There is absolutely no doubt that cycling across America is something that a very small minority of people will experience. I feel absolutely blessed to be in this minority.
I must however confess to be having the ‘easy rider’ experience, except for the challenges that cycling with Parkinson’s brings but more about these on a later blog.
On a day to day basis, I load up my bike, reinstall my gadgets that have been charging overnight and look at the start of the day’s route.
The route has already been carefully planned and air dropped to my Garmin ready for me to open and follow.
Following my Garmin instruction is not always easy for me, so thankfully, there is always someone to follow so that I don’t take a wrong turn and someone behind me to make sure I am not left behind.
We will have identified options for food and drink along the route or, in the absence of these, we will have a picnic with us. We will know exactly how many miles each stop is along the way and exactly how to get to each chosen location.
We will know the weather forecast and have adjusted our cycling times accordingly.
If I experience a puncture, I will have a highly experienced team at hand, ready and willing to change my inner tube in minutes. Think Formula 1 pit stop!
At the end of the day there will be a choice of photos and videos to add interest to the blog. I will have taken at most two of these and yet will still have a whole array to choose from as everyone uploads their favourites to a shared drive.
The need for regular bike maintenance is essential and after a hard ride, if I leave my bike out, as if by magic, it is maintained, cleaned and ready to ride each morning.
I am indeed an ‘easy rider’. I have the luxury of being able to focus solely on cycling and looking after myself and everything else just falls into place.
Of course everything only falls into place because there is so much preparation going on in the background to ensure that day to day, our rides are as well organised and as stress free as possible. I have mentioned a few but there are many more.
I have John, Caroline and Paul to thank for doing all this extra work that makes my cycling experience so much easier. I am under no illusion that I couldn’t do any of this without you guys.
Challenging Times 
What a team xx
What a team! ❤️🙌👏
Teamwork makes the dream work! You are just as important to the others. Blimey – if my own pride in your achievements so far is anything to go by, I can’t even imagine how great theirs is. You talk of being an ‘easy rider’ – I raise you a huge notch. I’ve been with you every ‘step’ of the way and not so much parked my derriere on a saddle! ☺️ xx
Your messages a wonderfully encouraging and motivating, thank you for all your support, derrière on the saddle or not! X
This is such an inspiring post reminding us of the kindness of the people we keep close and that of strangers I also love @ Declanobrian’s observation on the miles covered that are now the platform. Well done all of you xx
No, they are all beyond amazing, and yet perhaps they would not be doing any of this without you, also beyond amazing..🚲 🚚 ⛈️⛰️🌭😴🍎 xx
From the Daily Stoic:
“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.”
Epictetus
Love this!
These detail are illuminating and heart warming and show the genuine good and kindness in you all.
Around the time you set off I was reading The Salt Path, about a couple’s walk along the South West Coastal Path after becoming homeless and him being diagnosed with Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD). After seeing your picture of the bag of meds in you blog at the start, one detail I couldn’t level with when reading the book was the absence of reference to his meds and how they managed to carry them in their otherwise meticulously detailed jam-packed rucksacks. A couple of weeks ago I found out the reason when the more fundamental details the memoir was based on was exposed in national news as untrue!
Reading the whole experience of your journey through this blog is not just heart warming and a good read, but restores my faith in genuinely kind people helping each other through challenging times.