Anyway, Seattle has welcomed me, and it would be doing a disservice to the experiences I've had were I to try and log everything that brought me here in one post; I think our time would be better served if I updated you on the last few days, and then over the coming weeks while I'm not cycling I'll post some of my journal entries from the past three weeks. Sound good? Great, I'm glad you agree.


This thought came back to haunt me the next morning when, still not much better, I had to do exactly that. Bandaging the ankle up tightly so it couldn't flex, I secured my left foot into the pedal traps. Then I fastened some other strapping round the whole thing, binding me to the bike. I figured this way my foot would still make the revolutions as I generated the power with my right leg, but wouldn't be able to twist or strain any more than it already had. Surprising, it worked. The next day through the desert in central Washington (did you know there was one in Central Washington? I didn't) I powered my bike for eighty miles with one leg. Luckily Mike and I were blessed with flat terrain and a headwind that wasn't as unassailable as we had previously encountered.


So here I am - Seattle. Not quite at the Pacific yet - there's the Olympic Peninsula in the way - but it's still the West Coast. Slowly but surely it is beginning to feel like an achievement of some sort. I haven't quite come to terms with having cycled East to West across the USA yet, but I look forward to contemplating it during my time out of the saddle. I'm also excited about collecting my thoughts on life at the pace of a bicycle, and trying to consolidate what I think I've learned along the way. I will keep you updated.
Thanks for all the supportive emails you've been sending me, and for all the comments on the blog. Both mean a lot, and I really love checking my site to see who has left some feedback. So please keep in touch. And don't forget to check out the latest photos from my journey here.