Welcome

Heartfelt thanks go to Steve for undertaking such a journey in aid of Kisima, and to all those who sponsored him. We were delighted to hear that he finished the journey successfully, and that he had a great time doing so, as his account here describes.

Coast to Coast America

If you'd asked me a year ago whether I was capable of cycling 120 miles a day for 30 days, through deserts, over mountains and across plains, the answer would have been an emphatic "No". I've always ridden a bike and loved getting out on the road, but that sort of effort would have been beyond me. Now, though, having recently got back from completing just such a journey - from one side of the United States to the other - all I can say is it's amazing what a bit of training, camaraderie and shared purpose can do.

Yes, I was one of about twenty riders this year who cycled from Costa Mesa, on the Pacific coast just south of Los Angeles, to Amesbury, Massachusetts, on the Atlantic Ocean just north of Boston - a total distance of about 3,500 miles. Our journey, during late April and May, took us through 14 states, from the hot, dry deserts and mountains of California, Arizona and New Mexico, to the vast plains of Oklahoma and Kansas and then on to the cool, rolling farm and woodlands of Illinois, Ohio and New England. Fortunately, we were blessed with good weather and only saw three days of rain out of the 30 that we spent on the road.

When I signed up for the trip at the end of last year I didn't know who my fellow riders were going to be and I thought I might be the only non-American. As it turned out there were four other 'foreigners' like me - two other Brits, two New Zealanders and a Norwegian - and we joined a diverse group of Americans whose occupations ranged from high-rise steel worker to anaesthetist. Everyone had a common goal, though, and that bound us closely together. By the end of the trip, it was common for riders to talk about their family and then their 'other family', by which they meant their new friends on the road.

So what was an average day like for us during our adventure? Well, most days went something like this: up at 5.30am, breakfast at 6.00am, on the road 7.00am, first food stop (at around 40 miles) 9.30am, lunch (at around 75 miles) noon, into hotel 3.30pm, then kit wash and shower before food 5.00pm (within 2 hours of getting off the bike for optimum recovery), more food 9.00pm (normally high calorie treats such as milk shakes or ice cream sundaes) and then finally bed 10.30pm in preparation for doing the whole thing again the next day. We had a support team on the road who fed us and helped us to fix our bikes when necessary, but otherwise it was all a matter of keeping those pedals turning.

So was all the effort worth it? Absolutely! It was one of the best things that I've ever done and I was delighted to be able to use the opportunity to raise funds for Kisima. Would I do something like it again? You bet! Europe, Africa, Australia look out!

Steve Bailey