Day 14: As the wind dropped so our riders' fortunes changed. Today’s stage was due to be the one where Jane would face her first huge test the 10,500 ft climb to Cedar Breaks. A 25-mile continuous climb that would test her ability to cope with the thin air, and her body with the extremities of a monstrous climb. When at 3pm they rode in to complete the stage after eight hours you wouldn’t believe it was the same people who’d dragged fatigued bodies in for the last two days.
 | | After the hard work - Jane and the view |
With long stage routes such these the ride will ebb and flow, so much seems to have happened yet we are still 3,300 miles and 52 days away from coming home. As if the last two days weren’t test enough the next two promise to be harder with both being over 80 miles long, Saturdays is 94 miles with another 10,000 ft monster mountain pass. Still two weeks and we’ll have crossed the Western Mountains. Day 13: When body and mind craves a rest, on what should be one of the more straight forward stages, the weather serves up gale-force head winds. An expected stage of four hours turned into an eight-hour marathon. As the cyclists dismounted at its completion in Cedar City they were physical wrecks, visibly shaking. The first part of the stage was excellent and a major climb was completed easily. As soon as the summit was reached the winds (touching 64kmph) buffeted the riders for the last 29 miles and the damage was done. Jane’s still hanging in, tired but her spirits are higher than Tuesday. Tomorrow, Thursday, is the first key stage (not as if the others have been simple) when the ride goes up to 10,500 ft. We don’t know how Jane will manage and the heart disease she has could be a major factor. She will need everyone’s prayers. Utah is a lovely state an we are delighted to be here. We’ll discuss this more later. All we need now is your good thoughts and a massive change of luck. You can also see Jane’s journey on Google Earth. You will not be disappointed. The web address is http://gps.soi.city.ac.uk/jane/ (The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites). Day 12: Today’s stage was a monster at 84 miles over three huge mountain passes in temperatures of over 100 degrees; for the first time the ride was stopped for the weather as a storm passed overhead. Jane was quite emotional at the finish and sat crying wondering what she was doing in the States, and just what was the point of cycling across it. It’s something that none of us can help with and I can understand why she feels dispirited. When you have a short time to live it’s a huge sacrifice to dedicate it to try and improve things for others. This ride is taking every reserve of Jane’s strength and it seems so incredibly futile. I think we all have bad days but for Jane she has the pain of an aching and painful body. I think Jane will continue but I wouldn’t blame her if she was on the next flight home from Cedar City. It’s not helped by spending the last two nights in what must be the ugliest RV parks in America; roll on the KOA in Cedar City tomorrow. A major milestone was achieved today when we left Nevada and entered Utah; at the state border we entered a new time zone. I’d wondered what difference there would be in entering new states and it’s something in between moving countries in Europe and Counties in the UK. The immediate difference today was degradation in the road surface and no casinos Day 11: I though last week we were in the middle of nowhere we weren’t. Today we’ve actually arrived at the back of beyond -Baker, Nevada; we asked a local café owner (there are only cafés in Baker 4 of them) whether there was a wi-fi hotspot; he laughed out loud “you’re joking dude right”; even newspapers arrive a day late. One of the bragging rights is that Baker hasn’t changed since 1880, there are no arguments on that; it’s not a town as much as an extremely pretty service station. Yesterday's rest day paid dividends as today’s stage had the quickest average speed of 12mph. Apart from two mountain passes 7,722 and 7,154 ft respectively it was an uneventful day; two signs at the side of the road indicated the area, “no shooting from the highway” and “hitchhiking prohibited, prison in the vicinity”; indeed the prison was the only building for 60 miles. We arrived at Baker at 11:30 am and the RV site was empty, parking up as instructed we were then told by a geriatric jobsworth to go to a different pitch, then not to back in but to drive in and finally to reverse further. It took longer to park the RV than to drive the 60 mile from Ely. Frustratingly we’re now parked on a slope (hence the fridge won’t shut and nothing will stay on the table) and there are 3 vehicles squashed into a tiny area of an empty big plot. When I roll out of bed tonight and my patience snaps she’d better be some distance away or I may end up incarcerated in the prison we passed earlier. Rest day one: Today was the first rest day of the ride and we did nothing more that go on a steam train ride in Ely, Nevada, and watch the World Cup Final. For anyone who has travelled on the Worth Valley line it was similar except the destination was once the world's biggest slag heap. The commentator was remarkable, talking uninterrupted for 90 minutes barely drawing breath, even managing to point out the local brothels.
 | | Jane and other riders on a similar trek. |
So I thought it best to list some ride facts; 592 miles covered, 61 hours of riding, highest altitude 8516 feet, top speed 44mph and highest temperature 120. For someone in Jane’s condition those stats are remarkable. We also managed to meet up with a group of six young American and British men who are doing a similar route to us for charity. Remarkably good humoured they provided us all with a lift and they deserve support. Day 10: A remarkable day to end an even more remarkable week. Jane rode 80 miles today over four mountain passes three of which reached 7,500 feet. The riders set off at 5:45am to avoid the heat but didn’t finish until 1pm. Jane had been suffering over the last two days and I was concerned that she was pushing herself too hard. After weeks of illness, chemotherapy finishing only a few weeks ago, to suddenly launch into 600 miles in nine days over some of America’s most difficult climbs seemed ridiculous but we’re here. The altitude is becoming a little bit of a problem; we’re at 6500 ft now and haven’t been below 5000 all week. It does take its toll. Tomorrow is the first rest day it’s been brought forward a day which nicely coincides with the World Cup Final. Day nine: The basic facts of today's stage say it all - 70 miles across the baking Nevada desert with two 6500 feet peaks to cross. We are in Eureka and Jane has now covered 500 miles. Jane's very fatigued and quite sore which I guess is not so surprising bearing in mind she's been on the bike for nine days. We've at last left the crickets behind though not before hearing that they caused a serious accident near are resting place when a pickup overturned after sliding on them. I thought the locals were having some fun with us when saying that they used snow ploughs to remove them but no it's a serious problem here. Tomorrow is going to be the hardest stage of the ride so far five mountain passes each of 7500 feet over 77 miles in baking heat. We need some luck and good thoughts for the day. Day eight: We are currently in Austin, not Texas but Nevada, borrowing the offices of a kind lady at Lander County Road Department and using their computer. We have no phone signals, mobile or satellite, or anyway of communicating by ourselves. Jane has today cycled 50 miles across the Nevada desert in extreme temperatures, to counteract this she’s setting off when dawn breaks and going through till dinner time. After eight days cycling without a break she’s tired and sore. The climbs, whilst not steep, are long and arduous stretching over backbreaking miles. Today the major hazards were crickets, millions of them all over the road, seemingly they mate at this time of year. The stench was severe it made all the cyclists want to retch. A park warden whom we bumped into advised that when it gets a little worse than this they have to close the road (this is a major highway) because the it’s gets too slick. This is a tough ride but Jane's sticking to it as only Jane can. | 
