohol John was certainly ready for a good nights sleep, so by 9.15pm. I too have ‘walkman’
on and I’m soon……dreaming. (I later wrote a song called, “Oh, what a day”.)
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Friday, 2nd. October, ’92, I woke at 6.30am. and my immediate thought was for my diary,
pouch, wallet and also John’s possessions which we had left in Jack’s pick-up. We felt that
we would have to ride back to Jack and Jean’s home to retrieve the items. The morning is
once again clear though cool and looks ideal for cycling. We set about making breakfast with
what was left of the food Jean had given us and it was as I was drinking some lemon tea, I saw
Jack arrive, (he had a beer in his hand). He came into his forest home and we were pleased to
see that he had my pouch and contents, also John’s possessions. As we talked to Jack over
breakfast, Jack looked up to the window and said, “Oh, there’s Don, with his air conditioned
pick-up”. I thought it strange that Jack should mention ‘air conditioned pick-up’ as most if not
all American vehicles appeared to have air conditioning therein, so I looked out of the window
and there I saw Don getting out of his pick-up which had ‘no windscreen’!!. As I looked at
Don, who had bruises and abrasions on his face, he was unkempt, unshaven and scruffy, in
bare feet and jeans cut off at the calf, Jack said to me, “Don’t tell him you’re a Policeman”,
this remark/request obviously made me think ‘why’, however there was little time to ask that
question as Don entered the room. Jack introduced us to Don and I certainly shook his hand
with a strong and meaningful grip!. Don too had a can of beer in his hand! and he explained
that he had been in a fight, hence the injuries. Jack explained that Don lived locally and he did
odd jobs to make a living. Don didn’t stay too long, however he showed a great deal of
interest in our cycle challenge. Jack then explained that Don had had a ‘hit and run’ accident
some ten years ago, that he had lost his driving licence and he feared he might get caught by
the Police. It appeared obvious that Don was temperamental and could ‘flare up’, though he
was better for knowing. We offered our most grateful thanks to Jack for the hospitality and the
friendship shown to us, We then said our goodbyes in order to get on our way by 9.30am. and
with the scenery around us so stunning with the beautiful autumn colours, I couldn’t help but
think, ‘would today be as good as yesterday’ and I also knew that I should be grateful for all
that we are experiencing and to take each day as it comes, with pleasure and thanks. At a
steady yet leisurely pace we set off around Rough River Dam, we saw a golf course nearby and
along Rough River there was much activity with white water rafting and outboard and leisure
boats, quite an industry. The scenery is once more stunningly clean and the air is crisp, fresh
and clear. Still we rode on up and down, along these undulating ‘Roman like’ roads through
Axtel and on to McDaniels, Madrid and Hardin Springs seeing more and more of Kentucky’s
natural beauty, not forgetting the ‘blue grass’ and along the roadside my favourite and most
comforting flower is ever present, my ‘Blue Barbara – Chickory’. We stopped along the way,
we had seen a snake and I wanted to get a photograph and before I could get close enough to
carefully pick it up, it lunged out towards my foot, fortunately it caused no injury. We are also
conscious of the numbers of ‘mad’ dogs which often chase after us in packs, so we are ever
‘growling, snarling’ and generally making more noise than they, thankfully it has the desired
effect and keeps them at bay. I have decided that some of these dogs do not like me at all!!.
We pushed on through Eastview and into White Mills where we stopped for drinks and some
energy chocolate bars. Here, John spoke to a tobacco farmer who was very interesting and he
also showed a deal of interest in our cycle challenge. As we made our way on to Sonora, we
had noticed horse shoe hoof marks on the uphill gradients of the road surface and it had crossed
our minds, ‘might they be the marks of ponies and traps of Amish or Menonite people’, then as
if we had willed it, we saw ‘Dutch’ style houses to our right and one of them was having its
roof put on, there was much industry and we could see all hands were working hard and that we
had chanced upon an Amish community. We decided to ride down the drive to the homes and
before we reached the people of the community, they had stopped work, climbed down from the
roof and were ‘ready to receive us’. I noticed that the young women folk were dressed in a pale
blue almost denim long skirt/dresses and white mop caps, the older women wore in even darker
coloured skirts/dresses and as we arrived they all went in doors, I immediately realised that
John and I were ‘not correctly dressed – in our shorts and T shirts’. The males wore large
brimmed straw hats, their hair was bushed and thick but cleanly cut showing their necks. They
wore ‘grand dad shirts’ which were buttoned at the neck and cuffs and their trousers were black,
held up with braces (very much like the people shown in the film ‘Witness’ in which Harrison
Ford stared.) The community were pleased to see us and were inquisitive to know why and
what we were doing on our bikes. It seemed that any questions or communication came
through one man who must have been the ‘elder’. I noticed as they smiled or spoke that their
teeth were very discoloured and my immediate thought (as an Englishman, with very little
knowledge of their faith) that they perhaps did not go to the dentists, the doctors or even clean
their teeth and then I learned that they harvested tobacco and it was then made clear that they
‘chewed it’, hence their dirty teeth. I also noticed that the only mechanical machinery was a
petrol driven chain saw. We also learned that they were Belgian Methodists by origin and that
the ‘elder’ still returns to Belgium every 7 years for guidance. I spoke about taking a
photograph and soon learned that it was not permissible. I would have like to take a photograph
at this location with the horse drawn carriages parked up in front of their homes, however, we
did not wish to offend. It was time for us to go and I looked up to the windows of the houses
nearby and at each window there were a number of the Amish ladies looking out, I waved and
they waved back and I jokingly said to John, “Is it your knees or mine, they are looking at?”. I
was well pleased by being able to talk to the Amish people and this alone would have made
anyone’s day. We had not travelled far when we saw an Amish man in his horse drawn
carriage and John stopped to take a photograph, the man was aware of John’s actions and he
bowed his head so that the brim of his straw hat covered his face, so we did get a photograph of
‘their life style’. We pushed on into Hodgenville where we decided we would stay on this night,
it is the childhood home town of ‘President Abraham Lincoln’ and we saw statues of him in the
heart of the town. We booked in at the Lincoln Memorial Motel and I spoke to the owner,
Eugene to make arrangements for a radio link with T.F.M. radio and ‘Big Stu’. We asked
Eugene if he too would participate and he agreed. There was time to get cleaned up and the
usual jobs to be done, washing clothes and making sure the bikes were in good order, also time
to relax and write up our diaries before we went for our evening meal and I had a large lasagne
and then strawberries and plenty of iced lemon tea, which I enjoyed very much and it was very
cheap, $5 each. We returned to our motel to receive the telephone call link from T.F.M. radio
and it seemed to go very well, John also had input as did Eugene. There was a break in the
communication and T.F.M. came back to us and I learned that my Barbara would be giving me
a call immediately after the programme finished, so it was a real bonus being able to talk to her
and learn the ‘news back home’. I then made my diary up and recalled seeing soya bean
growing in the fields, lots of caterpillars and grass hoppers on the roads today. It’s time now to
enjoy some soothing and relaxing music on my walkman, it is 10pm. and I am surely going to
dream the night away, what another fantastic day it has been, we are blessed. Back note:- I
recall, we rode over the Green River yesterday with road signs to Bowling Green (this made me
remember The Everly Brothers who sing of their home of Bowling Green, Kentucky).
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I woke from what I believe was a really good nights sleep at 7.20am. on Friday, 3rd. October,
’92 and although there is a chill in the air and there is a slight mist, the sun is trying to burn it
off and I feel sure we are in for another glorious day. Once sorted and ready for the road, we
went for breakfast of toast, jelly and plenty of iced tea before heading out at 8.45am. As we
rode on I suddenly questioned our direction of travel and 7 miles out we realised we had set off
in the wrong direction (John’s route is so specific and well prepared, however we have had a
lapse in consentration, I believe), so we turned around, retraced our route and were soon able
to visit the birth place of Abraham Lincoln, a very small log cabin where the large Lincoln
family lived. Passing through Buffalo, Cruise , White City, Howardstown and into Bardstown
where the housing here appears to be well kept, a very tidy place, quite unlike other mobile
homes and shanty dwellings we have seen in the Appalachian Mountains. On to Maud and the
scenery of Kentucky continues to be so special with smells of tobacco in barns at the side of the
road. We pushed on into Springfield as the annual “Sorghum and Tobacco Fair” is in full
swing, with parading floats and vehicles with streamers, very colourful, energetic, lots of
ballyhoo and noise, quite a spectacle which we enjoyed. As we relaxed to watch the
‘happening’ we met the local Sheriff and asked him where we might find a motel room, he was
unable to help us but Mike Grigsby who was with the Sheriff, presented us with $30 for our
fund raising efforts and a young man called Junior Janes also handed us $2, we were most
appreciative of their kindness. We also witnessed an Amish funeral procession as it made its
way through the town, quite a sombre occasion, in contrast to the festivities of the ‘fair’. It
also became obvious that, ‘there is no room at the Inn’ (No accommodation to be found) so we
have to push on through Mackville, Rose Hill and on into Harrodsburg and along the way I
spoke to an old man of 81 who had lost his wife to cancer 15 years ago and he felt he wanted
me to know (he had noted the T shirt logo of Cleveland County Cancer Campaign, I was
wearing), he appeared to be a very lonely and a sad person, unfortunately. I said, “You must
have some wonderful memories of your wife” and his face lit up. As we went on our way he
wished us well. We also saw many people working in their well kept gardens and many times
the locals stopped their work, waved and cheerfully greeted us. The houses, bungalows,
homesteads are wood built and often painted white, making them appear very clean and well
kept, often with picket fences and lots of well bred horses grazing. Most of the properties have
at least one swing, often a double swing on their front porch deck, with someone leisurely
‘passing the time of day’, it is a wonderful, peaceful scene. Often we see swimming pools now
and most homes have a hot tub on their deck, this way of life is very different to back home and
the weather encourages this ‘outdoor life’. The terrain has once more been roller coaster and
with the extra mileage completed we are ready to find a motel. The first effort John makes
produces a very negative response from ‘a spooky, hook nosed and wicked looking, witch like
woman’ who won’t hear of us having our bikes in our room!!, never a problem so far. On to
two more motels and they are full, however we fell lucky at Cardinal Motel at $32. We’re soon
into our routine of washing our gear, getting sorted for the new day and I certainly felt relaxed
after a hot bath. On our way for an evening meal we called at an auction which was
entertaining and enlightening. The ‘Southern drawll’ of the Auctioneer was a ‘class act’ and I
tried to memorise his style/method, however most of what was being auctioned was ‘pure
rubbish’. By 7.20pm. we had found a Dairy Queen eating house and I soon ordered a ‘special’
which included an unlimited salad bar with many meats, fish and pickles, I was ready for this
and it was soon obvious that John was ravenous, I’d never seen him eat so much so far! and
‘does he love his sweets and puddings’. Our waitress is a delightful 17 year old who looks after
us and spends quite a lot of time with us, her accent is ‘heavily Southern’, I love it. John
notices a couple of young men who are dressed up “Quaker style’ and he decides to talk to them
and soon finds out that they have been taking part in a re-enactment of Colonial War games. I
decided to write some cards and get my diary up to date and enjoy a good beer (it is not very
strong, but quite refreshing!, that’s my excuse). As I am ‘minding my own business’, I see out
of the corner of my eye, that our delightful waitress has knelt down on the floor right beside me
and she stared me in the face and said, “Yaw’ll talk to me”, I was somewhat taken aback and I
asked, “Have you just finished work?”, she said, “Yes”, so I asked her to sit down with me. I
soon found out that she had a friend who was soon to go over to England on an exchange
college arrangement and she wanted to tell her ‘some things about England and the people’, so
really she just wanted me to speak (she, like many people we have so far met, love our accents
and just want us to ‘talk’). She wanted to know about the old towns and as I come from York
(Eboracum), Yorkshire, England I was able to talk about the Romans, Saxons, Normans etc and
I got her to tell me about her lifestyle, she was charming, open and polite, so the experience
was enlightening and very pleasurable. John came on over to talk to her and he eventually gave
her the names and addresses of two girls whom he had met in Albania 2 years earlier, thinking
she may wish to communicate with them. We returned to the motel by 10.30pm and I’m ready
for some comforting music so I’m soon listening to my Walkman friend and ‘I don’t need any
rocking tonight’, some experience, what a dream day once more, thank you.
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It’s Sunday, 4th. October, ’92 and John is on the move at 7.30am., however, we have an easier
day, so far as mileage is concerned, we are slightly ahead of schedule. We got sorted out and
went to Dairy Queen for breakfast. There is some doubt about our direction of travel, John has
asked a couple of people and I needed to mention that we were going in the wrong direction, as
we had entered Harrodsburg along the road we were on. Having consulted people at a nearby
garage we were soon able to get onto our route to Lancaster via hwy 27 (slightly different route
than planned). The weather is not good, it started out misty and overcast and now it’s raining
hard so we have to wear our waterproofs, thankfully it is not cold. We maintained a steady
pace through Danville and on to Bryantsville where we stopped for a hot chocolate drink. We
have seen red squirrels and we are seeing the Kentucky bird (Cardinal), they are a beautiful
striking red, lots of them now. We need to check our route once more and learn that we can
reach our destination (Berea) via hwy’s 52 and 21. The route took us through Kirksville and
when we reached Berea we decided it would be best to have a meal at Tina’s Chicken for a
buffet meal and drinks for $4.90, excellent value and very tasty. Unfortunately, we are
drenched to the skin and though we are warm enough, it is uncomfortable. We are also aware
of possible hospitality at Berea, so John made a telephone call to Brenda and Wendell Wiley
and they are happy for us to stay with them. We were given directions to their home so after
our meal we made our way though a housing estate to the ‘Wiley home’ at 102 Hughes Street.
There we were greeted by Brenda and 6 cats which we soon learned were strays that she had
taken in. So to meeting her family of cats, a black one is called La Blanc, another black is
Jerami, a further black – Poke, a mottled one is called Amelia, a brown one is Nibbles and the
latest arrival is a grey with a hint of orange Manx cat called Grunnigan. We were shown to our
rooms and my room had a double bed and it was a pleasurable thought to know I’d be on my
own for this one night, no disrespect to John but we all have ‘our moments’ and need space.
I set about sorting my gear out, a bigger wash was needed, especially as we had been soaked
for the whole day. I much appreciated the hot bath too and the time to relax, write post cards
and get my diary up to date. I recalled a back entry from yesterday :- We met a tobacco dealer
who remarked, “Kentucky horses have the pedigree and are fast but Kentucky women are
more elegant and faster”. Once sorted we talked with Brenda and Wendell. They both cycled,
Wendell did time trials and raced and also ran marathons, so he and I were able to ‘compare
notes’, so to speak, he worked at the local hospital in the finance department. They kept a log
of all the people they had given hospitality to who were ‘cycling through’ and we noted that
a Jeremy Fox whom John had read about had passed through in ’91. It became obvious that
Brenda particularly was into ‘minority concerns’….e.g. Save the flee (I’m not being serious)
but it was sometimes easier to ‘sit on the fence’ than to have an opinion, therefore I found the
their subject matter too charged. However, they were good company, even if it was hard work!.
Wendell reminded me of Marty Feldman in looks and stature. They warned us to be on our
guard and aware at all times because we were going up into North East Kentucky which has
been inhabited by (Hillbillies) for some 250 years and there way of life is somewhat different
to what is considered ‘normal’. Wendell said, “They went up there 250 years ago and have
never ventured out, so be careful”. It got to 10.30pm. and I was ready for bed, so with the help
of my walkman and my music – The Manhattans, my thoughts of the day were once more in
awe of such beauty and being able to ‘be there’ and my only other thought was, ‘It’s only rain’.
I was soon dreaming….’I went to see her, but she always has to go, not sure she really loves
me!!!’. I got up in the night and there was Grunnigan curled up at the bottom of the bed.
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It was 7.45am when I woke on Monday, 5th. October, ’92 to find Grunnigan was still with me
and my first job was to repack my pannier bags, making sure everything was now dry. Once
sorted I went down to breakfast which Brenda had prepared, Wendell having gone off to work.
I had toast, honey, fresh fruit and juice, also plenty of iced lemon tea. Brenda continued to
warn us about the ‘Appalachian Hillbillies’ stating that they carry guns openly, kill each other,
don’t work and seem to just exist ‘up there’. Being a retired Police Officer I took in what had
been said and accepted care should be taken, however John said he was looking forward to
our next few days with ‘trepidation’ and I guest he had never ever encountered such people
as were being described. Whilst having breakfast Brenda brought up the plight of black folk,
also the depravation of some Kentucky folk and Amnesty International, so the conversation
once again became a little heavy. The day is much warmer, not hot, blue skies with high
clouds and Brenda has given us a route onto hwy 52 and to 21, calling at the post office in
Berea on our way. We took some photographs of Brenda and her cats before thanking her
and Wendell for looking after us so well and we are soon seeing wonderful scenery once more.
The route is again undulating, often steep roller coaster hills with craggy hill sides, ever
changing colour of the foliage and trees, also rivers running alongside the roads, here we see
lots of small turtles. On through Bighill, Wisemantown and along the way we did see examples
of the people described to us, ‘Rednecks’ in pickups with weapons hung across the back
window of the cab, they were dirty looking, unshaven, long untidy hair, many didn’t wear any
footwear, often chewing tobacco and spitting and usually drinking from a rye whiskey bottle.
Their language was slow talking, loud, aggressive and contained many obscene words!. Some
would wave, others just look and point at us, after all ‘we are the odd ones!’. We called in for
a drink at a cafe and we certainly felt ‘out of place’, the folks there were weird looking and the
though of ‘interbreeding’ came to mind. We noticed that the dwellings were often ‘shacks’
with no sanitation, sometimes a commune would be made up of tatty mobile homes with scrap
cars and machinery everywhere, just dumped. The vehicles being driven were ‘less than street
legal’, no bumpers, lights smashed (air conditioned – no windscreens), bald tyres, no number
plates, very much like ‘stock cars’. We would sometimes see a male with a rifle across his
shoulders with his arms hanging over the stock and barrel (like Hannibal Smith), no shoes and
he’s obviously ‘going hunting’. We never thought it appropriate to stop and talk to any of these
locals, however we always smiled, waved and passed the time of day, we felt it was perhaps the
best we might do. On through Irvine, South Irvine, Beattyville and Vincent, the housing has
changed with neat colonial wooden houses and homesteads, gardens and of course the beautiful
horses together with the delightful scenery we have had a very interesting and thought
provoking day. We also encountered a number of marauding dogs today, so the pump came off
the cross bar and we had to growl and make plenty of noise, which thankfully kept them at bay.
We rode on into Booneville (named after Daniel Boone whose family lived there in 1750), this
place is once again scruffy, however our motel room is adequate with all the facilities we need.
Along the way today, we have been seeing plant life which looks a lot like Ivy, which clings
to any and everything, we find out it is Kudsu. We learned that it had been imported from
Japan as a ‘cattle food’, however it has turned out to be a real menace as it kills anything it
grows over, so each year it is now burned back as it is the only way to deal with it. We took
photographs of it and some of the shapes and sculptures are spectacular, sometime looking
like a water fall as it grows cascading over the top of cliffs, trees and old abandoned houses and
vehicles. As the ‘fall’ is coming on, the leaves are changing and falling on the road, so now as
we ride over the leaves, they are dry and they crackle. I’ve seen clematis and hydranger today
and a purple flower, somewhere between a thistle and a vine, which is attractive and the smells
are all about us, including the garden flowers. Our usual discipline of washing our gear,
making sure our bikes are clean and well maintained before a good and well earned shower,
then the letters, post cards home and diaries to write up. Today has been different, an
experience, seeing the locals and we know it is to continue, so watch this space. I tried to bring
our departure arrangements into conversation with John, however, ‘I’d picked a bad time’, he
was not yet ready to discuss it. Once we have done our chores we went to eat at Campbell’s
Restaurant where I had Chicken strips, mushrooms, onion rings, salad, rolls of bread, jelly and
plenty of iced lemon tea, no alcohol (because it is a dry state) and we don’t really know where
there is any ‘bootleg whiskey’ or beer to be found. After a good meal we returned to the motel
and I finished off the post cards I wanted to send and I was soon appreciating my music of
Bob James and Earl Klugh on my Walkman. I do believe I soon floated off as I recalled yet
another momentous and meaningful day, with much to be thankful for.
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‘Another day, another dollar’, so the saying goes, it is 7.30am. on Tuesday, 6th. October, ’92
and the weather is cooler and there is a low lying fog, so I think we may need extra cover to
start out with. Once we were organised and ready to go we went for breakfast of toast, jelly and
tea. Also there was an airing of views between John and I, hopefully it will clear the air and we
can make a fresh start to the day, it works and that pleases me. We went on to the post office
and to start with I had a shirt and my Rohan top on over my T shirt, but only for about 15
minutes. As we left Boonville the weather started to clear out with blue skies, much warmer
yet still crisp. Often John would be off ahead of me and by arrangement who ever is in front,
they would stop at 11am. and we would meet up again (not because we don’t wish to ride with
each other), it is just a fact that every cyclist seems to ‘have his/her own pace’, plus I some
times think John is ‘eager to get going’ after he has had his medication. However this particular
morning I was ahead of John and I saw Pronghorn deer, the scenery was a picture, I guess I was
not consentrating and I missed a turning and ended up cycling on up to a dam (no way through),
so I had to retrace my journey and get back on our route. Knowing that John would now be
ahead of me I managed to stop a passing vehicle and asked the driver to let John know that I
was ‘bringing up the rear’, this he did because John was waiting for me to catch up with him.
Our route took us through Buckhorn, Chavis and on into Hazard (as in Dukes of Hazard), there
we were back in real Appalachian Hillbilly country, with scruffy youths carrying rifles, every-
one seems to smoke and chew tobacco. A Mustang car we saw was lifted up manually by about
6 youths, so that it could have its wheel changed (no jack used), the doors were welded up and
when they got in they climbed in through the open window. There was a further 4 Mustangs
beside the ‘shack’ which I presume were there for spares. Dogs once again bother us, we see
more turtles and lots of cardinals, the scenery is breathtaking, undulating roads, rivers nearby
and the colourful leaves falling all about us. We are also encountering coal wagons which are
very large and travel quite fast, until they start climbing hills and the gradients are sometimes
steep, therefore a wagon can be alongside us for some distance and sometimes chunks of coal
fall from the wagon and can hit us, in any case we need to be careful because there is too much
coal lying in the road which we need to avoid. I took a photograph of a very large wheeled
customised pickup which was named “Vietnam Vet Express”. On through Dwarf and there is
such a contrast of communities, run down then houses with swimming pools, a mix of poverty
and affluence. The roads are steep now as we ride through the Appalachian Mountains through
Emmalena, Carrie, Hindman and Mallie, still the beauty of the scenery continues and pleasures
me. At Hindman John telephoned forward to Pippa Passes Youth Hostel and arranged for us to
stay there at a cost of $15 and when we arrived we were met by Ed’ and Charlotte Madden who
were keen to see us and had arranged for us to go and eat at the nearby Alice Lloyd Baptist
college. We got ourselves installed and sorted in this very basic but comfortable and homely
hostel. The shower was much needed and excellent before a time to relax and on, walking
to the ‘College’ (I thought it strange that there should be this large Baptist College at this
location), however we were shown to the canteen and we were about to choose what we might
eat when we were joined at our table by Betty and Jim Bergman, both lecturers at the college.
They were very pleasant people and I had noticed that Jim was limping, so I asked him if he
had hurt himself and he announced that he needed a hip joint replacement, also that he hoped he
might be able to play badminton again. I felt I had to let him know that I was riding across
U.S.A. on one replaced hip joint, that I had been able to do many of the things which the
arthritis damage had stopped me doing and that one of them was to play badminton again. I
felt sure he was reassured at the thought of having his hip joint replaced. Jim and Betty joined
us as we ate and I had Chicken dumplings, vegetables, 2 soups, salad, 2 helpings of sweet and
lots of iced lemon tea. We very much appreciated their company and as we were about to
finish our meal Betty asked us if we wished to accompany them to a piano recital in the main
concert hall of the college, I was certainly game and we walked across to the hall which was
bowl shaped and there in the well of the hall was a white grand piano. Well, for the next hour
or so we were entertained by Paul Taylor who played Chopin, Beethoven, Copeland and Liszt,
I was well pleased, it was most enjoyable and more than that, a totally unexpected experience.
I thought this night could not be better, however Jim and Betty asked us if we would like to go
back to their apartment on the college site and this we did. The chat continued, we had cheese
and biscuits and Betty provided us with some cake to take on our ride. Although it was now
quite late, we had been treated once more to another example of American hospitality and one
I shall remember for ever. Jim and Betty were Christians and we were able to reflect on how
our faith rewarded us and that I was being guided along my journey on this challenge. Betty
also played a nylon strung guitar which I was able to play, so we were able to appreciate each
others love of music. Jim walked back with us to the hostel, he wanted to see Charlotte, whom
he had known for some time, it is 12mdt. and I know that I have had one marvellous day, yet
again. I’m soon into my music to soothe me to sleep and I’m aware that it is 12.40am. now so
‘Goodnight, sleep tight, my love’.
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We are up and about for 7.30am. on Wednesday, 7th. October, ’92 and soon sorted, ready for
breakfast with Charlotte. John prepared the toast, I fixed the drinks and doughnuts which were
a change and excellent. I also noted two riders had passed through, one in 1990 called, Gordon
L Howe, 218 Oswald Street, Manchester (Chorlton) M 21 1 GW who was not doing coast to
coast, also in ’89, Chris Hoggarth, 14 Ashville Street, York. Curiosity (my name being Howe
and originally coming from York). It was pleasant, talking to Charlotte, especially as she knew
Jim and Betty well. We cut the cake that Betty had given us and shared it. We were ready for
the road by 9.45am. and we set off through the ‘college’ grounds which were well kept and the
students waved as we went on our way. Although it is cool, the sky is blue and it’s sunny, also
the scenery continues to delight with trees so tall and the foliage, beautiful colours with shafts
of daylight making this morning once more special. The roads are undulating, often steep with
great downhill runs which I love. We rode through Dema and on to Bevinsville and Bypro and
Melvin, I’ve lost my gloves along the way. These areas are very deprived, the mobile homes
are fixed, with poor upkeep, old cars just left, a real eyesore, especially having seen other well
kept communities nearby. There are lots of ‘yard sales’, selling and trading ‘rubbish’. We are
also experiencing the dreaded ‘coal trucks’, they are much bigger than back home, the coal they
carry is loaded to the ‘brim’ and they are driven at speed (perhaps peace work), and too close
for comfort, pretty scary sometimes, especially when they are alongside you for too long on a
long steep gradient because they are not able to travel that much faster than we do, also the
movement of the coal causes some large pieces to fall either on the road around us and some
falls on us, so we have to be extra vigilant. I also know that having to consentrate so hard due
to these conditions does not please John. At Melvin we stopped a while and I wrote some cards
and these I posted when we reached Christiantown. whilst doing so a lady nearby had seen us
and on seeing the Cleveland County Cancer Campaign T shirt I was wearing, she became upset.
I was concerned and she went on to tell us that her aunt had died at 1.20am. that morning and
that her own mother had died just one month earlier of cancer. She asked about our ride and
the fundraising, therefore I explained about our two causes supported, also that I too had been
a cancer sufferer and that my wife Barbara had also suffered breast cancer. This lady wished us
well and we left her smiling. We continue to notice the contrast in housing and communities,
we pass classy homesteads with perhaps a swimming pool and horses, then a few miles down
the road the mobile ‘hovels’ with rubbish all around. We are also seeing people who appear to
be ‘very slow on the uptake’, often with a very aggressive look which I describe as ‘strange’.
We also have to contend with some members of the communities, usually young males who are
driving their pickups and large customised cars recklessly and often dangerously. We
sometimes experience verbal abuse from these brash noisy individuals, however, we were
warned about some of these people. It seems, we are ‘the strange ones’ as cyclists and there
seems to be very little tolerance, they don’t seem to know how to treat or deal with us. We
rode on through Virgie, Dorton and Ashcamp and along the way we stopped at the Last Chance
cafe (as we are nearing the Kentucky/Virginia border) and there we talked with two ladies who
showed a great deal of concern as to America’s future. We found some conversations we are
having quite alarming. Ordinary people being concerned about the recession, U.S.A.’s deficit,
how to deal with it, also who to vote for. Talking to Jim and Betty, these same concerns were
aired. It appears Bush is out, Clinton will be in and Perot is not trusted. From Melvin we rode
on to Elkhorn City and we know we are in the heart of ‘hillbilly country’. Our last few miles
was quite scary cycling, the roads are steep, winding and narrow with the river ‘white water’
flowing down beside us on our right, so when coal trucks come passed us we have very little
verge to use to avoid their closeness and there seems to be more and more of them. It is a pity
because having the river down there beside us should have been a real pleasure, however we are
having to take great care and be alert. We booked in at the Hughes Motel, the owner was a very
obnoxious person and ‘strangely’ verbally aggressive, however there was nowhere else to stay
so we had to take the two rooms he offered at $44. My room is comfy, it has a black and white
T.V., but the bath I had was just what was needed. So, after the usual cores of washing clothes,
sorting the bikes out and writing cards, letters and diary up to date, John and I wandered on
down to City Pizza where we met John Stewart the owner who was very enthusiastic and keen
to know about ‘these two English men cycling across the country’. From the outset of our
meeting we realised we would not have to purchase anything. We ordered a large pizza and I
do believe John put just about everything/anything on it, it was succulently perfect and the
Mountain Dew was just right too. John and I are just sat in the Pizza place so the owner takes
other orders and we meet more locals who again are interested in ‘our challenge’. The owner
tells us he listens to the Police waveband, he goes on to tell us he has many illegal gaming
machines (gambling is forbidden), he talks openly about ‘joints’, cannabis farming and on
occasions when he was responding to telephone calls, he would talk about orders of gallons of
‘Moonshine’ (Kentucky is a dry state). I took the view that ‘If the local Police did not know
what was going on, I would be most surprised!!’. We thoroughly enjoyed our meeting and
meal and I certainly felt I was ‘slightly undercover again’. As we left, the owner was talking
about the 900 gaming machines he had, it has been an education and John asked me what if
anything I might do about what we have just experienced. I told him what I wrote above,
that I felt sure the local Police would know what is going on. John was uneasy about our stay
here, there is that air of aggression just under the surface, we were asked about ‘muggings’, had
we been mugged. Although we had not encountered personal violence or threat, I know John
was most concerned. We made our way back to Hughes Motel and I’m sure the safety of (for
John’s sake) his own room. I bought a couple of bottles of Mountain Dew to take back to my
room and a youth in the store asked if I was a ‘biker’, I took it a little further by explaining I
was a bicyclist and that we had covered around 3,800 miles so far. I found him to be very
responsive and canny, especially when he said, “Awesome”. Back in my room, I put the T.V.
on and there was a musical programme on about Pattie Lovelace the country and western singer
who is from Elkhorn City and we are actually staying in Pattie Lovelace Road. I completed my
days diary entries and recalled seeing a raccoon which crossed the road in front of us. The
value of the meal and drinks we received was $15 so I noted that to be included in donations
received. Well, it has been another terrific day, spoiled only by the traffic on Hwy’s 22 and 80,
namely the coal trucks. Time again to listen to some good music and drift off into my own
dream world…..‘goodnight’.
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I feel sure I had a great nights sleep because John came to wake me up at 8.45am. on Thursday,
8th. October, ’92 and he greeted me with news that had been a ‘severe weather warning’ for the
Appalachian Mountain area and that snow had fallen in Kansas, but I have to say, ‘I’m quite a
bit more optimistic about the day’. The day is pleasant, cool, sunny with blue skies, so I’m in
my ‘comfort zone’. We called for breakfast, I had ‘the usual’, toast, jelly and iced tea and as we
left the cafe I spoke to a State Police Officer and Detective who had arrested a youth for
category 2 & 4 assault. (I had noted whilst getting ready to leave my room with the T.V. on that
the incident and the arrest had been mentioned). As we set off, it is up and up, with steep
twisting roads. There is a slight wind, so the leaves are falling, wonderful colours and to our
right, the river running fast and furious over rocks, logs and branches, this makes a beautiful
scene. We have a few drops of rain but not enough to put waterproofs on. We soon reach the
state line where we cross from Kentucky into Virginia at ‘The Breaks”. Our climb is rewarded
with views at “The Breaks’ National Park, where we parked our bikes up and followed the track
which led us to the most wonderful scenery I have ever seen on this ride. John has asked me at
a variety of locations, “Could you live here Pete?”, my reply has usually been, “Nope”,
however here at this location I could say, “Yes”, if only for the views. I asked John if he would
leave me on my own for a while as I sat on a jutting rock which had an overlook down into a
gorge where the white water rafting and surging river flowed. The craggy rock wall across the
other side of the river was covered with a multitude of coloured foliage, eagles leapt from the
rocks, cry out and dived down to the river below to find fish and often one would rise back to
the nest carrying a salmon. The ‘Creek’ twisted away into the mountains and the Appalachian
range with the Blue Ridge Mountains awaiting us were a mass of autumn colours, it was almost
too much for me being there in God’s Wilderness. I just wanted to ‘linger longer’, this is a
place I will tell Barbara about and maybe one day I might be able to bring her to this ‘piece of
heaven’. We returned to the bikes and I felt somewhat ‘drained’ at the sights we’ve just seen,
however there is no time to hang around any longer and we have more climbing as we ride on
to Haysi and Birchleaf, Bee and into Davenport. We stopped for drinks and the man at the store
said we could ride the old ‘A’ road or on reaching Hwy 80, stay on it to Rosedale. Back on the
road and we’ve seen raccoons, cardinals, blue backed birds (Orioles), Chipmunks, Groundhogs
keep popping their heads up to have a look at us and there are lots of squirrels in the forests
all about us. I bought more post cards and I posted a package to Barbara from Davenport with
more photograph films and the Manhattans audio tape contained therein. We pushed on, still
climbing, but the down hills are ‘the cookie’, sometimes running on for 4 miles with the sound
of the high pressure tyres crackling over dry colourful leaves. We passed through Honeker and
John observed and passed comment about the Americans we were seeing, smoking, sat in very
large pickups or cars with the engines running, he said, “Consumers par excellence” and “they
haven’t got a clue”, is it that ‘they are only aware of ‘self, with no regard to other worldly
affairs’. We continued to travel through superb wooded areas on undulating, sometimes steep
roads and then down into Rosdedale where we booked in at The Oaks motel. Here we met a
14yr. old lad Gary Wisener whose grand mother is the owner and he is a most interesting
young person, he is a walking encyclopedia and he constantly asks questions. I got my chores
done and had a good shower before writing cards and my diary up to date. I made a note that
we had stopped en-route at a ‘gun shop’. I wondered how John would react when he was to
see the vast collection of firearms being sold across the counter. I feel sure we could have
purchased a firearm without a problem, though I did not choose to tell the owner that I was a
retired Police Officer!!. We met up with Gary again before our meal. I gave his a 50p piece, he
asked, “Is this one of your half dollar?”. He went on to ask many more questions, particularly
about England and he wanted us to show him where we lived on his map, he said he wanted to
be an engineer and become a writer ‘when he retired’. He was also very interested in our cycle
challenge. We then met Gary’s grand mother and aunt who was a Radcliffe and she produced a
‘family tree’ which related to family from Northumbria and Lancashire before arriving in the
United States. I ordered a New York steak, French Fries, beans, onion rings, salad, apple pie,
ice cream and iced lemon tea which was really good. We continued in the company of the Oak
motel’s family before returning to our room. I had purchased an audio cassette by Shenandoah
and I was soon listening to an apt track called, ‘The road not taken’, this is an excellent
recording by an Appalachian Country group, in fact there isn’t a bad track, another track is, The
Church on Cumberland Road, we have been very close to Cumberland Gap and Road. I think
Barbara will like this ‘cassette’. It’s 10.30pm. and time to dream of home. Strangely ‘thoughts
of home’ have been occurring more regularly, however, I know from previous challenges it has
got to be about time to think of ‘going home’. I’m tired and rest calls, “Good night, sleep
tight my love”.
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I woke at 7.35am. on Friday, 9th. October, ’92 and John is still snoring ‘earthquakes’ so
walkman and my music ‘Shenandoah’ are the accompaniment!. I got myself sorted, thinking
John obviously needed the extra sleep and went to have a ‘look at the day’. The sky is blue and
the clouds are high and fast moving, though it looks as though it could be changeable and it is
cooler this morning. John had the weather channel on T.V. and the back ground music was
another favourite guitarist, Earl Klugh which I know wouldn’t stir John, but the forecast did.
Looks like the weather will be changeable…..so what, it’s only rain, it’s only weather and we
have to get on with the job. We’re on the road for 9.30am. after a breakfast of toast, jelly and
plenty of iced tea. I’ve put my Rohan shirt on over my T shirt, so it is cooler but we are soon
climbing and working hard on the gradient of 10 miles up to Rosedale Summit. The road is
winding, there is a wind blowing and the leaves as they fall are quite a sight, such a variety of
colours, wonderful. After the summit we ran on downhill for 1,500’ to Hayter Gap on a narrow
road with hairpin bends and thick deciduous forest to the roadside. The combination of speed,
shafts of sunlight through the trees, the profusion of colour from the floating leaves made this
section of the trip most exhilarating, the joy of ‘being there’. The next 5 miles were undulating
to Meadowview and I had run on ahead of John, I had got carried away by the speed and the
feeling of freedom, so I stopped for John to join me and we needed drinks. We pushed on
through Ketron Corner and on into Damascus where we would stop at the end of this day. We
called for drinks and cake before trying to find somewhere to stay. We soon learned that there
wasn’t a motel with rooms available, however John knew there was a ‘hostel’, so we went
to find it. We soon found ‘The Place’, a Church Hostel which was very basic, no blankets or
bed cover. I decided I would try to look elsewhere, John went looking for someone ‘in charge’.
I thought about calling at the Police Station, however there was a filling station nearby and I
enquired there. The owner suggested I visit the lady across the road, so I did and there I met
Annie, a really homely smiling lady who welcomed me in. She tells me she is arthritic and has
her brother and sister-in-law staying with her, that I can stay, it will cost me $22 for the room,
but it is comfortable and is home from home. I soon get installed and before getting sorted out
I called to let John know where I was and make arrangements to meet up for a meal. Back to
Annie’s B & B and I’m ready for a bath. The design of the bathroom is old fashioned, with the
large, deep bath standing in the centre of the room on decorative feet, with pipes leading up to
the ceiling and to the wall and a shower curtain surround and curtains surrounding the bath. I
had a good soak!, totally refreshed. My bike is being kept in the outhouse, so I’d given it some
T.L.C. ready for ‘another day’, I’ve become very attached to my best friend ‘Claud’!!. I then
set off for the laundrette where a good wash was done, free. The girl from the video shop next
door to the laundrette which was also hers, gave me the washing powder and (well, she set too
and washed my gear for me), she was so interested in our challenge, I thanked her, once again
what hospitality and kindness. I also spoke to a Texan who talked about his uncle being a D
day veteran who is buried in Cambridge. I also talked to a number of local people who assured
me the weather tomorrow will be good, Sunday too. I rode back to Annie’s B & B to put some
washing on the line!. I wrote some cards and made my diary up to date, noting the animals we
had seen, Cardinals, groundhogs, chipmunks, dead possum and snakes, also a few dogs that did
not concern themselves too much about us. I still had time to go and have a hair trim, I felt I
was becoming no longer ‘smart’, in fact I felt scruffy, so on to Diana’s Hair Design where I was
to meet twin sisters, Debbie and Diana and for the first time in my life (I think) I had my hair
trimmed by a female!, an experience I won’t forget. They were both delightful young ladies
smartly dressed and they were a pleasure to be with, especially their Southern accent was
charming. The trim cost $5 and I guessed it was worth it just to feel better. I then met up with
John and we went for a large 16” pizza with beer which cost us $22. We spoke to some hikers,
one of whom seemed to be a very angry person, strange, said he’d never loved, that he didn’t
know how to and that he hates too easily!!. I decided to leave John there, he was in his element
and I needed to walk off the pizza and some beer. As I walked, I met a number of local people
and that was a joy. I spoke to one lady who was the Mayor of the town. I explained what we
were doing and that I was a retired Police Officer and that we had received wonderful
hospitality from Police associates, that I had intended calling at the Police Station, however I’d
found Annie’s B & B which was home from home. She then told me that the present Sheriff
had put in his resignation on Tuesday so a new one was being sought, she then turned to me and
offered me ‘the job’ and said, “We’ll need a new Deputy too”, I then thought of my eldest son
Kevan who is a serving Detective!!. I decided to decline and returned to Annie’s B & B where
I spent some time with her and had a Coke. I collected my clothing in off the line and was
ready to visit ‘the land of nod’. I wrote my last lines of the day in my diary and was soon into
my comfort zone with my music, another special day, I’m so thankful. Soon ‘dreaming of you,
my love’.
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I woke at 7.30am. on Saturday, 10th. October, ’92 and I feel I’ve slept well and in comfort. The
suns rays were streaming in through the lace curtains giving the inside of the bedroom a warm
haze. I got sorted and the bike loaded up before having a word with Annie and thanking her for
‘taking me in’. The weather is quite sharp and autumnal but sunny and fresh. I met up with
John, we went to the Post Office, then back to the hostel before going to ‘Cowboys’ for break-
fast of toast, jelly and plenty of iced lemon tea (am I becoming addicted?). I’ve got my Rohan
jacket on this morning and I’ve managed to buy some new cycling gloves, it is 9.15am. as we
get on the road out of Damascus. We are soon climbing to Mount Roger, I’m just sitting high
in the saddle using one gear, with only one hand on the handlebars, so I can take a good look
around today at this most magnificent scenery and sights. It is so quiet, peaceful, just the rustle
of the leaves and the grass, a ground hog pops it’s head up, takes a look, then dives back down
to disappear beneath the foliage. The sunny hillside to the left is bathed in beams of strong sun-
light, deer graze and sometimes look up unconcerned then back to feeding. All the time leaves
flutter down and make an enormous patchwork of colour, occasionally we’d see strange and
sinister shapes of the Kudsu growth (only the winter and fires will halt it’s growth). To my
right the stream trundles on, over rocks, logs and branches, making a multitude of small water-
falls. Woodpeckers, blue backed birds and cardinals dip across the surface of the river, so all of
this is a lot of peoples – heaven/paradise, it really is. On and on, up and up, round and round
the next bend to open up more spectacular aspects. If anyone could see me they would see how
‘gob-smacked’ I appear, I keep telling myself ‘stop trying to catch flies’. I’m finding all of this
quite emotional, it’s also a warm feeling to feel like this, thank you for such wonder. John has
had his chain come off twice and I’ve got a slight problem with my chain ring gear shifter, but
it is nothing that (a lad from York) can’t fix. We made a stop and sorted these problems out
temporarily and satisfactorily. We had another long run down to undulating roads from Mount
Roger and on to Konnarock, Troutdale , Sugar Grove, Cedar Springs and Rural Retreat. The
terrain is changing, opening out and levelling off. Now there are fields, the little town we have
ridden through are clean and tidy. The grassy fields have rocks protruding and there is a look
of parts of Scotland and as the roads whinde away it is also a lot like some parts of North
Yorkshire. We pushed on to Wytheville and stopped for drinks, here it is a little more ‘down
beat’, however we asked about motels at Fort Chiswell and Grahams Forge and we were
advised to push on to Grahams Forge where we would find better accommodation. I’ve been
in a T shirt since reaching the crest at Mount Roger, the weather has improved as the day has
gone on and I’ve taken many photographs of the surrounding scenery, wonderful. We pushed
on through Fox Creek where I took more photographs and on to Max Meadows to stop for more
drinks. Here it is very ‘down and out’ in appearance, the people were ‘drab’ and less than
‘happy’, they did not seem to want to communicate with us. Once more through Fort Chiswell
and on to Grahams Forge where the scenery is startlingly beautiful – (more photographs). We
found the ideal Trail motel just off our route and the views looked out across the hills and on
towards The Blue Ridge. The owners of the motel were Dutch, very cheerful and helpful as we
wished to make contact with the Chief of Police at Christiansburg, we were due to receive the
hospitality of Christiansburg Police. We made this contact and the arrangements were for us to
arrive at the outskirts of Christiansburg by 12 noon where one of their Sergeants would meet us.
We decided to go an eat before settling in so we rode on to a nearby restaurant where I had
ham, onions, salad, fruit and plenty of iced lemon tea again, the meal was very good. We
returned to the motel and started the usual ritual of sorting ready for tomorrow. I had a great
bath having washed my gear and I had bought some very appropriate post cards of scenes we
have passed through. I decided to take some of the post cards home as well as writing some
to post tomorrow. I also wrote a letter to Barbara and continue to get my diary up to date. I
have bought two new audio cassettes to try for $8 and I’ve made a note for Kevan (who loves
all the Laurel and Hardy stories), we have been on the ‘Trail of the Lonesome Pine’ for some
time now. At 8.45pm. I received a telephone call from Hank Partin of Christiansburg Police
who asked us to contact him as we approached the outskirts of Christiansburg tomorrow, this
we agreed to do. Time to listen to parts of the new cassettes and to relax. I’m sure I listened
until 11pm. before I finally ‘dropped off’. Praise the lord for such beauty of nature. Oh, I
should mention, John wasn’t too happy when I had to mention his shorts again, I said, “They
are ripe!”.
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I woke at 7.30am. on Sunday, 11th. October, ’92 and John was up and about. Almost
Immediately I had this euphoric, enthusiastic and excited feeling about both the day, knowing
I’m nearly there and more importantly, I’ll soon be with ‘you my love’. I quickly got sorted,
the day looks so clean, clear and the sun is warm. By 8am., bright eyed and bushy tailed (and
why not on such a wonderful day) with sun streaming strongly across the road from our right
through the trees, we set off to go for breakfast. As it is Sunday morning we are seeing a few
cars and we guess people are going to church or chapel (there are many denominations of the
Christian faith here in the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains). Calling at Graham Forge
Truck Stop for breakfast of toast, jelly and iced lemon tea, the bread/toast had a ‘smiling face’
thereon, which seemed to aptly accompany the feel of the day, for me. We set out from the
‘Truck Stop’ at 9.15am. and it is T shirt weather, thankfully. The roads roller coaster away
into the layers of various shades of blue and purple mist of the Blue Ridge in the distance and
the scenery is more open, you can see for many a mile, it is glorious. We rode on over Draper
mountain to Draper and on to Newbern. The weather starts to change and became inclement,
so we put waterproofs on, though it is still pleasantly warm. On our way into Radford the rain
started and the gradients of some of the roads were steep, causing John to decide to walk as it
was easier for him to do so. The gearing on my bike is such that it is easier for me to keep
turning the pedals and in any case it is a lot less painful than having to walk (my left hip joint
is badly worn due to arthritis and can be unduly painful sometimes when walking). We pushed
on into Christiansburg as arranged, knowing we would be meeting Hank Partin and sure enough
he was there to meet us as we entered the Main Street. He was driving his ‘patrol car’ so we
followed him to Police H.Q. and along the route there were many flags, bunting and signs to
celebrate 200 years of Christiansburg, so we were in their town for their festivities. We secured
our bikes in the grounds of Police H.Q. as Hank was eager for us to go onto the roof of the large
Shopping Mall where there were many activities and celebrations going on. On reaching the
roof of the Mall, we were quickly introduced to the Blue Ridge Radio station crews and within
no time we were being interviewed by Rusty Clarke of W.P.S.K. Pulaski radio about our ‘cycle
challenge’ and my purpose of raising funds for our supported causes. The radio programmers
and interviewers were raising funds for needy children’s causes by this Telethon called the Big
River Project and were hoping to raise $10,000. Of course the interviewer made a big thing of
our purpose and the challenge, using words like, “You folks out there, listen up and listen good,
I’ve got two Englishmen here with me, they’re retired guys who have just cycled 4,000 miles so
far, across America, yes, 4,000 miles on bicycles across America and they are doing it for
cancer and leukaemia causes, back home, so get your hands in your pockets and help our kids
here on the Blue Ridge”. At this I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out a $20 note, this I
handed to Rusty. His immediate response was to literally shout, “I’ve just been handed $20 by
Peter from England, so come on you folks, match it”. The interview continue and he appealed
to his local listeners time and time again, mentioning that we had donated $20 whilst trying to
raise funds ourselves, so all in all, the interview of John and I went well and Hank said that we
handled it well, in-spite of being thrust into taking part without any prior knowledge. In
between the interviews, music was being played and the atmosphere was vibrant and happy.
We returned to Police H.Q. where we met Chief of Police Ron Lemon who had written to me,
inviting us to stay in Christiansburg for two nights to take advantage of the festivities and the
hospitality of the Fraternity of Christiansburg Police. We were appraised of the arrangements
that had been made for the time we would be with them. From H.Q. we cycled about 3 miles,
with a Patrol car following us, driven by Hank, to Hampton Motel where the accommodation is
five star, we are extremely appreciative of their organisation and consideration. Hank also took
us to the nearby Cracker Barrel restaurant where we are to eat, we met Rick, the manager who
would be looking after our food needs. Back to the motel to get cleaned up and organised, it is
only 2pm. and we know that an under cover detective called Gary Brumfield would be coming
to take us for a ‘trip out in an unmarked patrol car’. Arrangements had been made for Hank and
his wife to eat with us the following evening and also that we would make a radio contact with
T.F.M. back home and for Hank to be interviewed, also that Garry would eat with us tonight.
Hank made it clear that his wife would be washing all of the gear we needed, tomorrow, ‘no
questions about it’. We had time to get a good bath, to relax and write a few cards and update
our diaries, before Gary arrived. I immediately related to him in his role as ‘an under cover
drugs detective’. He was as tall as John but slimmer and had long dark hair and a full beard.
He also had a quiet, pleasant but noticeable Southern accent which I found I wanted to try to
copy, ‘just for the fun of it’. Gary and I talked ‘some Police speak’ and we found we had much
in common, however we were conscious of John being able to take part, he was interested but
could not always follow our ‘speak’. We were soon travelling in the unmarked Police car with
Gary driving (in his own time) and he took us up into the hills, via Virginia College of
Technology and places in and around Christiansburg that he wanted us to see. The countryside
is so picturesque and seen from the car, on this occasion, being able to travel some distance and
take in the surrounding splendour of the Blue Ridge, together with the autumn colours it made a
perfect and unforgettable picture. Here is another example of the thought and kindness shown
to us, making our ‘cycle challenge’ so memorable, “Thanks you Gary, Hank and Chief of
Police - Ron Lemon, plus Rick at Cracker Barrel, we are eternally grateful.” Gary drove on, to
a Christmas ‘All the Year Round’ shop, way up onto the Blue Ridge, here we saw Joe and Lois
Boldin, the owners who we chatted with and they handed me a $10 donation and a Christmas
tree bauble. The atmosphere in the ‘shop’ was so relaxing and inviting with low level surround
music playing all the time, which I appreciated. We said our goodbyes, they wished us well
and we went on further up onto the Blue Ridge. Here, Gary wanted us to see the views and he
was eager to show us a section of the hillside where he pointed and told us that he had plans to
build his home on that hillside. My immediate thought was, ‘I would love to be able to come
back and one day see the home that Gary was to build’. He told us it would be a log home and
that many members of his wife Jennifer’s family already lived there, it made me think of “The
Waltons’ T.V. series and what a dream it must be to be able to plan and accomplish such a
task. Before we left, I took photographs with the fantastic autumn colours of that part of the
Blue Ridge. We returned to our motel and on to the Cracker Barrel with Gary where I had Loin
Steak, baked potato, salad, ice cream and a beer. We thanked Rick and staff who had been so
enthusiastic and helpful, then Gary returned us to the motel where I was ready for some sleep..
what a day, what friendship, what a dream of a day. I sorted out what needed washing (by
Hank’s wife), I also made some notes about the day and what we wished to do tomorrow and to
read Barbara’s letter which had been waiting for me at the motel. So, as I read Barbara’s letter
and listened to some good music, it was the perfect end to another special day, with much
gratitude to all who had made it possible, especially Gary. I left John to view T.V. reports on
how the American Election candidacy was ‘squaring up’….John’s choice being Perot, however
Clinton is ahead.
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I’m up at 7.30am. on Monday, 12th. October, ’92, I looked at my bike and thought to myself, “If
you (looking at the bike) think you’re not going to be ridden today, you’ve got another think
coming”, so I had a quick shave and checked the bike over. The day is fresh, clear with the sun
low in the sky and by 8am. I was out on the road, down town into Christiansburg. I enjoyed the
steady pace just meandering along roads in the town centre, looking at the stores with their
western clothes, boots and Stetsons, noticing the prices, being at least a third cheaper than back
home. I returned to the motel and John was very interested in the Presidential debates and
projected results, also that it was St. Columbus day, which may mean that some shops may be
closed. I got showered and ready for the day, then we went on over to the Cracker Barrel for
breakfast where we met Rick. I had Cherry pancakes and grapefruit juice, then we returned to
the motel as Hank was due at 10am. to pick up our dirty washing. Whilst we had been at break-
fast our rooms had been cleaned and tidied. Hank arrived and we made arrangements for us to
make a radio link with T.F.M. radio back home for 6pm. We then went down into
Christiansburg, into one of the large malls and there was background music playing which I
very much appreciated, the sun was shining in through the roof and there were water features
and fountains, which made the visit a relaxing and pleasurable experience. John wandered off
on his own and I checked out some music stores for audio cassettes I might take back with me,
we had this time to ourselves until 1pm. whilst Gary went for a run, then he would pick us up
and take us to visit other areas of the Blue Ridge. We met up as arranged and Gary took us to
a travel agents at Blacksburg, so that we could confirm our arrangements for departure and to
organise the availability of bike boxes at Norfolk airport. We were in another mall and we had
time to wander. Again there was music playing, The Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald and
Marvin Gaye. In one of the music shops I found a cassette tape of Bob James and Earl Klugh,
also I was hearing a track from Ephraim Lewis, so I bought the C.D. called, ‘Skin’ for
Barbara. Gary had plans for us to go up onto the Blue Ridge and the drive was magnificent,
stopping off at viewing points along the way at this altitude with great visibility, the varying
hues of mist and the greens, yellows and reds of the changing autumn colours of the deciduous
forests was spectacular, complemented by the ever blue sky. Along the way Gary took us to
Maybry Mill, which had a large water wheel and inside there were people dressed in period
clothing and they were busily going about their work acting out scenes from the 1700’s, there
were spinning wheels, leather making, weaving, wine making with people singing as they
worked, it was a very memorable experience. John had obviously been thinking about the
beauty of the Blue Ridge and he said he would one day like to bring Rosie to this place, he kept
saying, “Rosie would love this” and “It’s gorgeous”…. it sure is. We had to make our way
back to the motel in order to make the link with T.F.M. radio back home and now Hank is with
us so he is able to be interviewed, he did very well, his military and police discipline meant that
he respectfully replied with the word Sir, which I’m sure charmed the folks back home. Hank’s
wife Angie had washed our ‘gear’…and John’s shorts, she was with us so we were able to
thank her for her kindness, she was a quiet, smiling, pretty young lady and I believe she was
enjoying the experience of being with ‘These strange English men’. Hank had also arranged
with Roanoke Times for us to be interviewed by the local newspaper, so we had photographs
taken and they promised to make sure we received a copy of the edition with the article therein.
I then received a telephone call from Barbara, it was great to hear her, knowing we are on our
last few days before our return, she also had a message for John from Rosie and his mother, so
John was well pleased. I kept thinking, ‘Barbara shouldn’t do this to me’, yet being able to talk
to talk to her and know she and everyone back home were alright, especially my mother, was a
relief and the hurt soon passed, (I’m missing her some.) I started to realise that I probably
hadn’t had my intake of water or liquids, I was starting to suffer a headache, so I took some
pain killers and had a good drink of water and iced tea before heading off to the Cracker Barrel
where we met Rick and set about ordering our evening meal. I ordered Ribeye steak, French
fries, salad and iced tea and a chocolate sweet which was excellent. The company of Hank and
Angie was a real pleasure, Angie was a delight, especially her soft Southern accent. Hank said
he would try to make contact with the Police in the places we were due to stay according to our
itinerary, I felt sure he would be successful, he appeared to be a very organised and efficient
young officer. So, we were able to thank Angie for her company and once more for taking care
of our washing and we made our way back to our motel. What a wonderful and different day
today has been, we have been graced with good fortune. At the motel I was able to watch a
music channel on T.V. the artists were Vince Gill and Michael McDonald, so I was well
pleased. Whilst I made my diary up to date there was Country and Western music being played
so I felt relaxed and the headache had gone, thankfully. I had a hot bath before turning in and I
sure was ready for a good sleep, aided by Walkman and my music of Bob James and Earl
Klugh. God Bless my love, soon be home.
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I woke at 7am. on Tuesday, 13th. October, 1992 and the weather looks good, John is looking at
the T.V. weather forecasts and comments on not appreciating having to ‘take a day off’ (with
reference to yesterday being a wasted day), I don’t think so, I really do appreciate all that has
been done for me/us, albeit does not fit snugly in with John’s excellent plans so far as our route
is concerned. I realise that the Police hospitality afforded us is not according to John’s plans,
therefore I am beginning to have to be as diplomatic and flexible as I am able, where as I feel
John has more fixed ideas based on his research and planned route. John commented on his
‘clean shorts’ and being able to put his cycle gear on. I realised the comment was as a result of
my observation and telling John that ‘his shorts were ripe’ (and needed washing)…. Call me
insensitive!!. Basically, I realised John’s plans had been disrupted and I concerned myself that
it should not effect the rest of our ‘adventure’. So, when John said, “It’s nice to get up and get
on with some cycling”, I wondered what was in store. We went over to the Cracker Barrel to
meet up with many of those who had provided us with the most wonderful hospitality. There to
meet us was the Chief of Police Ron Lemon who had made the Christiansburg experience
possible, Hank who was in uniform and as smart as could be, Gary who was casually dressed
and with his full beard and straggly hippy hair (as under cover detective) and Rick the manager
of the ‘eating house’, they really did go out of their way to make us feel so much at home.
Hank had obtained a copy of the Roanoke Times with the article about our ‘venture therein, he
promised to make sure that copies would be sent by post to our homes, together with a package
of other information. He also said he had received a telephone call from a lady called Ann
Cannell who wanted to speak to me, he had told her that we would be at the Cracker Barrel
therefore I should expect a call. So, together we had breakfast, I had sausage, gravy, jelly,
apple butter biscuits and iced tea. I found the warmth of the friendship, almost too much and at
one stage Gary said, “Do you remember the telephone call early one morning back in March
from a guy in Christiansburg”, I had a thoughtful moment and suddenly realised it was Gary
who had called me and I said, “You didn’t say and I hadn’t put two and two together”, so it was
Gary who had made all the arrangements for our hospitality. Ron then asked where we would
be staying after we left Christiansburg and I said, “Salem, Roanoke”. He then said that he knew
the Chief of Police there and he took us to a telephone. Ron made the ‘phone call and he said,
“Reg, they’re coming” and put the ‘phone down. I was somewhat puzzled and asked about
Reg, to which he said, “He knows you’re coming and staying”. So, I asked for some detail of
his full name, address, telephone number etc and Ron said, “You don’t need any of that, just
call and see him at the central Police Station in Salem High Street”. I tried to get some more
detail, but it was not forthcoming and I could see Ron had a cheeky grin on his face, so I took
it that he had ‘set something up’, that he was not willing to give anymore information and that
we would have to accept what he had arranged, so be it!. We had no sooner returned to our
table when Rick came on over and said, “There’s an Ann Cannell on the telephone and she
wants to speak to you”. I looked over to Hank and he confirmed that she was the lady whom
he had spoken to, so I picked the ‘phone up and said, “Hello, this is Peter Howe”. The caller
Ann said, “You’re the Yorkshireman who was on the radio the other day and you’re cycling
across America”, I said, “That’s correct”. Ann then went on to tell me that she was from the
Yorkshire Dales, that she now lived at Blacksburg, just up the road from Christiansburg. She
continued to tell me that she was a Foster before marriage and that her family lived in
Newcastle and that she had worked as a physiotherapist at Dorman and Longs Steel Work
(which is just along the road from my own home in Normanby, Middlesbrough). She further
said that she had married Robert who was from the Isle of Man and his work had brought them
to Virginia. She then wanted to know if she could send a donation towards our chosen causes
and said she was so pleased to hear my Yorkshire accent and that she just had to speak to me. I
thanked her for her intent and caring and I obtained details of her name, address etc and said
goodbye. I returned to the breakfast table to ‘tell the tale’, what a wonderful start to yet another
day ‘in paradise’. Ron then said that he would be leaving but that he would be meeting us again
before we left his country, at the Old Railway Station and again I
was beginning to wonder ‘what he had in store for us’. We were near to the shopping Mall so I
did a little bit of shopping for Laura and Naomi, knowing that whatever I bought them would be
sent off in the parcel by Hank. We returned to the motel and got our gear sorted, bikes ready
for the road. I left a letter of appreciation and a pennant at reception, with our thanks for their care of us. By now it was 11.15am. and we set off with Hank following us in his patrol car and Gary in an unmarked Police Car in front of us, through Blacksburg and on to Ellett. By 12 noon we had reached the Old Railway Station where we met Ron and with him was a T.V. crew, vehicle and camera from Channel 10 – W.S.L.S. and we were introduced to the cameraman/interviewer Ed Reams. The Old Station had an old loco (from those Western films) outside and was now a museum and had a wonderful selection of hand made products trinket in its shop. While the T.V. crew were getting set up, I went into the shop and bought items for Barbara, I know she would have loved to have visited this place, I spoke to the model maker at Dolls House Corner of the shop and he talked about Glencoe, Scotland and when I mentioned it was one of our (Barbara and my) favourite places, particularly ‘The Clachaig Inn’, he said he had been there and loved the history and the whole area, I understood his feelings. Outside, the T.V. crew were ready for us and I was interviewed first, followed by John. Ron, Hank and Steve, another uniformed Police Officer looked on whilst Gary also had a video camera on his shoulder and was recording the whole of the interview. Once Ed had obtained all the footage he required, he said that the item would probably be going out on Channel 10 across U.S.A. around 6pm. that night. I did ask if it might be possible for a copy of the item to be sent to us, however there was no promise made. We said our goodbyes to Ron, Hank and crew, however Gary had told us he would be following us out of the county and he would be videoing us as we went on our way, again I was so appreciative of all that they had and were doing for us. Before we set off I congratulated John for the confident way he reacted to being interviewed and being up for it, he did likewise and said, “You’re a natural”, I then mentioned that in my occupation (Police Service) I had been tasked with organising and setting up a video/T.V. department for Cleveland Police which had entailed me completing various B.B.C. courses on T.V. production, which had given me skills for which I was most grateful. Before leaving the Old Railway Station, Hank had given me a list of contacts in the places we were due to stay on our journey along the Blue Ridge and on towards our destination of Yorktown on the east coast, he had made these contacts and they were willing to offer us hospitality. Once again, ‘The Fraternity of American Police Officers’ was proving to be so generous and caring for our cause and us personally. We set off at 1.15pm. along Ellett Road to the outskirts of Christiansburg with Gary following on behind us taking video material, we were travelling along undulating country roads with picturesque views and autumnal colours, we stopped to take photographs, disturbing herds of deer, inquisitive ground hogs and many vultures flying high above us searching for roadside carcases. With very little traffic about us we were able to take in the wonderful views together with the warm sun and the ever present blue skies, life could not be better, I was prompted to start singing, “In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia” and start thinking of the Laurel and Hardy sayings, “That’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into Stanley” etc. etc. We rode on towards Catawba and just before entering the town, we said our goodbyes to Gary and his partner, I promised I would keep in touch with him and he said he would send a copy of the video material in due course. Into Catawba where we stopped for drinks before pushing on to Salem where we found the Police Station as directed by Chief Ron Lemon. I went into the Police Station and asked for Chief Reg (I had no other detail of his name). I was directed into his office and as soon as he spoke and shook my hand I knew why Ron Lemon was not prepared to tell me more, Chief Reg was a ‘Scouser’, he had served as a Police Officer in Liverpool during the 60’s and having married he had decided to emigrate to America and joined the Police Service. You can imagine the nostalgia of which we talked, be it music, the Beatles the Merseyside groups, Liverpool F.C. and his love of soccer and his golf, not to mention the job of being a Police Officer. We were taken from the Police Station in Reg’s pick up to the Sleep Inn motel at Roanoke where we would be staying, there we met Betty, Reg’s wife and their grand daughter Tiffany who lived with them. Reg and his family left us in order for us to get cleaned up. Arrangements had been made for us to meet for a meal at 7pm. I had a shower, washed my gear and started making my diary up to date and at 6pm. we watched the Channel 10 – W.S.L.S. programme which carried the item about our ‘cycle challenge’ which we appreciated, it was only about 1 or 2 minutes long but it told our story. We went along to the restaurant and met Reg, Betty and Tiffany and had another great meal of beef bar-b-cue ribs, onion rings, salad and beer. It was good to have the company and there was plenty of good humour. I learned that Reg’s daughter lived on the military camp at Harrogate, Yorkshire, so I obtained her address before we said our goodbyes with so much more gratitude. Back at reception we obtained a route out of Salem towards Lexington which would take us along our planned route, then back to our room where I began to think, ‘I don’t or won’t know how to explain all of this to my Barbara’. All of this is more like a ‘dream’, so many good things, I wondered when I would wake up. I said to John whilst we were on the road, “It’s as if we are being re-paid for something we don’t know we deserve”. It was late by now but I still wanted to write a few cards and listen to some music. After such a packed and good day, who knows what is still in store for us during our last few days. And so to sleep my love, oh and we have celebrated over 4,000 miles cycled with a few beers tonight, so I might just snore!!. John and I had had a disagreement during the day, which I accepted. Basically, I had hoped we might go slightly off route tomorrow and visit Natural Bridge, however John was adament we would not go off our planned route, this I reluctantly accepted.
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Up and about by 6.45am. on Wednesday, 14th. October, 1992, we have to be out of our room by 7.30am. as it is needed by conference people. I spoke to the Motel staff and thanked them for their care of us. The day is crisply cool but it promises to be another good day. We set off and before leaving Salem we parked our bikes outside Anthony’s restaurant and went in there for breakfast. As is usual, breakfast time is a busy time, most locals making the most of more than enough food for little cost… ‘all you can eat for $5 and boy do they eat!!’. We found a table and I was in the act of taking my windproof jacket off when a wonderful female Southern voice said, “Yaw’ll on T.V. last night”. Standing there was our young blond waitress, pointing at me and this seemed to attract the attention of a number of people in the restaurant, who had also seen the ‘story of our cycle ‘venture’ on Channel 10. The result was that a number of those having breakfast came over to us and spoke kindly to us and encouraged us to complete our ‘task’, some gave donations of cash for our chosen causes, we couldn‘t thank our young waitress enough for our breakfast, which we did not pay for, once again we are almost speechless at the generosity being shown to us. Our waitress Sandy came out to the front of the restaurant and John took a photograph of her pointing at me, making like she was saying, “Yaw’ll on T.V. last night”, this captured the scene and moment. We started out at 9am. and the traffic was heavy and unpleasant as we were on a road which linked up with Hwy 11 which runs all the way into Yorktown, however our route would keep us off this busy road, thankfully. Along the way we passed many garages with so many thousands of American cars for sale, business premises selling just about anything alongside Bring and Buy sales and Antiques shops before our route took us through Roanoke, then onto county and service roads which though hilly, were quieter and far more pleasant with wonderful countryside scenery of Fall colours and smells. The wind and sun are on our backs as we pass meadows, woods, streams and fields rich in colour and livestock. We pass through Daleville and into Troutsville where we stopped for drinks, the ride has been spectacularly undulating and pleasurable. We pushed on through No Name and on into Buchanon. From here we pass the road to Natural Bridge, sadly I will have to accept all I have been told of the places beauty, maybe one day I will return, I tell myself. The peace, tranquillity and beauty of this area is breathtaking, so we ride on into Lexington and stop for a drink. Here the Colonial feel of this part of America starts to change, we see footpaths, fences, solidly built stone houses, businesses and shops, everywhere seems so clean, tidy and stylish. I called at a neat Art shop and bought gifts for my two daughter-in-laws Julie and Anna, then on to a card shop to see if I could find a card for my Barbara, I was successful. We walked through the streets of this Confederacy town with its Virginia Military Institute, displaying statues of many notable military men, one such being George C. Marshall who graduated from the Institute and reached the rank of General of the Army. He was the person responsible for the European recovery program following the second world war, known as ‘The Marshall Plan’. I had wished we could have stayed longer here with its museums, including the Robert E. Lee chapel and the nearby Washington and Lee University. It was quite strange seeing the young, clean crew cut uniformed soldiers living alongside the long haired ‘hippie’ types who attended the University. Stately carriages drawn by horses meandered through the streets at a slow pace allowing passengers to take in the views of this memorable city. I made a telephone call to Chief of Police Bruce M Beard and he guided us into the centre of the city to the Police Station where we met him and some of his staff, they were most welcoming and enthusiastically asked about the ‘ride’. We were informed that our hospitality was provided this evening at the home of the Chief Security Officer Mike Young, in the grounds of the Washington and Lee University. Chief Bruce had put together a small package of pens, pennants and other memorability, he’d made arrangements for a meal at 7pm so we went on our way to the University and met Mike, an ex. Police Officer of 20yrs, who took over the role of Chief of Security and seemed to enjoy his occupation. He showed us to separate rooms, mine having a bath, towels, fridge, drinks and a music centre which I thought was ‘home from home’. Mike suggested we make a visit to the Robert E. Lee chapel and burial grounds which were in the grounds of the University. John and I got ourselves cleaned up and sorted, so that we had time to visit the chapel, crypt and museum, I was most grateful to Mike as the visit was very special, especially learning about R.E. Lee, what a good tactician he had been and knowing of his loyalties to the Confederacy, though he might have changed the history of America by fighting for the Unionists . We returned to our rooms and had time to make diary entries before leaving at 6.45pm. to go to the Police Station. There we met Sergeant Wayne Straub who took us to the County Cooking restaurant. Wayne was a few years younger than us and he was an enthusiastic lively officer, I think I would have been able to work with him, he was a positive ‘action man’. We were treated to our evening meal, I had rib eye steak, baked potato, salad, followed by fruit, ice cream, iced tea which was excellent. Wayne’s eagerness meant that we were to ‘go on patrol’ and he would show us some of the seedier, drug areas of the city before taking us to more exclusive communities. We passed beside a Du Pont Chemical plant and I reflected on the Du Pont product which was part of my replaced right hip joint (the high density poly propylene cup), and ‘thanked them for making this challenge possible’. I also thought of my left hip joint which was in a very worn and poor state, which would be replaced sometime in 1993. Thankfully cycling is much less weight bearing than even walking, besides, I’m loosing weight!!. On our way back to our accommodation we drove through the grounds of the Military Institute and the University. We called at the Police Station and said our thanks to Wayne and staff hoping we’d see him before leaving in the morning. John was by now ‘shattered’ so he went to his room and I settle into my accommodation to watch the Tubbs v Sheldon boxing match which Tubbs won. I was then able to finish writing up my diary and finish a letter to Barbara, which I had started earlier in the day. I was near ‘tired out’ so I relaxed in bed with a drink and some of my music, I saw the clock show 11.50pm. then zzzzz.
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I woke at 7am. on Thursday, 15th. October, 1992 to another clear and inviting day. We said our ‘goodbyes’ to Mike and he wished us well. Once again ‘Good Samaritans’ have been so hospitable, I can’t thank them enough. We got sorted and cycled into the Police Office to meet up with the Police Chief Bruce M. Beard and his Deputy, who drove us out to a restaurant for breakfast of French toast, Jelly and Iced tea. From here we were shown around the Virginia Military Institute grounds and on to Stonewall Jackson’s burial place. He is buried with his white horse and they are facing South. John showed his appreciation by stating, “This really is Southern hospitality”, I was pleased that he was happy but also aware that we were somewhat outside the planned schedule and off John’s route, which has not pleased him. We returned to the Police Office and we met Martin Di Leggi who was the station orderly and he gave us $4 for our causes and wished us success for the rest of the trip. We needed to get back on track, so arrangements were made for us to be taken to Buena Vista up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We loaded the bikes into an ‘Animal Control’ pick-up and we were transported to our re-start point.
Once again our thanks didn’t seem to be enough. Our driver said, “Looks like the day going to be really gorgeous”, I smiled because I could hear my Barbara using those words and John has from time to time said something is… really gorgeous. So appropriate, I thought. Strangely the ‘vista’ is breathtaking and we are soon riding along a good surface road which undulates and becomes steep from time to time, from 2,000’ up to 3,200’. The road is single track in each direction and has a maximum speed limit of 45mph. and no commercial vehicles are allowed, though we do see large R.V.’s. There are plenty of long ups but, as Barbara would say, “There’s the cookie” and as John puts it ‘sizzling down-hills’. Either side of us is a rich colourful forest which seems to be changing from green to orange and red so quickly now as the Autumn weather, light and temperatures effect them. The sky is so blue, therefore the colours seem to be enriched. I’m not sure I could be sickened of riding the whole Blue Ridge, however John likened it to being ‘boringly beautiful’. Looking across the Blue Ridge there were layers of mist and each ridge seemed to have its own line and colour giving the Parkway so much depth and we could probably see for 30 miles. Looking down into the valleys there were homesteads on the flat lands, each with there own individual design of property, land and produce pleasuring us with even more colour. Our route took us through Vesuvius, Reeds Gap and where we spoke to two other cyclists who were riding the Parkway, also to Parkway Police. We stopped for drinks, it really is hot and we need sun cream. There is a steady breeze so we don’t want to burn. John has had some burning to forearms and hands and I believe it is because his bike has straight handlebars therefore he rides with a fixed position whereas my bike is a racing tourer with drop handle-bars which give me a variety of positions, it also allows some relief so as not to have to suffer back strain and this also helps deal with wind resistance. I bought some post cards and we were taking photographs, the camera found it hard to stay in its case! I felt I needed to say what was on my mind, my words to John were, “If there’s a heaven on earth, God gave us a bit here today”. We continued to soak up this wonderful experience and rode on to Rockfish Gap where we stopped again for drinks and I made a telephone call from C’Mart courtesy of a kind Dublin born owner. My call was to Chief of Police Philip Broadfoot at Waynesboro who had arranged hospitality there. I spoke to Sergeant Miller and he guided us to a meeting point where he would pick us up. We rode on and soon met Sgt. Miller, he seemed very pleased to see us, we loaded the bikes onto the pickup and he took us about 4 miles to the Days Inn motel which would have cost us $90 per. night. Our room was as John put it, ‘posh’. Sgt Miller wanted to take us around the town of Waynesboro so arrangements were made for him to return after we had got ourselves sorted and ‘washed up’. We were soon being shown the diversity of the town with its drug problems and the affluent neighbourhoods, then we went on to the Police station where further arrangements had been made for us to be interviewed by Richard Pryer for the local newspaper. We met other members of staff and C.O.P. Broadfoot, he seemed to be a well organised and smartly dressed gentleman. He told us that we would be eating at Sizzling Western and breakfast arranged at Shoney’s where he would meet and eat with us. Also Richard wanted photographs of us in cycling gear so that was arranged for 10am. the following morning. We said our ‘thanks’ to Sgt. Miller and were taken back to our motel by Sgt. Joe who would be eating with us. We had time to write a couple of post cards and notes for our diaries, before going to Sizzling Western where we were served by Syretta who was a Police Officers wife, she was very pleasant and asked many questions about the ride. My meal was a 10 oz. prime rib steak, French fries, salad bar, iced tea and fruit which was excellent, we were not allowed to pay for anything. With so much kindness, John has formed the opinion that the ‘Police are competing to give us hospitality’. I am able to accept that the Fraternity of Police Officer and the International Police Association of which I am a member, gives reciprocal hospitality and that I would be expected to honour this agreement which I would be happy to do should the occasion arise. We returned to our motel room and I wrote up my diary and a letter to Barbara. John then aired his views saying he hasn’t been very happy about the arrangements and hospitality given by our Police friends which has taken us somewhat off his planned route and he wanted us to revert back to ‘his route’ and complete the ride thus. I tried to be reasonable and knew I had to be flexible, however Police hospitality had been arranged and they had gone out of their way to help us and I felt we would be letting them down by not accepting their help us and refusing the promised hospitality would be disrespectful. So, as John puts it ‘Had a heated discussion with Pete’. John’s main concern was not wanting to cycle on Hwy 250 and I was not too concern about what roads we might ride on. Unfortunately John’s disquiet took him to talking about ending the ride via ‘his route’ on his own which I considered irrational, especially after all that we had achieved so far, together. To damage the relationship we had formed, I was not prepared to consider and my efforts were to try to get John to re-consider and for us to meet each other half way (to agree to disagree) and get back on track. Knowing John takes his medication, made me think that perhaps that was the reason for his disquiet. Some unpleasant and unnecessary words were spoken though I tried to be as flexible, amenable and accommodating as possible. I managed to listen to some of my music before trying to sleep but the atmosphere was still pretty clouded and unreasonable. I prayed that the new day would bring reason and a brighter day. It was almost the new day before I convinced myself to ‘cool down’ and rest my head, for tomorrow is another day and there were still brighter days to be had.
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I think the business of the previous day, allowed me to sleep and I woke at 7.15am. on Friday, 16th. October, 1992. I soon became aware that ‘a lot of what John had said the night before, he had dismissed or forgotten’. He asked a question again, from the previous evening, “What time are we eating with the C.O.P.?”, I felt he knew it was 8am. but told him so. He then started to ask about the Police hospitality which had and was being arranged, so he seemed to have had ‘second thoughts’, thankfully. However he still didn’t like the fact that the Police were providing the help and hospitality, but whilst he was talking about it I felt we could compromise. We went for breakfast at Shoney’s at 8am. meeting C.O.P. Broadfoot. I had toast, jelly and iced tea. We discussed possible changes and C.O.P. Broadfoot offered to get in touch with the Officer in Charge near Mineral, plus other Police associates at the places we would be riding through on our way to our destination. I felt John realised the kindness being shown to us and perhaps he ought to ‘go with the flow’, so to speak. I suddenly became aware that I had lost my I.P.A. membership card and pouch which contained a photograph of my Barbara. I retraced my steps back to the motel and did a search, without result. I also felt I was probably ‘uptight’ and perhaps I had misplaced the card and photograph and that it would ‘turn up’. By arrangement we met Richard Prior and the photographs he needed for the article to be shown in the Virginian News were taken. We said our last thank you and got on the road for 10.30am. and we re-traced our route to Rockfish Gap in order to pick up John’s planned route again. John had agreed to possibly go into Richmond, only if we were to be picked up, meaning we would not cycle on Hwy 250. Once on the route and road, thankfully the normal and usual atmosphere was present and with the day being once more splendid, I was back in my comfort zone with nature. The Blue Ridge was fantastic and as we were coming to the point where we would have to exit the Parkway and run down towards Charlottesville, I was sorry not to be able to go ‘just a bit further’. We left the Parkway and entered Afton Mountain Road and we have continued to descend from 1,400’. On Afton Mountain Road it was a bit like being in the backdrop of ‘The Waltons’ T.V. series, the as we negotiated the long meandering bends we saw to our left an old ‘sit up and beg’ bike, with a sign which said ‘The Cookie Lady’. John had read about this lady so we stopped and went to the nearby house. There we saw a sign which told us we could go in through the door into the front porch where we would find freshly made cookies and home made lemonade. There was a box beside the plate of cookies and the jug of lemonade which requested ‘any donations to my supported charities’. We duly dropped some dollars into the box and started eating cookies and drinking the lemonade. I had knocked on the inner door and after a little while a cheery silver haired lady, probably in her late 60’s opened the door and invited us into her kitchen area. Once inside we realised we were in a wonderful historical period of time dedicated to all the cyclists who had ever passed her way and called since 1976. There were ‘T’ shirts and many other items of clothing:- i.e. socks, cycling shorts, gloves, caps etc together with cycling items :- i.e. bits of bikes, spokes, cranks, gears etc. there was also hundreds of post cards, letter, photographs of many of the cyclists who had called to see her and have subsequently kept in touch with her. Her name is June Curry and she is known all over the cycling world as ‘The Cookie Lady’, boy could she talk, but then she must have met some very interesting folk from all over the world who would have a story to tell. It was such a pleasure to spend time with her. I learned that she got involved because her father had set up the ‘bunk house’ for passing cyclists and when he died in ’76 she decided to keep the bunk house open and so the story continues to be written. She is a kindly, inspirational person and like many of the friends we have met, I have no doubt she is one of those whom I will be keeping in touch once I return home. Leave we must, I’ve promised to send her one of my ‘T’ shirts and she waves us off with enthusiasm and good will. We run on through Greenwood and Whitehall and as is sometimes usual John is some way ahead of me because all cyclists seem to have their own pace and I’ve noticed John seems quite ‘pepped up’ first thing, perhaps it is his medication, but as the day goes on our pace seems to be much more
even. The day continues to get better, quite heavy humidity and the route continues to undulate, sometimes steep inclines and the scenery seems to get better with hedgerows and trees lining the road. Small homesteads and quaint barns plus livestock make for more photographs to be taken. We cycled on into Charlottesville and on the outskirts by arrangement we called at Virginia University Police station where an officer had been awaiting our arrival for around 2 hours. He had been tasked with seeing us to our Best Western motel and we follow him there. We have been given ‘The state Room’ which is very large, plush, spacious and extremely comfortable, we have it until 9am. the following morning. We are told that the Chief of Police will be in touch and we will be met by one of his officers who will take us for an evening meal. There was time to make my diary up and a ‘good bath’ was favourite, I almost let it run over… oops! I received a telephone call from C.O.P. de Koven Bowen, he said he was making arrangements with the Police at Louisa, near Mineral. It would take us slightly off our route but he would confirm the arrangements at 4.45pm. that afternoon. I discussed these arrangements with John and he was agreeable. Shortly afterwards I received a further telephone call from C.O.P. Broadfoot who had been our host the evening before. He confirmed the arrangements mention by C.O.P. de Koven Bowen and that his reasoning was that Louisa was a more suitable place to stay. What he said was, “There’s a lot of bandits at Mineral, I’d rather you stayed at Louisa”. So, our stay would be at The Rebel Yell motel which was near Louisa Police station and we would be staying there on the 17th. October. C.O.P. Broadfoot had also made arrangements with Glendale Police, not yet confirmed but he gave us a contact telephone number and the names of Sgt. J. P. Mead and Simms. He assured us they would arrange something for us for 18th. October. He also said that Sgt. J.P. Mead had just hosted a group of London Police Officers who were I.P.A. members who had just left to return home. He also announced that he had been in touch with his friend Sheriff Preston Williams at Yorktown and that we had been booked in at The Duke of York on Chesapeake Bay. He finally said that there would be ‘festivities’ taking place in Yorktown and that Sheriff Press’ Williams would see that we were taken to Norfolk airport for our flight home. I then discussed these arrangements with John and he agreed ‘it was absolutely marvellous organisation and we could not believe our good fortune’. I thought about how all this came to pass and it all starts with C.O.P. Ron Lemon at Christiansburg and Gary Brumfield who had written to me back in March, ’92 asking us to stay courtesy of the Virginia Fraternity of Police, resulting is this ‘Southern Generosity and Friendship’. We had time to relax, I appreciated this time and enjoyed my music, I’m clean, at peace and comfortable. At 7pm. Detective Bob Frazier arrived and he took us to The Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant which was quite exclusive and popular. We learned that Bob had been married twice and that his first wife still pays him! I believe John enjoyed Bob’s company, though the conversation often returned to Policing and methods. Bob was head of the Firearms Instruction and he would later show us what John called ‘Frightening’:- i.e. the vehicles and firearms contained therein. John had strong views about firearms, their use and the way society is heading, however he couldn’t comprehend the American way of life in this respect, especially their right to possess, of course we can judge! We had a fantastic meal, I had popadoms, samosas, Kieza Chicken, beer and lemonade, it wasn’t too hot but the lemonade was very refreshing and much appreciated. Once again Bob and the Charlottesville Police would not let us contribute towards our meal. Bob then took us around Charlottesville town in the unmarked Police vehicle, or as John puts it, ‘The War Wagon’. He then took us to Police H.Q. and we passed through a number of offices and departments. John was drawn to a Det. Police woman who was accessing information on computer, so he sat and stayed with her, Kris Konrad. He told me later that she too had studied at the London School of Economics, therefore they had much in common. I went through into the main Information and Control Room where I sat with an ex. Police Officer who had been badly injured, had lost a leg but was now still part of the Police Service. I soon gathered he was a mind of information, extremely ‘switched on’ and his local knowledge was second to none, it was a pleasure to talk to him and see him operate. Bob returned us to our motel by 11pm. where he wished us well and we asked him to thank his boss for such wonderful hospitality. I enjoyed meeting Bob, we got on well, I told him that I hoped we’d meet again. John was tired out, I think he was well fed and pleased he had met Kris. I relaxed in my usual way with my music and I too was soon ready for sleep, soon be home my love.
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I woke at 7.15am. on Saturday, 17th. October, 1992 to see John studying our route. I soon got sorted and we went to Aunties Pancakes for breakfast where I had toast, Jelly and iced lemon tea. We were on the road by 9.15am. and we had instruction to head towards the Best Western Mt. Vernon motel which took us through Charlottesville back onto our route. We were mis-directed a couple of times, so got lost, but we found our way towards Woodridge. Today the weather is more English, cooler, even though the sun is out, there is a breeze so I have put my Rohan windproof jacket on. We are now only 600’ above sea level, the road is gently undulating and whinding. This is great, not too much effort, steady pace, no need to rush and we are soon in Palmyra where we stopped for drinks and to post our mail home. We are still seeing lots of wild life i.e. squirrels, racoons possums and snakes, some dead at the road side. I had a near squeak, a woman driver drove passed me but did not give sufficient clearance, she was about 6” off my rear panniers, John ‘went ape!’. The roads have been busier today and John has not been ‘best pleased’. We rode on through Wilmington and stopped at a roadside cafe at Kents store for drinks. At this cafe, for the first time I didn’t feel ‘welcome’, but the reward was the countryside under blue skies and the weather has warmed up considerably. From here we continued to encounter reckless drivers, we had to make sure we were well tucked into the road side but clearly visible too, however the scenery never let us down. We pushed on through Pendleton and off John’s route to take us to Louisa on a very narrow and quiet road. We called at Louisa Police station and saw Dispatcher Simms and Lt. Rigsby to leave a message to say we would be at The Rebel Yell motel as arranged and that we hoped we might meet the Sheriff. We soon found our way to The Rebel Yell motel which was owned by an Asian family and we were shown to our room which was once again comfortable. We organised ourselves as usual, bikes cleaned and serviced, showers and diary up to date. I managed to write a number of post cards and a letter to my Barbara. I had a great bath, always good for the arthritis. I also managed to speak to my Barbara, I just thought I’d give it a chance and I was lucky, it was an unexpected pleasure. John made a call to Norfolk airport to confirm our departure time and date. He also enquired about reserving a seat for himself with more leg room and learned that he would need to prove his physical abilities in being able to open the aircraft’s door, so provisionally he has arranged an ‘exit area seat[‘. We were ready for something to eat so we left a message at reception to say we would be at Roma’s Pizza, should the Sheriff try to make contact with us. John and I had an Everything on 16” pizza and a couple of pitchers of beer, it was excellent. We did not meet the Sheriff and we decided to call at the Police station the following morning to show our appreciation. We returned to our motel and no message had been left by the Sheriff. I still had some notes to write up in my diary and I listened to some of my music :- Bob James and Fourplay which is easy Jazz. Then I noticed that Dionne Warwick was in concert on T.V. so I was well pleased to be able see her, she has been a favourite since Barbara and I saw her on a tour to England in the early ‘60’s. John had already reached ‘the land of nod!’ and was not interested. Unfortunately the T.V. from the room next door was too loud and I had to mention it, fortunately the occupiers were agreeable and turned it down. And so to sleep following an easy 54 miles, but I guess I would say that after all the mileage we’ve covered so far and only two more days to go to reach our destination.
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I’d had a good sleep, waking at 7.30am. on Sunday, 18th. October, 1992. We were soon sorted and ready for breakfast. There is a slight frost this morning as we ride along to Hardees. It’s not John’s favourite ‘eating house’, he passes comment about the plastic knives, forks and dishes, however I ordered toast, jelly and tea and I enjoyed the light and easy country rock music being played. We were soon out of the place, returning into Louisa to the Police Station. The morning is brightening up with sun breaking through the clouds though I have to wear my Rohan light jacket over a ‘T’ shirt, so maybe the weather isn’t going to change much today. We were not able to speak to the Sheriff, we learned from a female receptionist that unfortunately there had been a ‘shooting’ at Mineral the previous evening and the Sheriff and his staff were in attendance. I learned that 3 male friends had gone out to a bowling alley, they’d been drinking and were carrying firearms. An altercation occurred and one of the males pulled his gun. As a result, one of the others drew his gun and fatally shot his friend. I also learned that Sheriff Kennon from Louisa had not dealt with a shooting in his 30yrs. of service. We left a letter of appreciation and a pennant at Louisa Police Station and as we rode on our way my thoughts returned to the fact that ‘we had planned to stay in Mineral the previous evening’ and it was only at the request of the Sheriff that we were persuaded to ride on to Louisa. Our route took us through Buckner, Bumpass, Scotchtown, Ashland and Mechanicsville each of which were small villages where the homes and business premises and scenery are starting to look more English, with hedgerows, birds, squirrels and chipmunks. We entered the outskirts of Richmond, a much larger town which was bustling with activity and traffic, we had to take more care (remembering we are still on the wrong side of the road!). We had decided to detour here and go on to Ashlands, this took us some time and John was ‘not a happy bunny’. Unfortunately, we had detoured off John’s route and this caused him some annoyance. I have to say, it is my fault, I had made contact with Sgt. J.P. Meade through the arrangements made by Chief of Police Philip Broadfoot a few days earlier at Waynesboro. As a result of us being ‘off John’s planned route’, I was getting some ‘ear ache’, however I was able to get him to appreciate that the hospitality being afforded us was as a result of the fraternity of Police Officers through the International Police Association. I know he appreciates what the ‘Good Samaritans’ have done for us by taken us in and making us feel part of the family, however, all of this ‘hospitality’ was not in John’s planning. I find I am having to use my communication skills more and more and be extremely flexible, understanding yet adventurous. After all, we are and have been ‘in the unknown’ for some 60 odd days and our life of ‘Being There’ has given us moments we could never have imagined and for those moments of ‘beyondness’ to be spoiled by remaining unknown, I feel it would be so sad not to ‘just do it’ and experience the friendship we have so far been afforded, I am so grateful for every moment. However, it doesn’t help when I have another spoke break, but by now it only takes me around 15 minutes to fit a new one and to true the wheel, so John doesn’t need to keep looking at his watch!. We ride on to Elko and before arriving in Glendale we have a look at ‘property for sale’ (4 bedrooms, detached with good acreage of land, swimming pool etc.) and estimated that the cost of $159,000 in Virginia would be around £250,000 in Dorset. We called at a general store in Glendale and I made a telephone call to Sgt. J.P. Meade, who said he would come out to collect us and take us to the motel we would be staying at. We were able to buy a drink, we looked around the store, lots of ‘chewing tobacco’ here. As we were writing up our diaries, waiting for Sgt. John Meade, an old Dodge Police car arrived from Henrico County, with Officer Parsley at the wheel. He had been asked to see if we where alright by Sgt. John Meade however he turned up a short while later with his van and our bikes and ourselves were soon loaded. John was soon fascinated, once in the van, it was a locksmith’s paradise, there was every key and lock imaginable hanging or stored in the van, Sgt. Meade’s hobby or second occupation is as a locksmith. John was soon ‘well pleased’, and curious. I felt I had to ask Sgt. John Meade about his ‘second occupation’, because a Police Officer back home would not be allowed to have another ‘paying job’, unless approval of the Chief Constable had been granted. An example of permission being granted might be that officers special skills (i.e. being an artist), however permission would still have to be sought. We had to travel some distance, our hospitality being at a Days Inn motel. Along the route Sgt. Meade explained to us that he had just hosted a number of London Metropolitan Police Officers, member of the International Police Association, so I was able to mention that when we had arrived in Kremling, Colorado, some weeks earlier, Officer Scott Koch had hosted British Police Officers who were members of the I.P.A. and that they had been on a hunting trip . I duly thanked him for his consideration at such short notice, in taking care of us. He was only too pleased and stated that his wife and he would be joining us for evening meal. Our accommodation at Days Inn, Richmond was once more extremely comfortable and roomy. As usual, John and I organised what we needed to do in order to settle in and after some T.L.C. for my bike I for one was more than appreciative of a deep hot bath as the day had been much cooler and John and I had had to wait around a while for our ‘Friendship hosts’ to arrive and this for me can sometimes be quite painful, especially in the arthritic joints. I also made a telephone call to Sheriff Preston Williams at Yorktown, confirming with him the arrangements that had been made and that we were on schedule, to arrive at our destination the following day. I also said to him, “You won’t mind us having Union Flags on our bikes, bearing in mind we would be arriving on the day they would be celebrating the defeat of Cornwallis and the British back in 1775”. He laughed and said, “As long as you’re not invading us again”. Looking back on today’s ride, the weather has been more like an early Autumn day back home. I’ve had to wear my light Rohan windproof jacket all day today, but I have no reason to complain, it’s been another wonderful day and our mileage was 78.61. After writing up our diaries, post cards and a letter we made our way to the Western Sizzler for about 6.45pm where we met John Meade and his wife Dorothy. They certainly made us feel at home and they were soon talking about their visits to England and in particular York. Being a York lad, I was able to bring back some location memories for them relating to the City Walls, The impressive York Minster, the Viking Centre and their trip down the River Ouse, all in all I felt we enjoyed each others company and more so because John and his wife had gone out of their way at such sort notice to accommodate our visit. I was able to share with them, a story which I will have to live with.. ‘when I was a boy of 5 years, I had walked from my home in Leeman Road which is near to the railway sidings, such an interesting place, down into York City centre. The City walls and slopes were a picture with daffodils all around. I picked armfuls of daffodils for my mother and took them home. That was when I found out that I couldn’t just pick these daffodils and my father made sure I knew better in future’!. My meal was a Chicken steak, mushrooms, Salad, French fries, fruit and lemon tea which was excellent. John and I returned to our motel for 9.30pm. and John was soon ‘catching Z’s’, whilst I finished off some cards as I listened to music on the Walkman and also a local radio station playing Marvin Gaye tracks from his ‘What’s Going On’ album. At 11.30pm. I was surely ‘ready to sleep’, with thanks for all that we have experienced on this day.
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Waking at 6.45am on Monday, 19th. October, 1992, I felt a tinge of concern, it was our last day, we only had around 60 miles left to ride to reach the East Coast at Yorktown. John was up and about, the T.V. weather programme was on and I believe I detected some concern in John. He seemed to be unduly worried about the weather.. “It’s going to be bloody cold”, he said and so the day was beginning with some negative vibes. I looked out of our window, it appeared to be cold, but no frost so perhaps not as cold as yesterday, the sun was just starting to break through so I was optimistic with hope that our last day would once more be a good one. We were soon sorted and went to the motel’s restaurant where I had toast, jelly with orange and chocolate drinks, topped off with a gooey sweet cake. I spoke to the manager and thanked him with mention of the I.P.A. connection and what John Meade and Henrico County Police had done for us. I had expected a message being left by John, so I left a message together with a forward telephone for him in reception. With just a little apprehension we started out, back towards the location John had picked us up and we were soon on the road to Williamsburg. It is quite cool and the wind is causing it to be quite chilly, however the wind is on our shoulder and is helping us to maintain a good pace. I could tell John was feeling the cold and it made me think of the amount of weight each of us must have lost. John had started out weighing around 17 and a half stone, so I reckoned he must have lost about 2 stone and I know, I’ve watched him tighten his belt by almost 6 inches. I know I’ve lost almost 2 stone and my weight by now was at a very fit 11st. 6lbs. So, I guess that loss of weigh and fat could be the reason for our feeling somewhat colder. Once on the road, our endeavours soon warmed us up, I was feeling really strong and cycling into Williamsburg was such a pleasure. We had become aware of the Colonial feel of Williamsburg, we had thought about visiting the historical centre but the cost seemed prohibitive in that we couldn’t stay long enough to get value for money. I thought, I hope I am able to visit, one day, perhaps with my Barbara. It was obvious to see that Williamsburg is a big tourist attraction and the whole town seemed vibrant and exciting. We were able to experience just a small part of this Colonial feel when we visited a gift and book shop where I bought a book mark, some stickers and a small book which would help us to identify the trees and leaves, particularly as we’d experienced the Autumn ‘Fall’ colours in our last three weeks, such a memorable period of this adventure. The young female shop assistants were ‘bowled over’, almost ‘hooting and a hollering’ at knowing these two Brits were nearly at their destination, having cycled all the way across their country, I felt a real sense of humility at the wonder of what we had experienced and what still awaited us. I wrote a message in the visitors book in the hope that one day I might return and read it again. Back on the road we joined the Parkway which would take us directly to Yorktown. Travelling along this stretch of road was most picturesque but the surface of the road was purposely uneven, the intention being to make motorised traffic reduce its speed, so it was not the best surface for us to contend with.
The pleasure was the tree lined and floral lay out, surrounding this specially constructed road, so my senses were satisfied throughout, especially at one point were we cycled over and alongside the Chickahominy River and through the Indian reservation area. We are almost there and at the side of the Parkway just before entering Yorktown, we saw a Yorktown Sheriffs car so we spoke to the deputy, alerting him to the fact that ‘these two Brits were arriving in Yorktown on the day of celebration of Cornwallis and the British troops being defeated and sent packing some 200 years ago’ and could he alert Sheriff Preston Williams that we were in town and would be at our destination quite soon (i.e. The State Victory monument which commemorates the battle and surrender on the 19th. October, 1781). This he did and we went on our way, savouring those last few miles. At 2.15pm. we arrived at the monument, John and I shook hands, congratulated each other and I thanked him for his company, for his abilities in preparing the route to make it possible for us to achieve so much. My mileage this day was 58.26 and my total mileage in those 66 days had reached 4,381.69 miles, realising this it gave me a warm and comfortable feeling, I hoped it would be the same for John. Basically, we had much to thank each other for, especially in making such an adventure become real and not just a ‘Pipedream’. We then took photographs and read the plaques which surround the monument, relating to the battle here in 1781. I can’t explain why I don’t feel elated at having completed the challenge, or disappointed that it was now all over. I know now that I have lived in the ‘Beyondness of time’, throughout every moment, it was a ‘Being there experience’ in such a way that I could never have imagined, I had so many wonderful and lasting memories and I wanted dearly to share this adventure. I know that when John said, “We’ve done it Pete”, for a moment I did think, he’s referring to our abilities and not our disabilities and in that moment the thought that I hadn’t been given the all clear from my kidney cancer was in my mind, yet here I was, fit, well, happy and missing home dearly!!. I had written so many letters and post cards plus the animal/bird poems for Laura, sending information home, kept my diary up to date religiously and I wondered how I would tell my Barbara about all of this. I felt quite emotional, thinking about home now and I rather flippantly said to John, “How about we set off back”. He just looked at me in his studious way but didn’t reply, at least he knew I was only joking, we’d confirmed our return flight and in just over two days we would be up in the air and on our way home to our loved ones. I suddenly thought, “What will I do tomorrow?”, for 66 or so days I hadn’t needed to even think about ‘what I would be doing’, I only had to think ‘how I was going to do it’. We then made our way right into town to the Police Station where we met Sheriff ‘Press’ Preston Williams and his wife Nancy. His appearance was not unlike Rod Steiger from the film ‘In the heat of the night’, however he was of a ‘cheery disposition’, smiling most of the time yet his southern drawl was that of Steiger, even to the ‘method acting’ of he, Marlon Brando, James Dean and the like. Nancy was so welcoming and homely, as if nothing was too much for her, she wanted us to be happy and they then took us along the quay side of Chesapeake Bay to the Duke of York Motor Hotel, where we had been booked in. We registered in and were taken to our second floor luxurious suit which looked out over the Chesapeake, out towards the bridge to the Island beyond. An appropriate place was found for our bikes and I wondered, “Will I go out on the bike tomorrow?”. It had not been made clear, how payment for our room in such luxury and comfort would be paid for so I suggested to John that as we were staying here for two days/nights and included our breakfast, that we should each pay for one day/night, which would cost $90 each, being the most expensive accommodation of the challenge, but, what a way to end such an adventure. We each agreed with this arrangement. Before Nancy and ‘Press’ left us, they told us that they had made a reservation for us and them at ‘Nick’s Sea Food Pavilion’, just further along the quay side, so John and I were looking forward to our next meeting. As was our usual process, we settled in, sharing these luxurious facilities. Sitting at the desk, looking out of the panoramic window over Chesapeake Bay, to update my diary was so pleasurable and relaxing. There were two ‘king sized beds’ and the bathroom was huge, this hospitality was a real experience, though American T.V. is still no better. That said the number of channels and variety of subjects is mind blowing. John found his favourite programme, the weather channel!, I still had my walkman to please me. I needed to carry out one more ‘ritual’ in order to complete ‘My Pipedream’, so I donned my swimming trunks, put on sufficient clothes to get me from the hotel, across the quay side to the beach, where I stripped off and endured the chill of the Atlantic Ocean, having started the challenge by swimming in the Pacific Ocean. John didn’t fancy undertaking this part of the challenge, I wasn’t surprised, after all, may I suggest, he is from the South of England!!. Straight back into the Motel and to our room where I really did appreciate a long hot bath before relaxing for a while. I had mentioned to John about contacting T.F.M. radio, back home and I had arranged with ‘Press’ and Nancy to be present, in case the presenter wished to speak to either of them. So I telephoned T.F.M. radio at 5pm. and made the appropriate arrangements, knowing I would be speaking to ‘Big’ Stu’ MacFarlane at 6.15pm. I also got the station’s operator, Keith to contact my Barbara, so that she would be aware of our being on air. Keith congratulated John and I on completing our ‘challenge’. As I relaxed, I looked out over the bay and I suddenly felt so at home, this was the first time in over 60 days, being able to look out and see the ocean. Personally, this experience is so important to me, I just love being by the sea and having surfed many places in the world since the late 50’s, those who surf will understand my love of being in or by the sea, being at one with the waves, I felt so contented. At 5.45pm. ‘Press’, Nancy and their son Scott came to our room and we had time to get to know each other a little better during the half hour before T.F.M. radio contacted us. We learned that ‘Press’ was an independently elected Sheriff and he had been re- elected for his third term of office following 33 years as a Highway Patrol Officer. He was so affable and ‘Police Officer to Police Officer’ I suspected he stored so much ‘local knowledge’ and I gained the impression that ‘nothing moved on his patch without him knowing’. The more I was in ‘Press’s company, the more he seemed to be a clone of Rod Steiger, I found him to be a fascinating character. Nancy asked lots of questions about our history and she told us she was a Historian, an Antique collector and a Language Teacher. We learned that Scott is a serving Police Officer with Newport Police, he was smart and confident, it was very interesting talking to him and his father about their Drugs Awareness programmes. I later obtained some of their promotional literature to bring home with me, to introduce to our local Police Service. The telephone rang at 7.10pm. and soon we were on air broadcasting to the North East of England. ‘Press’ soon got into his stride and I’m sure folks back home will have appreciated his input and cordial manner. He enjoyed being on air and thanked Stu’ MacFarlane for his friendliness. John and I went on air and Stu’ showed his appreciation of our making these contacts during the past 66 days, with our news and progress. He wished us well and said he would contact me when we returned home so that I could go on air again, in the future. We then made our way along the quay side to Nick’s Seafood Pavilion, I had already began to think, ‘we are not appropriately dressed’. ‘Press’ and Scott were smartly and formally dressed and Nancy had a beautiful evening dress with appropriate jewellery, so as we approached the entrance to the ‘Pavilion’ I knew we were ‘not dressed for the occasion’, however, it really did not matter, we were guests and we were made to feel very welcome. It was not until we were inside the ‘Pavilion’ that we realised we had entered the official occasion of the ‘Celebration of the occasion of Cornwallis and the British being kicked out of U.S.A.’, which they celebrate over two days, every year on the 19th. and 20th. October. On the one hand I wondered, were we really welcome, were we being unpatriotic to our folks back home or does it really matter anyway. We really did not need to concern ourselves. So, there was I, dressed in Rohan leisure trousers, training shoes, a reasonably smart Rohan shirt with no tie or jacket. At least I was colour co-ordinated, blue. John had his green sweater and shirt and fawn trousers which was probably more acceptable than my casual appearance. As we entered the main area of the restaurant which had an oriental feel to it, the waitresses were dressed in Greek attire, they directed us to our table where were to meet Sarah and Hughey King. Sarah was elegantly dressed in a long black dress and she had a row of medals displayed. Hughey was dressed in Confederacy uniform and he too had a row of medals pinned thereto. Sarah was extremely gregarious and we soon learned that she was President of the Daughters of the American Revolution and that she was extremely active in that role as an Ambassador for the U.S. Government. We also learned that Hughey was the President of the Sons of the American Revolution and they were both present at these ‘celebrations’ carrying out their role. Once she knew my home town was York City, she began asking endless questions related to history. I was pleased to be able to share, however John sometimes seemed to want to take the conversation to areas related to his ‘ventures which took us away from those at our table. John got into conversation with Scott and we learned that he had studies European History and Politics and had majored in the subjects. It was quite obvious that Hughey was a quiet man and Sarah informed us that Hughey had suffered strokes, that he had been badly injured during the second world war, that he had been one of the few survivors from the U.S.S. Arizona which was sunk at Pearl Harbour. So, there we were, sitting with these wonderful people who have had parts to play in notable world affairs. I got Hughey to tell me a few stories, but you know what old soldiers/sailors etc. are, they will only talk when they are comfortable or if they wish to. I ordered Veal Parmasan, salad, blue berry pie and ice cream and enjoyed a beer. We were introduced to the owner of the ‘Pavilion’, however, she was very busy and due to this being the case, Sarah and Hughey insisted that we have breakfast with them the following morning and to eat at the ‘Pavilion’ the following evening when we could meet the owner, Mrs. Mary Mathews, as Sarah thought it was important and necessary. However, Sarah would not tell us why it was important and necessary. I certainly felt privileged to be in their company and to be invited to eat with them again. The quality of the food and the service provided was first class, we were made to feel very privileged. Moreover, we were not permitted to pay for anything. As we looked around, there must have been some 750 to 1,000 people present and all the ladies were elegantly dressed and the men very smart, many in military uniforms . This occasion will long remain in my memory. Time seemed to fly, but isn’t that the case when you are enjoying yourself, I just regretted not having my Barbara with me, however, ‘Press’ and Nancy had made it quite clear that they wished for me to bring Barbara over, one day, I promised I would do my best. It was time for us to leave, we said our goodbyes to Sarah and Hughey and as we went to the entrance/exit, Mary Mathews was at reception and she had a bowl of sweets which she insisted people help themselves. We obliged by taking a few sweets and went outside into the cool ocean side air and walked along the quay side. ‘Press’ had made arrangements for us to go and visit the battle fields at Yorktown and generally visit their sites, he said he would leave a message at reception in the morning. They then left us so that we could walked back to our motel, John went on up to our room, he was tired, however, I just needed time on my own. I walked along the quay side and onto one of the jetties which extended out into the bay. I sat on the jetty and felt near to home, it was a soothing sight to look out over the bay, to the lights of the bridge and the traffic moving in the habitat beyond on the island. This quietness helped me to acknowledge the fact that the challenge was over, complete and I was beginning to realise my life may never be the same again. I wondered if my Barbara had heard us on the radio and I longed to be home to be with her and those I love dearly. I slowly made my way back to our motel and room. John was fast asleep, I put the T.V. on and there was a three way discussion between leading parliamentary representative regarding the impending elections. I decided I should write a post card to Don and Muriel in Oregon, I had promised I would and without their assistance and willingness to help us as we set out on the adventure, I knew how grateful we were for all that they mean to us. By now my mind was wandering, barely able to take it all in, yet starting to feel the excitement of this once in a life time story. I needed to settle down, so my walkman and my music soothed me into much needed sleep.. it’s 11.30pm. now and it has been a good day, that’s for sure.
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The morning sun shone over the bay as I woke and looked out at 7.30am. on Tuesday, 20th. October, 1992, John was still asleep. I started to sort my gear out and prepare my panniers as luggage. John woke and as we looked out across the bay, the bridge opened and a U.S.S. naval vessel passed through, it was quite a sight. I feel strange, we don’t have to go anywhere, our bikes are lying idle, we don’t have a commitment, yet I don’t feel I can slow down and enjoy the fact that we can relax now!!. John had written his post cards last night and he told me they were for work colleagues, with lots of statistics, distances, humidity, heat etc.etc and he promised he would write an article for my hip specialist, Mr. John Anderson, I was sure he would appreciate my partner John Palmer’s conclusions. I took a walk to the post box, there was a sharpness in the air, the sun was not yet strong enough to warm the day, but I felt the weather would get better. As promised we met Sarah and Hughey for breakfast in the motel restaurant and that was such a pleasure, I had toast, jelly and lemon tea. Listening to Sarah as she told us of her visits to many European countries as an American Ambassador, due to her position in the Daughters of the American Revolution, was fascinating and most interesting. She talked of visiting Washington, County Durham to commemorate the George Washington connection. She had obviously met so many political and royal representatives in her role, making speeches in most major cities in Europe. I’m sure we could have talked for ever, but we knew we would meet them later in the day at Nick’s, so we departed and looked forward to another memorable meal in their company. Returning to our room and looking out over the bay again, we saw the bridge open and this time the U.S.S. Yorktown came in and berthed right along the quay side, near to Nick’s Sea Food Pavilion, it was such an impressive sight. At reception we picked up a message from Sheriff ‘Press’ Williams, we were to meet him at the town’s Police Station at around 12 noon. We walked the streets to the Police Station, passing thatched cottages which would not have been out of place in many of our home villages. Outside the Police Station there was a young man and he seemed to be just ‘hanging about’. I made mention of this to the Deputy whom we met inside the Police Station and he said, “He’s just been released from this prison, while he was in custody we used to let him ‘run errands’ and do ‘odd jobs’ to familiarise him with ‘freedom’, now he keeps coming back and still wants to do the ‘odd jobs and errands’”. My thought was, ‘Well, their method of justice and trust seems to be working!!’. We met members of staff inside the Police Station which was also a jail and John commented on there only being one female Police Officer as he thought this unusual. I passed a remark to the effect that ‘women can be a calming influence, especially in a male dominated environment, particularly amongst male prisoners’, there were no female prisoners housed here at Yorktown. We went into ‘Press’s office, the Police woman and a couple of Deputies were present when the telephone rang. One of the Deputies picked up the ‘phone and said, “It’s for you Boss”. ‘Press’ took the ‘phone and said, “Yea, talk to me”. Immediately I was transported to the occasions when Rod Steiger answered the telephone in the film In the Heat of the Night and he always said, “Yea, talk to me”. I smiled to myself because I thought this film was such a good one and at the time I saw it, I was a young Detective in Middlesbrough and each time the ‘phone rang and the call was for me, I would answer the ‘phone with, “Yea, talk to me”. Did I too think that I could be James Dean or Rod Steiger in my own ‘method acting way’, well I certainly thought so!!. ‘Press’ mentioned that he had met a friend from Waynesboro, who knew Philip Broadfoot (the Police Chief there), who had afforded us hospitality a few days earlier, his friend had asked on behalf of Philip, ‘how we were and hoped we’d made it safely’. He had been assured him, we were ‘sure fine’ ‘Press’ then took us along to the Nelson & Moore houses which were a museum from the 17th. century, then on to the battle fields where many of the guns were still in position. Back home I hadn’t visited the battlefields of the second world war, however, I had listened to people who had visited battlefields and how they described the peace and quietness which created a lasting memory for them. Here in this place, I felt the solemnity and peacefulness together with the futility and sadness of war. Again, I wondered, would I return with my Barbara, would we be able to meet some of these wonderful friends and experience this part of U.S.A. sometime in the future, I was asking too much of myself at this time and soon cleared my mind, so as to be able to appreciate all that was happening and was yet to come, before we returned home. On from the battlefields, ‘Press’ drove us to his home where we met Nancy and she was so eager for us to see some of her collection of antiques, amongst them a four poster bed, a sea captains writing desk, a cot, lots of lamps. I noticed each of them had a price tag thereon and asking Nancy, “Why”, she said, “If I decide to trade and sell, I know exactly what I paid for it”. She was obviously a shrewd businesswoman and her collection was a fantastic example and I thought, ‘what would my Barbara think of all this’. The day past so quickly and what a day it was, I was experiencing so much of their history in such a comfortable and friendly way, I’m sure John hadn’t expected this hospitality, care and consideration, yet here we were at the end of our cycle challenge, winding down in this way was such joy, I was so happy to be where I was. ‘Press’ took us back to our hotel with arrangements having been made for tomorrow, our day of departure. We took time to write up our diaries, relax, look out over the bay to USS Yorktown and beyond. I took another walk along the quay side and along a jetty where I could sit quietly for a while. John and I got ourselves sorted in readiness to meet up with Sarah and Hughey for, as John put it, ‘another slap up meal’. We met Sarah and Hughey in the foyer of our motel and walked along to Nick’s Sea Food Pavilion where we were greeted by Mrs. Mary Mathews, the proprietor. Sitting down for this last meal with Sarah and Hughey proved to be a special relationship for us. Sarah continued to pose questions about England and she shared her role as an Ambassador for the U.S. government, especially mentioning notable well known people who are in public office, Lord Hailsham and particularly the Spencer family and Princess Diana. In spite of her ‘rubbing shoulders’ with the ‘rich and famous’, it was such a pleasure to be in Sarah and Hughey’s company, they were so receptive and homely and certainly, they could not understand ‘how we had cycled all the way across U.S.A., that I’d managed, having had one hip joint replaced and having had cancer.. so recently (’86) and John being epileptic and on medication’. They knew that my purpose was to raise funds for the two chosen cancer and leukaemia supported causes and they wished us well with our efforts. Talking of the ‘rich and famous’, there were so many people in the restaurant, we hadn’t know that ‘some dignitaries were still present’. As we were sitting, enjoying our meal, three evening suited gentlemen came to our table and we at once saw that one of the gentlemen was Al Gore. He spoke to Sarah and Hughey, then he said, “At our table a Senator from Rawlins, Wyoming is a friend of Chief Tony Rose who had been telling him about two English guys who stayed at his home and were cycling across U.S.A and I recalled meeting two guys back at Pueblo Police Station, Colorado who had stayed at my Security Police officers home and we were told that two guys had just rode in and were here in Nick’s, so I thought it might be ‘you guys’”. He shook our hands and asked how we were, wishing us well done. So, for a moment, ‘we were celebrities’ because Al Gore came to see us, we didn’t go to see him!!. I thought it was a kind gesture and much appreciated. We had another tasty meal, mine was beef kebabs, salad, ice cream, chocolate and beer and ‘you’ve guessed it’, we were not permitted to pay for anything. As always I made an entry in my diary to say that I had not paid for, or a gift had been given, so that I could rectify this as a donation towards the fund raising effort. We had the opportunity of talking to Mary and we learned that she was of Greek origin and that when she married Nick Mathews, he was already the ‘chief sponsor’ of the USS Yorktown (hence it being moored in the bay). We also learned that her husband Nick was en route to a naming ceremony of USS Yorktown when he collapsed and died, therefore Mary had taken over Nick’s role. So, for Mary, the highlight of her year was the arrival of USS Yorktown and we were encourage to watch and listen out for the ‘official salute’ to be presented in the morning. As we left the Pavilion, Mary handed us a bag of candies, we thanked her for making our visit such a pleasure, especially her gift of a ‘meal on the house’, I told her that I would make that right with a donation to the supported causes, she agreed with this arrangement. Walking along, back to our motel with John, Sarah and Hughey, I couldn’t help thinking, ‘what else could top all that we have experienced’, today has been another wonderful day, thanks to those who have gone out of their way to provide their friendship and hospitality in such a way. Back at our hotel, we said our ‘Goodbyes’ to Sarah and Hughey, thinking to myself, ‘what do we really mean to Sarah and Hughey, their lifestyle being so different to ours’. However, that was not for me to know, they were our friends and that was all that mattered to me. By now I’m ready to relax with some good music on local radio and my walkman. John is ‘tuckered out’ so he is soon fast asleep. I’m just thinking of my Barbara and being home.. tomorrow.
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I woke at 6.15am on Wednesday, 21st. October, 1992 and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I put my walkman on and relaxed until 7.45am. Up and about, looking out over Chesapeake bay, it’s a beautiful day and a fantastic view, USS Yorktown is still berthed nearby. We got organised and went down to breakfast. I had toast, jelly and tea, then thanked the staff for taking care of us. Back in our room we watched the bridge open and as if it was intended for us, we saw that sailors were lined up along the deck of USS Yorktown, flags were flying, then suddenly as Yorktown pulled out from its berth “God Bless America” blasted out across the bay, it was a moving and special moment. We watched Yorktown leave the bay and when we asked about this ‘happening’, we were told that it was part of the programme for the ‘celebrations’ with particular thanks to Mrs. Mary Mathews and her families for their support. John put the T.V. on and Madonna was ‘grinding away’ singing to her sad Erotic track, not my cup of tea!!, so I decided to go for a last walk along the quay, stopping to sit on the jetty and muse a while. Here’s what I felt I should write. I’m sitting on a bench looking out over Chesapeake bay, the pier of wood and the bay beyond bathed in early morning sun, cardinals bright and red dart from tree to tree whilst squirrels roll and chase and play along the beach side grass. Out to sea, not far from me, cormorants are feeding and cleaning their wings while the soft wind warmly ruffles the almost mirrored surface of the clear blue sea. Ah, but soon I’m on my way across you giant bridge, so shapely against a forest, falling down to the other side. But, for me the other side is far away, maybe to return here some fine day and swim once more in York bay, where Cornwallis found he could not stay!!. I then slowly returned to our room to finish off packing and vacating our accommodation. We then walked along to the Police Station, savouring the Colonial feel of the homes and tree lined avenues. On arrival, we saw a number of teenagers who were being shown around the inside of the jail, visiting cells and speaking to inmates. We joined, to observe and perhaps consider taking this idea back with me, particularly for unruly offenders who might need convincing that life in prison isn’t pleasant. We reached one detainee and the female Police Officer said, “This young man is remanded in custody charged with breaking into a house and stealing from the lady who was in the house and was very frightened”. The young man looked passive and I said, “What on earth possessed you to steal from a frightened lady?”. I think I must have surprised him, I guess he didn’t expect a ‘civilian’ to say anything to him. He looked to me and he said, “I’m sorry, I know now I shouldn’t have done it”. The female Police Officer then said, “You know you’ve had your rights given to you and until now you have not said anything. What you’ve just said is an admission and I will write it down, do you understand?”. He bowed his head and said, “Yea, I’m sorry”. We then went into ‘Press’s office and the female Police Officer said, “You’ll give a statement of what has just happened and what was said”. So, I was given a statement form and I wrote a very brief statement of the incident. I got to thinking, ‘perhaps, if he pleads not guilty, I’ll be called as a witness, wouldn’t that be some trip’. ‘Press’ then said, “If you can get admissions like that, you can come and be one of my detectives”, he smiled of course. I did think though, wouldn’t it be something if I could be seconded to Yorktown Police Department, ‘in my dreams’ of course. ‘Press’ then said, “There’s a call for you”. I picked the ‘phone up, thinking ‘who can this be’. In no time I was talking to a lady who was from Oxford, a friend of ‘Press’ and Nancy’s, this was an unexpected surprise and a real pleasure. Final arrangements were then made with Jerry, one of the Deputies who had been tasked with taking us to Norfolk Airport, this entailed travelling in the ‘black maria’ and we would be driving through the tunnel under the Chesapeake to the island where the airport is. We thanked ‘Press’ and his staff, then returned to the motel to pick our gear and bikes up. Also, there was one more thing to do and that was, ‘to pay for our two days/nights stay at the motel. We entered the reception area, ‘Press’ was with us, I had my credit card in my hand, the receptionist then handed me an envelope, I opened it and on the Hotel’s headed paper with a Sarah M. King able label attached, I started to read, ‘Peter and John, It is our pleasure to do this. We wish you and your families well – and hope you will come our way on your next trip –Don’t forget Murphreesboro, Tn – Phone listed under W.H. King ….We have loved being with you!. Sarah & Hughey King.
I still hadn’t realised what this letter really meant as I held out my credit card to the receptionist, then she said, “Your account has been settled by Sarah, they left about two hours ago”. I just thought, ‘what else can happen’, this was such an act of kindness and we were not able to show our appreciation to Sarah and Hughey. I took possession of Sarah’s letter, to keep it safe, so that I could respond to it by writing when I got home. ‘Press’ put his hand on my shoulder, I looked round and I immediately realised that he knew Sarah and Hughey had decided to settle our account, he didn’t have to say anything, I could see it by the look on his face. We then loaded our bike panniers (our luggage) and bikes into the ‘paddy wagon’ and waved our goodbyes as we drove off towards Norfolk airport. John and I were sitting in the front with Jerry and he announced that he had arranged with Delta airlines for them to have two ‘bike boxes’ available for us. I know John had anticipated and asked for ‘bike boxes’ to be available, however, we were once more ‘taken aback’ by Jerry’s forward thinking. On arrival at the airport the ‘bike boxes’ were just there, waiting for us. Jerry couldn’t hang around, so we off loaded our gear and thanked him, then watched him set off back to Yorktown. We set about stripping our bikes down to put them into the boxes and securely taped them up. Finally, we addressed/labelled the boxes and I also wrote ‘FRIGILE – PLEASE TAKE CARE’ in bold print, also, I though, I’ll draw a bike on both sides of the box, so that’s what I did. I had become extremely fond of Claud…. my reliable Claud Butler bike and I did not wish any damage be done to it, so I hoped this would help. Our bikes and luggage were well within the luggage allowance, so they were soon checked in and we then tried to arrange an exit door seat for John as he needed extra leg room. This was successfully arranged and we then passed through into the security area where once again, I was a problem. My replaced hip joint set the alarm off, so I wasn’t surprised at having to be searched, nothing unusual really, but it always causes alarm amongst other passengers, I guess they must think, ‘what’s he carrying, what’s he done etc. etc.’ It was 2.35pm. by now and we had time to relax in the departure lounge. There wasn’t a Duty Free shop and I couldn’t resist spending a few dollars before leaving, so, I went along to the Ice Cream parlour and ordered a Pecan and Butterscotch ice cream, it was delicious. We located our plane and watched our bikes being loaded, without any rough handling, thankfully. We boarded Continental flight CO 448 around 4.30pm. and John got an isle seat, however it really wasn’t good enough for him, he needed more leg room so he wasn’t best pleased. Fortunately, we were assured there would be an exit door seat available for John on our Newark to Gatwick flight. There was a delay in take off but I was unconcerned, I made my diary up and the young lady sitting beside me was very chatty and pleasant. There was a beautiful sun set as we left the ground and the lights of Norfolk complimented the take off and early part of the flight. Poor John had an altercation with one of the stewards over his seat not being upright and unfortunately this did not set a peaceful scene for this flight from Norfolk to Newark, the atmosphere was somewhat ‘tense’. I was most thankful for the company of the young lady sitting next to me and the flight passed quite quickly. Before we flew into Newark, the young lady gave me her name and address – Susan Henry and she gave me a £10 note towards my fund raising effort. I thanked her very much and made a note in my diary of her generosity. Flying into Newark I was captivated by the sites of New York, especially as the whole place was vibrant with night time lighting with buildings in silhouette. At Newark we had to wait a while in the departure lounge, but soon we were aboard Continental CO 28, however, John was not best suited with his seating. I gained the attention of one of the stewardess’ and made her aware of the fact that John had made previous arrangements in order to be allocated an exit door seat. She said, it should be alright providing no one has pre-booked it. John was soon happy, having been allocated this seating. We took off at 8.56pm. and once more our Boeing 747 climbed out over New York and we were on our final leg back to Gatwick. I found the music station which played my kind of music and for my pleasure I was able to listen to tracks by Michael McDonald, James Ingram, Bob James, Earl Klugh, Michael Franks, Anita Baker, Fourplay, The Rippingtons, so I was relaxed and comfortable. I was served Chicken/Spaghetti/carrots/peas/salad with French dressing, tea, cinnamon cake and white wine which was most acceptable, not too much and very tasty. The in-flight film Patriot Games, staring Harrison Ford, was for me a good story and I managed to watch it all, I thought I may ‘drift off’, but not so.
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We moved into Thursday, 22nd. October, 1992 and about 1.30am. a breakfast was served and I had fresh grapes, grapefruit, melon, cake and tea which I appreciated and enjoyed. As I was keeping my diary up to date, I also kept randomly opening it and reading those pages. For a short while I could be at Newport, Oregon watching sea lions on the rocks in the Pacific, then suddenly beyond the forest fires and in White Bird, Idaho at The Mangy Moose throwing horse shoes, then sat on the rock in the Missouri river with the sun on my back and all the time in the world, just like Mark Twain. I recalled sitting with the Indian Chiefs and their wise words of kindness and encouragement. The next pages took me to the Blue Ridge, meeting Gary who would be building his home on the side of the mountain, just like the Waltons, I thought. By now we were only an hour from home and it became apparent a lady near me was quite anxious, I called a stewardess and I soon found out she was asthmatic and needed some medical attention. Fortunately she was soon comfortable and more relaxed, so I was soon into my music zone with tracks by Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, Bob Seger, David Sandbourn, The Band, Kenny G and George Howard, the time passed quickly and over the head phones came the message, “We’re on our approach to Gatwick airport, please make sure seat belts are fastened”. The time is 7.45am. and we are on schedule to arrive at 8.10am. so my thoughts are of my Barbara, I’m hoping she’s waiting for me, it’s been so long, I’m starting to feel as though I’m going on my first date with her!!, I can’t wait to see her and hold her close.
Our touch down was smooth and it didn’t take us long to leave our plane. The asthmatic lady was first off the plane, we cleared customs O.K. except I had to be searched… it’s my hip joint again, setting the alarms off. We claimed our bike boxes and I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the baggage handlers must have appreciated my illustration of the drawing of the bike on the side of the box, for the handler had drawn a ‘cyclist’ on the bike, I much appreciated this gesture. Our bikes were still in good shape, thankfully and we were able to claim our loaded cycle panniers which were our only other luggage and we made our way to where my Barbara and John’s Rosie were awaiting us. On seeing my Barbara I had a warm, comfy feeling inside of me, we each waved and soon we were in each others arms. Suddenly I heard Rosie’s high pitched voice, “What have you done to that Marks and Spencers top, it was red when you left, it cost me £12, now look at it”. Then as if that wasn’t a most pleasant greeting, she said, “And you owe me for half of the door mat I’ve bought”. I allowed this greeting to go over my head as I looked towards John. I could only think, this was an example of their loving humour. I had come to acknowledge that John had his money (income) and Rosie had her money (income) therefore financial concerns were ‘split’, whereas I got to thinking, “Barbara has my money and Barbara has her money, I’ve got some pocket money” and so our financial concerns are ‘as one’, as we are one together. Rosie’s high pitched voice somewhat commanded the air around and my attention was distracted away from my Barbara. Rosie and Barbara had been able to park nearby and before we said our ‘Goodbyes’, John gave me an envelope with his total mileage written therein and I did likewise, giving him my mileage. The reason for this, you may recall, folks who had sponsored us were given the opportunity of guessing my mileage and John’s mileage, plus the average of both, so that they could win a number of prizes which had been donated. So we went our separate ways, I was pleased John had been my partner and that we had achieved so much, it had been ‘a life changing experience’. We would head North and John and Rosie South. I soon had the cycle rack fitted to the back of our car, with bike safely secured and we were ready for off. Barbara was driving and of course I was having to get used to driving on the left once again, it was strange, especially when it came to making right turns at junctions. Making left turns at junctions on the cycle challenge across U.S.A. were the most difficult, it necessitated much more concentration and awareness. Barbara drove well, I got tired at times and slept a little, we also stopped twice en route for drinks and snacks. I just felt so comfortable and content being with my Barbara after so long. We arrived home without incident and as we drove into our road, I could see balloons and messages across the outside of our windows, ‘Welcome home Pete’, ‘Congratulations’ and ‘You did it’. I later found out that the balloons and messages had been orchestrated by our neighbour Julia Brown on behalf of all our neighbours. The greetings were much appreciated however I was beginning to experience some emotions that were eating at my heart. I just wanted to be with my Barbara. Entering our home was another experience, I knew Barbara had plans for alterations and that they would be done, whilst I was away, however, I had let these thoughts drift to the back of my mind. Barbara had stamped her design in the changes to the hall, staircase, landing dÈcor and carpets, also to bathroom and small bedroom. They were warm and inviting and she told me that she was delighted with the result, I was happy for her too. Mark Parry, our young neighbour was the first to greet me, he always has a cheerful smile. There were telephone calls from my mother Nancy and I told her I would see her at the week end. Family visits by Dave our son, Anna, daughter in law and our two grand daughters Laura and Naomi, they were so joyous and loving. Naomi was only 3 months old when I left, however I think she forgave me for going missing for so long, I didn’t frighten her anyway. Barbara had organised a Vietnamese meal and we cracked a bottle of bubbly, so all in all my ‘Pipe dream’ had become a reality. I will never forget all those who made the ‘journey possible and so enjoyable’, you are true ‘Good Samaritans’ and great friends now. Last but not least. ‘Thank you John for putting up with me’ and ‘Thank you my dear Barbara, for not being a pain in the neck in objecting, you know who and what I am, better than I know myself, you knew how much it would mean to me and now it will only mean much more as time passes’ You know…. ‘Life is ever full, never dull’.
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