lots of miles

Dougall called and he was in bakersfield. Now, I forget what he told me about the mileage and Google tells me it's 174 miles. I think it's pretty unlikely that even a cycling whiz like Dougall could do that much before it's even remotely bedtime. So I'm not sure what route he took! He certainly told me he'd done 60 miles before lunchtime, so we'll see what he tells me tomorrow. There's been a strong wind which he's been trying to avoid by getting up super early, but this wind is still there and he's been struggling in to it. When he phoned around lunchtime, he was having some chips. Other than that, he's pretty much enjoying it all, except he did admit that yesterday during a particularly gruesome 8-mile uphill struggle, he was wondering what the hell he was doing. He still did it, though. He mentioned another puncture and another spoke breaking, but it was merely in passing, so he obviously fixed them without much problem. I think that's all the news for now.....

yay!

After another unpleasant chat with AT&T during which they were their usual helpful selves (an extremely aggravating company to deal with!), Dougall managed despite it all to get some more credit on his mobile and called me yesterday! Hurrah! He's fine and better and back to his cycling self. Yesterday he cycled 109 miles, bringing the total up to 2,598 miles. He stopped at Independence, which is at the southern edge of Yosemite National Park. It was a super hot day and he was cycling into a strong wind. Haven't heard anything yet today, so that's all I can relay, but here's another photo from a previous spot along the way:

This is where Dougall camped right before Lassen National Park. That's his tent on the right and that huge brown thing is a bear box. That's not a box for bears, it's a box to store your stuff in that bears can't get in to. It has a special handle that bears can't use their paws to open.

relief

I just heard from my parents that Dougall is fine. He had no mobile reception again and he tried to call my parents this morning but the reception was so bad whatever he was saying was unintelligable (some might say - Nick - that Dougs is always unintelligable!!!!!). He called later and reception was much better, so here's the deal: He cycled 69 miles from Lee Vining to Mamouth Lake and he's going to cycle along the southern edge of Yosemite. He's worked out that the route along the southern edge is the right number of miles to get to 3,000 miles by the 4th of July.

In the meantime, here's a photo from earlier, when Dougall was cycling past Crater Lake. It was still really cold there, as you can see from the tons of snow!!!

no more burritos

Dougall did ZERO miles yesterday. He ate a dodgy burrito and now doesn't even want to hear the word burrito for a long time. He was sick all day long. I'll spare you the details, suffice to say he was to totally tired and dehydrated so he stayed in the same hotel for a second night to recover. He's drinking lots of liquids, but when I spoke to him, he hadn't managed to get any food down. He slept lots and he was going back to sleep right after he phoned last night. Poor Dougall!!!! Hopefully he'll recover soon but he did promise he wouldn't overdo it today if he was still feeling shakey. He's near the Topaz Lake in Nevada, just over the border with California. Hopefully he's all better as I type this, but I haven't heard from him yet today.

short update

There was no mobile coverage again yesterday, but Dougall called briefly from the hotel phone. He did 90-odd miles and made it over Ebbett Pass and another pass (can't remember exactly, but I think that was Monitor Pass). His gear cables made it through the day. That's about it for now, but hopefully I'll be able to speak to him today to get a more in-depth update.

Passes and more passes

The total mileage is at a staggering 2,321 miles as of Sunday evening. Dougall has gone over Luther Pass and Carson Pass, both of which have stunning scenery and both of which are in the Lake Tahoe area. He also went up and down the Echo Summit (7,382 feet). The temperatures have been cool, which is good for cycling. The pollen from the huge pine trees is so omnipresent that if you look at the cracks in the concrete and tarmac along the roads, they are all yellow from it! Today he's aiming for Ebbett's Pass and maybe tomorrow Tioga Pass. Yesterday's mileage was 119 despite a major technical problem. His rear gear cable sort of disintegrated. The cable was completely frayed and ruined. Luckily Dougall put that on his bike himself, otherwise he would have had no idea how to repair it. He had an extra cable with him, so spent some time repairing it, which was no easy task. He managed it in the end and is hoping the other gear cable will hang in there for the rest of the trip!!
He stayed at a Quality Inn at South Lake Tahoe on Saturday evening and there were no more rooms on the ground floor, so he had a room up one level. The bike usually goes into the room with him, so here's a photo of Dougall carrying his bike back down the next morning: 

Yay for Ace Hardware

So Dougall went into Ace hardware and bought some little bit of wire, which has worked to fix his aero bars at least temporarily. Last night he stayed a Dude Ranch, which he said was funny just for the name. He's on his way to Truckee (North of Lake Tahoe) today, taking the long route over the 6,702 feet Yuba pass to get there. Miles done so far today is 80. Yesterday he did 112 miles. Now he's thinking of going to the top of Donner Pass (elevation about 7,000 feet) and then back down again the same way, just to add some mileage. Food intake aroun 6pm -- from a local shop called Port of Subs -- bit of sourdough bread with six types of meat in it and tomatoes and BBQ sauce. No punctures today.