Hello and greetings from Denison, Iowa. We have just completed our 12th continuous day of cycling since Boston. Today we rode 123 miles from East of Des Moines to Denison. We have covered 1330 miles in 12 days across Massachusetts, New York, Ontario, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. Tomorrow we enter our 7th state, Nebraska.
It has been a fantastic experience so far. We have seen so many places and met so many people. We are treated like minor celebrities in some of the small towns we have stayed in who have never met or spoken to people from Ireland before. It can be a little unnerving 😉
Some of the highlights so far:
Beautiful hills and forests of Western Massachusetts
Niagara Falls
Lovely scenery, farmland and quiet roads of Ontario
A great welcome in Union City, Michigan and also Wilton, Iowa.
Cycling across the Mississippi at Davenport, Iowa.
The rolling hills of Iowan farmland are very pleasing on the eye
At the same time this has been a very challenging trip so far. By any measure we are taking on massive mileage on a daily basis on difficult and unfamiliar terrain. We feel we are just about acclimatised to the punishment now but we thought that after the first two days we weren’t going to make it. 12 days in and we are still going though we are showing signs of wear and tear with painful joints and muscles. We have covered a lot of ground but we need to keep it up with some very big days coming thick and fast over the coming days. At the same time we are excited to see Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone Park.
A little summary of how things have gone so far.
The Good
My trusty companion and I are still going strong with no illnesses or major injury.
The weather has been fantastic so far with just a morning of (freezing) rain in Michigan.
The scenery has been amazing.
Everyone we meet are really friendly and helpful.
Frequent places to get food and drink everywhere. Overdosing on Powerade/Gatorade.
The Bad
Road kill, and lots of it.
We are encountering very bad roads more often than we would have expected. Roadworks and dirt roads are met frequently.
Navigation is an issue. We always seem to have to do a few miles more than expected and can be led astray by our navigation device. Using a Garmin, 810 which isn’t the most reliable.
Traffic is very often very heavy. It takes a lot of energy and concentration to stay safe (not to mention cycling in the gutter)
Urban sprawl. Towns and cities go on for ever in the States and a morning can be wasted going from traffic light to traffic light (America! Embrace the roundabout!)
The Ugly
Drivers. Clearly not used to seeing cyclists on the road. A mix of aggression with overcautiousness. E.g. They need a massive amount of space to overtake even though we are cycling on the hard shoulder. And if they can’t get by right away out comes the horn…and worse.
Fergal and Ciaran Cycle America 