62 miles ridden - 2500 feet climbed - temperature 28C (at the end!) Today was a day of mixed emotions. Pretty much all of us were both elated and relieved it was our last day. Over the last 10 days we have covered 751 miles without a break and our legs were feeling it...

102 miles ridden - 2000 feet climbed - temperature 32C What a beautiful day. Although no rain was forecast, because of the rain yesterday afternoon and overnight there was a lot of mist around which didn't really burn off until lunchtime. It was around 20c/68F when we...

66 miles ridden - 950 feet climbed - temperature 21C Weather forecasts are not always right but today it was - it did rain. However it was pretty warm so aside from the spray coming from passing trucks it wasn't too bad. It didn't even matter that much that we spent...

72 miles ridden - 4300 feet climbed - temperature 30C Today was all about climbing and flies. It was a bit cooler today when we left but that was more than compensated for by constant small hills or rollers. We try and get enough speed going down to get us almost to...

93 miles ridden - 2800 feet climbed - temperature 33C With a long ride and temperatures expected to exceed 100F mid/late afternoon it was an early start - breakfast at 05:00 and load/leave at 06:00. I have to admit that facing food that early wasn't easy, especially...

57 miles ridden - 1000 feet climbed - temperature 30C (more on that later!) Although today was a short day there was significant negotiation last night for an early start time as we knew it was going to be a very hot day. We settled on breakfast at 06:00 and load...

94 miles ridden - 1650 feet climbed - temperature 29C Another fabulous day's cycling although at 5:30 this morning a thunderstorm came through town which woke us all up. While it caused some concern by the time we loaded at 07:00 we had a beautiful day ahead of us....

59 miles ridden - 1000 feet climbed - temperature 27C. Today was a glorious day's cycling. Lovely temperature, bit of a tailwind, great mix of urban and rural landscape, all in all it was spot on. We climbed out of Hannibal and crossed the Mississippi yet again and...

38 Miles ridden - 2000 feet climbed - temperature 30C The shorter day was very welcome as was a gourmet breakfast in an artisan bakery instead of stale raisin bran and bagels in the hotel lobby. We had a much later start at 9am which didn't really matter on such a...

108 miles ridden - 2000 feet climbed - temperature 29C The first 46 miles today was on either dedicated bike paths or well-marked bike lanes so we didn't have to concentrate so hard on traffic. We followed a bike path for 11 miles out of St Louis past industrial...

0 miles ridden - 0 feet climbed - hot and sunny Today has been a fabulous rest day centred around three things - The old courthouse, the Gateway Arch, and a river cruise. The old courthouse is a magnificent building constructed in the 1820s to support the importance...

85 miles ridden - 4700 feet climbed - temperature 21C. Today was great cycling but not so good for sightseeing. It was much cooler and overcast until mid-afternoon - we got splattered a couple of times by raindrops and went through occasional puddles but missed the...

70 miles ridden - 3100 feet climbed - temperature 27C. Today we passed the halfway point - 882 miles. We would have celebrated but we were trying to out-run rain clouds which I am pleased to say we did. The first 40 miles was...

93 miles ridden - 1800 feet climbed - temperature 29C. Today was long, hot, brutal but interesting. It started with the Royal Wedding which started at 06:00 here and coincided with breakfast. I was first there, got the channel changed on the TV and most of the riders...

69 Miles ridden - 1950 feet climbed - temperature 22C Today was all about being chased. The first and more obvious issue was storms. It was quite cloudy when we got up and the weather forecast showed that there was a collection of storm systems all around us meaning...

80 miles ridden - 2400 feet climbed - temperature 25C. Today we were trying to get to Ripley before expected thunderstorms. Although it was much cooler, the humidity made things a bit uncomfortable as our absolutely sodden clothes did not dry the way they do in a hot...

0 miles ridden - 0 feet climbed - temperature 31C We had a radical sort to the day with a lazy, late breakfast at 7am and didn't leave hotel until 09:00 - it felt very weird but pretty nice. First on the list was a walk downtown to the National Civil Rights Museum...

66 miles ridden - 2300 feet climbed - temperature 32C Today was a much more social ride, non just because Darin was riding but everyone seemed a little demob happy at the prospect of a short (relatively) ride and then a rest day. The extended Across America North 2016...

63 miles ridden - 800 feet climbed - temperature 33C. The moment we walked out of the hotel the heat hit us. At 07:30 it was already 28C so we were anxious to be on our way. After a pleasant ride through the quieter neighbourhoods of Clarksdale we headed out into open...

82 miles ridden - 220 feet climbed - temperature 30 Celsius. Apparently it is unseasonably hot here for May. Normally it's around the mid 20s which I must say would be pleasant compared to the current temperature especially with the high humidity which apparently...

100 miles ridden - 500 feet climbed - temperature 29C. God Bless America and the tailwind blowing this flag and us! What a fabulous days ride. Although very hot - the average temperature might have been 29C but the road temperature according to the gospel of my Garmin...

91 miles ridden - 3000 feet climbed - 27C It's official - Day 4 is the new Day 3 (only not so bad). It was a long hot day that split into 3 parts. The first section took us through the outskirts of Natchez into some beautiful quite country lanes. The only drawback was...

65 miles ridden - 2200 feet climbed - 29 Celsius. Today was a great day. In fact it was the best Day 3 of any trip I have done. Day 3 is when my legs start complaining, I haven't slept well, and generally I am wondering why I am doing the trip. Well not this day 3. It...

57 miles ridden - 500 feet climbed It was hot again and we had a headwind. There's a funny balance with headwinds when it's hot - it can be very cooling but if it gets a bit too strong or you hit an incline it becomes hard work. First half of today it was cooling -...

65 miles ridden - 220 feet climbed Finally it starts. After a couple of days nearly getting over jet lag and mooching around downtown New Orleans today we all got on our bikes and started riding. New Orleans is much more genuine than I imagined and really has a very...

I fly next Saturday 5th May, briefing and orientation is on Monday and the ride starts on Tuesday 8th with a 61 mile ride to Gonzales. Very exciting! Here's the summary map and plan: The first three days are a nice warm up for 91 miles with 4000 feet of climbing on...