Cycle Across America – Day 68

Foster City to Gladstone

47 Miles / 666ft climb

It felt an easy day today. We had 50 miles to cover, the roads were quiet and we cycled fast. The roads were also as flat as any I recall in the last nine weeks or so. I can say this with all eleven of my gears working. I suspect John has a different experience having cycled a fully loaded bike for 50 miles in only one gear.

Having experienced trouble finding an open bike shop within a 50 mile radius that could repair his broken derailleur cable, John bought a kit from Walmart that he thought with a little creativity, might work. He watched a ‘how to’ YouTube video and set about undertaking his repair and then realised the shifting mechanism was also broken. No chance of a DIY repair tonight, so another day of cycling in only one gear tomorrow amidst some frantic calls to bike repair shops.

In other news, we crossed into our fourth and final time zone. Not something we do often, I was still surprised to note that all my gadget changed times automatically exactly as I cycled past the sign! We understand from the locals who frequently cross the timeline zone in their day-to-day lives that they have to turn off this function or it leads to much confusion! 

Our chance encounter and chat today was with the lovely Pam and family who we met at the ice cream parlour only a couple of miles from our destination. After an enjoyable chat, we went our separate ways with them having subscribed to our blog and donated to Cure Parkinson’s our chosen charity.

We finished our ride today with our first sighting of Lake Michigan, the shores of which we will follow for the next few days. We have completed nearly 3000 miles – thank you for sticking with us. We will keep you posted on the remaining 1,500 miles!