Back in the US of A and your comments
The first few days cycling in Washington State have been very hot, topping out at 42 degrees C (108F) yesterday in the Okanagan Valley. I am now heading south east to get back onto the line of Rocky Mountains through states like Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and then Utah and then south onto the Mexican border.
There are more and more of you coming on-board for the ride every day, which is great. There have been a lot of questions and comments on Flickr, Twitter and Facebook, so here is a round up of some from the last few weeks.
Q - Corbettbagger asked why I had taken the relatively flatlands of Prince George and Williams Lake instead of the main Rockies route in Canada? (On Twitter corbettbagger also asked what the Fraser river was like).
A -I agree, my route through southern British Columbia was a shorter route compared to route 93 through the spectacular Banff/Jasper area. It was a tough choice but in terms of seeing contrast in my journey and for the documentary series I am filming, I decided to head slightly west into the foothills of the Cariboo and Fraser Valley where it is a completely different climate to the Yukon and Rockies of Northern BC which I had already crossed twice. I have plenty of high mountain miles left in the Rockies and Andes over the next six months, so I was glad for the change in scenery! The Fraser river was pretty spectacular - no Ganges or Mississippi but very pretty!
Q - Neonsign89 asked when I will cross the path I took on the world cycle.
A - During my time in the states I will cycle about 100 miles of the same route and I will be sure to post a blog when I get there about that.
Q - Metalmikeonhisbike, corbettbagger, cupardee and a few others were asking about the climbs I am doing.
A - My plan for the whole expedition is to cycle the length of the Americas, roughly following the mountains and to climb the highest peak in both the North and South - I climbed Mount McKinley (Denali) in June and will be climbing Aconcagua in Argentina in January assuming all goes well.
Thanks to kayakgal for the offer of a cold drink near Seattle and johnjensen for his shout out from Vancouver but I will be staying well away from the coast for most of the way south. That also answers your question k7ngc about what the coastal hills are like - I have no idea but would love to find out one day. I have ridden the southern part of the coastline from San Francisco to San Diego and it is stunning (but hilly), especially until LA over Big Sur.
Q - happyscouser asked what got me into 'these ridiculously long bike rides', matt996 asked what goes on in my head when I am riding and mflan asked if it was harder riding alone.
A - My first cycle was across Scotland when I was 12 and I loved it. When I was 15 I did my first solo from John O'Groats to Lands End and the rides have just got bigger since then. Seeing the world at the speed of a bike is unique and incredible - it's hard to explain but give it a try! When I am riding I think about lots of different things - sometimes I really need to focus on just keeping going, setting myself targets and just thinking about getting through a ride if it hurts, is bad weather or has big climbs. Other times I spend a lot of time letting my mind wander and then I think about friends, family, memories and about future ambitions I have and how I am going to make them happen. I have done tours alone and with people and both have their pros and cons. You are definitely faster in a group but I think it is easier to pace yourself and be welcomed in by strangers when you are alone. I like both.
Thanks Fanwaar for letting me know you enjoyed the talk at Kendal and good luck with your ride up the Americas next year. Best wishes also to mflan for your trans Canada ride and tlausser for your expedition - please all let me know how you get on. I am glad NormanBango you enjoyed the book and I hope the IronMan went well. Very kind feedback also from SASutherland, cyclingtone and alasdairmcgill about my book - thanks. Boy_mediocre was asking if there will also be a DVD coming out about the world cycle - I hope so and there is talk about one being available spring 2010 but nothing is confirmed yet.
Lastly Ange77H challenged me to a photo competition (TOTW) - I will have to decline but thanks for your opening bid - was that a tree or a weed? Only joking, you win! I am running out of hours in the day to ride, eat, sleep, film, blog, other media etc hence this mass catch up every few weeks, so a weekly photo comp will have to wait!
Thanks for all the great feedback - if I missed you don't worry, post again and I will try and get back to you next time. I never did find out what a baby moose was called?!
Cheers, Mark.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~09~RS~)
Comments
it's called a calf. and someone did tell you way back when, but guess you're busy busy busy!!
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a baby moose is called a calf! sleep well now knowing that! Ross is over home later today for some golf and loads of chat about your next planned ski trip, no doubt!
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Hi Mark,
can i just say how much I envy you. Over the last couple of years i have mulled over the idea of doing something similar my self and after hearing about you and also following Alastair Humphreys epic cycle ride, ive decided to take the leap!
I live down on the south coast of england in a place called Christchurch in dorset and plan to cycle to Christchurch in New Zealand. Having spent the last couple of days planing a basic country to country route i seem to be having trouble decideing how to get through central asia. If you had to do the route again would you go via Pakistan agian or maybe oppt for heading through the stans? e.g. Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. I have also bough your book to get an incling of what to expect along the way.
I am also hoping to raise money for a charity called Solar aid and was wondering if you could give me any tip or do's and dont's when it comes to corparate fund raising?
Having spoken to Alistaire Humphreys he advised me to set up a blog and also twitter which i have done. Please feel free to check out [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator] and [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]. let me know what you think.
Anyway thank you so much for just taking the time to read this as i know your a busy man. Any tips would be greatly recived.
Many thanks, Joshua
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Hi Mark,
Thanks for the replies. Seems if there is a bee, ant, bear, moose, cleg, midge, mosquito, rat, spider etc etc out there they seem to find you! lol. You should get yourself some UVA lipbalm to help with the sunburn. Still reading your book, pretty amazing stuff. That Nullabor ride sounded hellish, I dont imagine you could truly convey in words what it was like, but the words alone show it as a really inspiring test of endurance, its amazing that you managed to remain positive throughout. At least this time you can take it a bit easier, rest up when you need to and enjoy more of the world.
happy pedalling.
Mike.
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Hi Mark
Interesting comments about Seeing the world at the speed of a bike Inspired by yourself I have recently been doin a bit of cycling, as a hillwalker for many years my first impressions is the amazing speed that I can cover the ground on a bike, distant horizons are soon reached.
Done my first ever big one way ride on Sunday (well 50 mile (just a mornin for you)) from the Borders down to the Northumberland coast, amazing to watch the countryside change, from rich farmland to moors then down to the coast, seen stuff I have never seen in a car.
Touring continents as you are must be an incredible experience. Keep it up Im enjoying following your route on google earth, been learnin all about the Columbia River and the Coule Dam tonight.! Far better than tele.
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How about this route? Missoula-Hamilton-Skalkaho Pass (Hwy 38)-Philipsburg-Anaconda-Butte. Varied terrain from mountain passes, waterfalls, farmland, and protected national forest. - Cheers - @Gentle_Flora
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I'm sorry but this guy ain't that impressive. I personally know a guy named Eldon Dales who has done a MUCH harder version of what this guy has done and did it completely unsupported. You wanna read a REAL story go to www.deathsports.com. He has his daily log of his trek from the beach at Galveston Texas to the base of Denali and the climb up it. The guy who met him at the base for the climb (not the ride) bailed out about 3/4 up the peak. The following year he went from same beach in Texas to Aconcagua. The only part he skipped was a flight from Panama to Quito (would have been stupid to bike across Columbia). He was held up at knife point in Ecuador, literally rode thru labor riots in Lima, Peru, fashioned a device to ride the railway with his bike across a long section in Bolivia, took a harder route up Aconcagua (unassisted) and then when he got done he decided to ride on down to Tierra Del Fuego. All of his adventures are totally self-supported. He was working as an IT for my former company (still is) when he did all of this. Mark Beaumont does not hold a candle to Eldon.
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