Day 23 – Changes & Towing

24 May Day 23 – Changes & Towing

After the time change yesterday I thought I could probably trick my body into getting up an hour early. So my alarm went off at 4.30AM. OUCH!

Targets

Throughout this trip I have always been behind on my miles. I have been trying to catch up a mile here and a mile there but with thunderstorms and tech issues that we have had to sort we never got back on track. I wanted to try and get past my target for day 23, the 815th mile. I set off at about 5.20AM and after 3 miles I was walking incredibly slowly. I think my body was trying to tell me that it was exhausted after 9 days on the trot. Nigel caught up with me at mile 13 and I stopped for breakfast. When I headed off again I only had 2 miles till mile 815. By the time I got there we were running out of time. So I called it a day at the end of the 815th mile. I am now back on track!

Goodbye Nigel

As I write this, Nigel will be boarding his plane and heading back to the UK. I have spoken about Nigel a lot in these blogs and without him, this would have not been impossible. He has been a level-head to reason with me whilst I have been exhausted, hot, grumpy, drenched and covered in mosquito bites. It is difficult to explain how much it means to me, but everyone who has given up their time to help on this trip overwhelms me. Nigel, you have been a star and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. From your mosquito killing at 2Am to your hillbilly accent of ‘Your welcome, my friend’ these five states have been unforgetable and remind me to not meet up with you when it is a dull grey day in the UK. For anyone else this is when Nigel might be a little grumbley! Other than that, a fantastic man and if anyone reading this is into motorbikes, Nigel ownes his own bike accessory shop in the midland. I will post a link to it soon!! Thanks again.

New Crew

After dropping Nigel off, I picked up Ali, the new driver. He is just starting to learn the ropes and like Nigel he is a clean freak. A great trait to have around me. We have been down at the El Monte RV park to get a few things sorted and are waiting for the arrival of Helen, the sports therapist, and Sir Michael Field, one of my Personal Trainers, as well as a fellow rugby coach. We will be heading back down to Gary/Chicago International Airport in Indiana tonight, where I will start Day 24 and Leg 2 (The Road to Oklahoma) and I will be on Route 66 tomorrow around lunchtime!

Towing

As we were waiting this evening for Helen & Mike, we had parked slightly illegally in the airport. This is where I met Rickie Robinson. What an amazing Character! He didn’t quite believe me when I told him what I was doing but soon enough he was laughing away and let me have a photo with him! Thank you so much Rickie for letting us park there! I hope you find the site alright and the donate button is on the home page.