Hi there!

Tom Cannon, Matthew Baines and me - Gavin Coverley, are currently cycling across America coast to coast. We started in Miami, Florida on 2nd September and are hoping to reach San Francisco, California by the end of November. our trip should cover roughly 3,250-3,500 miles. All by bicycle.

So far we've covered over 800 miles and have just reached Alabama, so we're about a quarter of the way there but still have a long way to go. We've met loads of nice folks along the way who asked if it was for charity - to which at the time we replied no. We missed an opportunity to do (if only a little) good, so we've set up this page in order to rectify that.

We've chosen Liberty as our charity. Liberty campaigns for human rights and civil liberties and in some cases provides legal assistance to those that require it. Much more can be found about the good work they do here: www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk

I'll update the page as regularly as i can as we continue west. Until then, thank you for reading.

 

UPDATE NUMBER 1:

Hey y'all (i've picked up the lingo)! Right now we've covered over 1,100 miles, crossing our first milestone of 1,000 miles on the day we arrived in New Orleans on Wednesday 29th September for our first day off since 11th September. Getting to New Orleans was a big highlight for us as it marked the end of the first leg and us reaching somewhere we have all really wanted to go to for years! If you go i'd recommened Frenchmen St highly over Bourbon St which is pretty much like any touristy strip.

But after one day and two nights we were back on the road again and last night camped wild by the side of the road near the Mississippi. We were pretty sure there were no gators around, and we all made it through the night in one piece to be awoken by hunters making their way into the nearby forest at sunrise. So we set off and after a long day battling the wind, 50 miles later we hit this town of Plaqumine with a cheap enough motel for what will have to be the last motel for a while - one, because money is running out, and two, because we'll be going through the sticks for the next few hundred miles. So lots more wild camping to follow. I look forward to being in Texas were snakes and spiders will be my biggest enemy, that and the wind. Always the wind.

 

UPDATE NUMBER 2:

We've reached Texas and passed the 1400 mile mark! Currently im in a childrens library in Mt Enterprise, and theres a good chance there wont be any updates for a little while as Texas is pretty well spread out.

Last night, as has become norm, we rough camped and i chased off what was either a racoon or a bobcat in the night (my tourch caught the reflection of its eyes, we didnt get a real good look at it, but it sounded big) - we're real wild men now! Havent showered for over a week, whores baths and nothing else. We smell terrific. But on the plus side we're only a couple hundred miles away from what will be the half way stage.

Currently Tom is outside the library trying to fix his gears. Im down to my last spare inner tube and my rear tyre has gone from a well treaded road tyre to a smooth slick indoor racing tyre, so i swapped my front and rear tyres over to stave off more punctures until we can find a shop at which i can buy new tyres. Bike shops in Texas seem few and far between, cycling i think is seen as something only kids do until they get a driving permit or that the poor have to do. Which is weird as most American roads have a wide shoulder making cycling ideal...that and the nice scenery and people. This morning we met an 80 year old riding a mountain bike around Mt Enterprise - i feared for his safety if im honest.

Thanks again for all donations - they really do make you keep going when sometimes you want to stop.

 Final Update!

Since Texas we didnt get to another compouter until we finally got back to the UK. Financial constraints meant we couldnt afford anymore Best Westerns and so the next 6-7 weeks was largley spent in a tent. Texas was a breeze. Nice roads, friendly people and plenty of picnic areas we could camp at. Lots of wildlife rustling about at night - the sounds of large animals could be heard almost every night. Once we hit New Mexico though things got tough. The wind hit us as we reached the high plains and we were even forced to hitch hike just outside of Roswell as we couldnt stay upright on the bikes the wind was so strong. When we got to the next town, Vaughn, the weather reports said there had been 90mph guts and tornados had touched down a few miles away. In New Mexico we rode on the Interstate for the first time. The I40 runs over and around historic Route 66, so there were lots of nice landmarks from Albuquerque to Flagstaff - our two favourite towns too. Flagstaff is a nice small college town packed with cyclists, Albuquerque was similar but on a much larger scale - go to Knob Hill (and not just for the name). From there we rode north over the San Francisco Peaks topping our trip at 8,046ft and hitting my fastest speed on the way down - 39.2mph.

The Grand Canyon was spectacular. Truely spectacular. We camped in sub zero temperatures amidst snow for 2 nights before getting back on the road and heading for Las Vegas via the new Hoover Dam bridge. The bridge was a massive let down. There are storm barriers on the bridge which prevent any sort of view of the Dam as you cross it. Las Vegas was an experience. MASSIVE city, must be 50 miles across. Cycling in it was totally fine. We are used to cycling busy cities now. We spent a total of 3 nights there so had to push out the miles for the rest of the trip. As we aimed for Yosemite we met a couple of people on our way who warned us that the road through it would probably be closed, so we rerouted through Death Valley. A beautiful place. Cant really compare it to any place ive every been before, totally unique.

Not long after we passed through it we stopped to take stock and do some maths and realised we werent going to make it to San Francisco in time for our flights out of SFO. SO! After alot of thought we decided to reroute once again and end the trip in LA, meaning we would definitely make it to the coast, rather than push it for big days and risk having to cut the trip short and catch a bus to San Fran without ever reaching the coast. It was a disappointment, but we got over it and hammered on. We made it to LA after going through some wonderful mountains just outside that were reminiscent of the Lake District back home.

We arrived at the coast in LA just north of Manhattan Beach with 3,450 miles on the clock. We rode along the wonderful Pacific Coast Highway for a little while before heading to the Greyhound station where we boxed the bikes for the last time and got a bus to San Francisco. The trip was now over. Victory :)

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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