Stage One: Chicago - New York.

October 27^th Copenhagen Airport transit lounge.

I'm sitting in a wireless internet zone scribbling notes on a pad of paper. Its not free here so I feel justified, also its a long way to Chicago and I prefer to conserve my battery. I'm suddenly surrounded by a large group of Chinese passengers carrying their lunch. Its clearly Chinese takeaway even down to the aluminium foil containers with cardboard lids. I know they must be Chinese and no other east asian nationality because one of them looks like aging Monkey from the TV series – right down to the long white sideburns.

A younger woman comes and starts dictating to them, their leader or perhaps party representative? I have no idea what she is saying to them but it sounds unnecessarily bossy for such a passively behaved group. However when she finally finishes a few laugh, so she can't be all bad. There's a skinny old lady nearest to me wearing an incongruous Reebok beanie calmly ignoring all the instructions and getting on with her dinner.

It was cold and dark leaving home this morning, and mum cried a little. I had a real sense of anticipation as we drove to Heathrow though this has since been swallowed up by the familiar banalities of air travel and airport waiting. Simon got offered an earlier flight to Dublin than he had thought, so he would have actually taken off before me – so he has now managed to leave the country twice before I got away. We had a quick drink in Cafe Rouge after he checked in and before separating. It seemed as if there was still loads of time but by the time I got back to my terminal and through security, I just had time to pick up a set of converter plugs, then had to go straight to the gate as the board was showing last call. As they pushed my boarding card through the machine they asked the last passengers to board – so I walked straight onto the plane without even having to queue.

It hasn't occurred to me until now that technically I am in Denmark. 14 years ago I promised somebody I would come here, but never did. However that's a different story.

October 27^th Chicago

Its 8.30pm here, making it 3.30am back home. I've just got to my hotel. The second half of the journey was long but uneventful. O'Hare is supposed to be a major hub airport but it didn't feel like it. Information was difficult to come by but with a combination of following my nose and the advice of an airport employee on their way home I figured out how to get from there to here. I took the 'L' train from the airport to the city centre, their version of the tube although it was more above ground than below, and for a long way in the central reservation of a motorway. The station I got off at was not as close to the hotel as the map seemed to indicate, so with the help of the proprietor of “Richard's Bar” (somebody called him Richard so I knew) I went the last mile by taxi. It was dark when I got here so its difficult to get a sense of the place tonight. A quick snack then early to bed as I'm very tired. Explore tomorrow.

October 28^th

Last night I ate at a TGI Friday's and watched some of a game of American Football. The bloke next to me at the bar was from Boston and explained some of the rules to me. I ordered nachos as a snack – but they were huge, with masses of cheese, refried beans, sour cream and guacamole, I couldn't finish them. I ended up getting to bed after having been awake for over 24 hours.

I spent today wondering round the city, getting a feel for the place. The weather was overcast for most of the day but slightly warmer than back home, although I think it gets much colder at night. It turns out that my hotel is in the heart of the downtown area, so its easy for me to just wander around. Its also got a typical US grid system so easy to find my way about. Its a pleasant enough place but apart from the Sears Tower there aren't really any tourist attractions to interest me. Both the tower and a tour of the shoreline are out today because of the weather.

I called the SBS office and they tell me I should be able to pick the bike up Thursday. I would have liked it to be sooner so I can really get this trip properly under way, as I won't feel as if I've started until I've got a days ride behind me. However there is no point sweating about it. Also called home – there is a problem with my shares that will need to be sorted out. Left a message with Janice, I'll call her again tomorrow – it will almost certainly be next week before I am in New York.

Downtown Chicago from the shores of lake Michigan.

October 29^th

Still in Chicago. I went up to the top of the Sears Tower today, officially the world's tallest building. There was a film as well about Chicago history and its reputation as the most important city in the US from an architectural perspective. The views were of course great, but it really got me thinking that we Brits could learn a lot about cities from the Americans. They have a lower population density than we do and therefore land is cheaper, so why don't we build all these high rises in our cities? Concentrate our commercial centres and we could ease a lot of pressure on land in the suburbs. Guildford council kicked up a huge fuss over plans by the owner of The Drink to build a 7 storey casino because they thought it would dominate the skyline! Here that's low rise. There's nothing particularly scenic about our cities now – lets make them grandiose with more taller buildings and reduce the price of suburban land at the same time.

An advert painted on the side of a building for a jobs website reads “Working for a bigger tomorrow” - its as if bigger is synonymous with better here.

It was also a day for conversations about the royals. At the tower a guy from Mexico City was asking me about Paul Burrell's book and what people at home thought about it (he didn't like the bloke either). Later in a bar over lunch the bar maid said she was a regular visitor to the UK as she had relatives in Scotland. We discussed republicanism, the Iraqi war and terrorism. We also touched on the privatisation of the railways as the waitress had spent a year studying in London and written a paper on it. She couldn't remember much of that but she could tell me how many times she'd seen the Queen up close, including during the jubilee.

This evening I went to a restaurant called 'Dicks Last Resort' which had been recommended to me by the woman next to me on the plane over. It was sold as a wild night out with insulting staff and huge meals in buckets. It seemed a bit tame to me, and the band was pretty terrible but the food was plentiful. As its a week night I guess I can be charitable.

Picking up the bike tomorrow afternoon, I really want to get moving.

Sears Tower from street level.

October 30^th – 2 miles!

Finally got my hands on my bike today, but too late to really make a start before dark. Official starting mileage is 6603. The 2 miles was just to a petrol station. The guys from SBS – Bob, Jenny and Ken have been brilliant. I was picked up from my hotel in the centre of Chicago, driven to their office in Elmhurst, near the airport about an hour out. They also booked me in to a local hotel, and Ken even gave me some petrol to make sure I could get started. A quiet night tonight then an early start. I have to go back through Chicago on US20 which will then take me east for about two days riding depending on the weather.

October 31^st, Toledo Ohio, 289 miles through 3 states

The furthest I have ever ridden in one day, by a long distance, and around 8 hours with barely a break. I didn't get away as early as I wanted to this morning, leaving the hotel at 9 in a light drizzle it took me 3 hours to go the first 30 odd miles round Chicago, though the rain quickly dried up. The road took me through some heavy industrial areas south of Chicago including right through the middle of a massive BP oil refinery. Illinois became Indiana. Most of the rest of the morning was on dual carriage ways in fairly built up areas. Broke for lunch in interesting sounding Mishawaka, which was a bit of a disappointment, I went a few miles off US20 to reach it – but couldn't even find a diner when I got there – so just had an apple I had taken from the hotel this morning, and pushed on.

The road shrank from here into single carriageway and was more into farmland. I passed through an Amish area and passed a few little horse drawn carriages trotting along the hard shoulder, where the horses hooves have worn a rut. After 200 miles I stopped at Angola (!) for petrol ($5 to fill up – would have been £10 at home). The lady in the station said another hour and a half to Toledo. My watch said 2.30 so I decided to go for it. 15 minutes later I passed a digital display saying 3.45 – so I had obviously crossed a time zone – first time ever without the involvement of a plane. Crossing into Ohio the road changed again, no more trees just flat farmland, there were no more towns just the occasional isolated farmhouses. There was almost no other traffic on the straight road. The closest thing to it in England is probably Norfolk, only much bigger. At one point I passed a pumpkin field – presumably rejects given the date – all these orange blobs against dark earth stretching out, maybe the size of a football pitch.

It grew increasingly dark approaching Toledo so I booked into a motel on the outskirts. I meant to have a quick shower then take the bike the short way into Toledo itself to eat. However when I came out if was chucking down with rain, and I wasn't about to go out in full waterproof garb. Fortunately there was a cheap diner type place across the road, unfortunately it turned out to be on a par with a Little Chef. The bar next door at least allowed me a beer before turning in. I am very tired and hope I haven't overdone it on the first day – but I really needed to have a good run after waiting for so long. Spent half an hour re-arranging the load on the bike, both to even out the balance and to make life a bit simpler so that I only need to open one of the panniers on a daily basis, and it should now also be easier to leave the bike during pit stops. I can leave the helmet in the top case and only need to remove the tank bag to carry the most important valuables with me.

November 1^st, Eerie Pennsylvania. 248 miles, two states

Some quick maintenance on the bike first thing this morning. Cleaned and lubed the chain, checked the tyre pressure and away. About 40 minutes on from Toledo I stopped in Clyde for breakfast at Bogeys, a tiny roadside diner where the food is cooked on a griddle right behind the counter. The American equivalent of a greasy spoon. From there I pushed on to Cleveland, home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – its presence justified by the claim that it was a Cleveland DJ Alan Freed who first coined the term rock 'n roll. Expensive – especially including parking costs, but very well done. I could have spent the whole day there. Filled with memorabilia donated by the stars, I have to confess that being close to guitars owned and played by Jimi Hendrix, Joe Satriani, BB King, Tom Petty and more sent a few shivers down my spine. They also had a good history of the music from blues, and jazz roots. Plus stacks of stage costumes. I dragged myself away after a couple of hours as the day was slipping away. The weather is unusually mild for this time of year, and I want to make the most of it. I passed a few bikers along the road today – almost all on harleys. Back home bikers usually nod to each other when they pass, here they stick their arm out to the side in a sort of half wave. Eerie is about 100 miles north east of Cleveland, along the shore of lake Eerie, unsurprisingly. I love some of the names of their towns, I passed through Mentor, Painesville and Geneva (well it is near a bike lake but that is where the comparison ends) today. It was getting dark as I approached Eerie so I began looking for a motel. I passed a couple on the other side of the road, and assumed I would soon find one on my side. 10 miles later I turned around and went back. Clearly my belief that the roadsides of the US are littered with motels, and I bet other non-Americans would share this, is false. I'd noticed this yesterday as well. The owner of my motel tonight explained it to me. Her family has owned this place for three generations, but most motels are now chain owned and cluster around the Interstate exits, whilst I am sticking to the equivalent of A and B roads to get a better view of the country. I may have to change tactic a little at the end of the day to make sure I can find somewhere to sleep each night.

November 2^nd, Niagara Falls New York. 139 miles, 2 states

Niagara Falls is a pretty spectacular sight. Even if it is a huge tourist trap. The main season is over now, and most of the activities they have for parting you with your money are no longer available, so all I could really do was wander about. The pictures I know will not do it justice. My main problem today however was rain. Lots of it all day. When I left Eerie it had rained overnight but stopped, so I didn't put on the waterproofs. It started as a light drizzle so I wasn't too worried and kept going. Around fifty miles it was getting heavier, I needed petrol so when I pulled to fill up go the suit out. By the time I had got the suit on it had stopped. But soon started again and didn't stop until about 4 this afternoon when I had checked into this tonights motel (unlike yesterday, round Niagara, as long as you get on the right road, there are no shortage of places to stay, and at this time of the year they compete heavily for the last remaining tourists). Everything in the aluminium panniers was fine. Everything else was wet, despite the promises that the tank bag and tank panniers were waterproof. Right now my room is covered with luggage drying out. Hanging up, lying on the floor, directly on the heating unit. Guide books, map, clothing, boots ( I really hope those dry tonight), even my travelers cheques got slightly damp. It look like it will be raining again tomorrow. Today I am very glad I decide to pack a good stock of freezer bags and bin liners. In the morning I'm going to start using them. Place names of note today I either went through or near – Farnham (though I barely noticed) and Hamburg.

Niagara, American Falls:

November 3^rd, Guilderland, just outside Albany, New York. 316 miles.

Everything that might get wet was packed in plastic bags this morning. As my boots had not dried overnight this also included my feet. And I was very glad I did that, today was colder and mostly wet. I can handle both cold and wet – as long as I don't get them both at the same time. Left Niagara around 8 hoping for a long ride to catch up for yesterday. It was raining but not heavily. Went through a village called Alexander, and after a couple of hours stopped at Avon for breakfast at the Village Restaurant – yes that's what it was called, I guess there aren't too many others although calling it a restaurant was pushing it, more like a cafe. The food was excellent and I had my first full American breakfast – pancakes with syrup, eggs, fried potatoes and sausage (but think 'porkburger'). The place was also a homage to the Buffalo Bills American football team with memorabilia all along one wall, including boxes of Flutie Flakes and Kelly Krunch cereals (think Frosties) – named after, presumably, star players Jim Kelly and Doug Flute (there were pictures as well). The clientèle was almost exclusively a bunch of old local boys sitting around gossiping and giving the impression that they would be there all day.

I keep getting reminded today of the scene in Pulp Fiction, where John Travolta talks about 'the little differences' . There was this morning's 'sausage', then there's prices which are always quoted excluding sales tax, so you always end up paying more than you thought. Except for petrol. Then there is local politics. Everywhere you go it seems someone is trying to get elected to some sort of office. Middle of the day today I was riding past the Finger Lakes, a group of five long thin lakes all lined up in a row. The road I was on runs along their northern tips – through Geneva (again, and again by a lake) and Waterloo. All along the roadside, on peoples front lawns were these little signs asking you to vote for somebody. Hundreds of them. Not the first time I've seen them but today I was paying attention. Here are a few of the best – where the name really seems to suit the message: Re-elect Peter Same – Town Supervisor; Steele for Sheriff; Bender for Seneca County Judge; and my person favourite – Re-elect Claudia Faust for Tax Collector – just imagine her going door to door to pick up peoples dues. But what would happen if nobody voted for a tax collector – would they end up without one and therefore end up not paying?

The landscape changed again today. Gone the dead flat plains, rolling hills began to dominate, gradually getting longer and steeper, with the altitude gradually rising. At times the hills were big enough to actually warrant winding the road round them rather than the more typical straight line approach (there are so few bends that when you do get even a mild one you get all sorts of warning signs, including flashing lights on some that are barely less than 120 degrees). I had some fun going down some hills with the clutch pulled in – John Irving is right, with almost no engine noise or vibration it does feel like flying. However I had to get a bit more serious when I got up into the cloud (it was low all day) and I had long periods this afternoon with some very poor visibility. It should have been miserable – cold and wet with no view to speak of – but funnily enough I enjoyed it enormously. Apart from the mile or so when I was followed by a police car – not long after I had seen someone else being pulled over. But he soon disappeared in the fog never to return. About 50 miles out from Albany the weather suddenly cleared up – and within in few miles I went from roads with standing water to ones that were bone dry – although the cloud cover remained solid – and it warmed up considerably.

I learnt from my mistakes today and stopped early for a room. I decided that going into Albany would prove expensive, so stopped in this relatively pleasant little town – Giulderland just before I got too close and would have to turn back anyway. There is a definite Dutch influence around here – there is a Rotterdam and an Amsterdam nearby on the map. I don't know if its significant but there also seem to be a large number of dentists here as well, great big places as well – not your little family surgery, more like small hospitals. I'm staying tonight at the Governor's Inn and Suites – sounds grand, and from a distance looks very good – a bit like a southern colonial mansion house – but its a bit worn up close. I have a plastic tree in my room, so it can't be all bad. It appears to be run by a couple of Indians (from India not the red variety, if I can be so un-pc), but it took the guy at the desk about five minutes of leafing through a notepad covered in handwritten notes to give me a price for the night – so that fills me with confidence.

It's now ten minutes later. I have just discovered that my shower screams like a banshee. I'm now clean but may have temporarily lost some of the upper reaches of my hearing. Still there is the plastic tree.

November 4^th 227 miles, 4 states - NY, Massachusetts, Connecticut, NY again and New Jersey

Lunch – Canaan Connecticut. Driving through an are called the Berkshires this morning. Very posh – where rich New Yorkers come in the summer – scenic stuff through trees and quite winding for an American road. Went through Sheffield where they also had a Bradford Antiques, but best of all a restaurant/pub called 'Limeys' with the name as a tube station logo. Brit owned obviously. I stopped here in Canaan for lunch at Collin's Diner – apparently about to be made famous by appearing in a new film called 'Miles' – look out for it. I took advice on different routes into New York – and then went the way I had already chosen to avoid the interstates as much as possible.

Sheffield, Massachusetts.

No steelworks but they have been making pottery here since 1946.

Evening – Janice's house East Rutherford, NJ. It had been dry all morning so after lunch I took off my waterproofs, and within half an hour it was raining again. I toughed it our for a while but as it got heavier I pulled over and got back into the jumpsuit. The ride to NY was longer than I expected – and for the most part uninteresting, except for a more mountainous section just before hitting the major approach road I was aiming for. It was the part of the journey I had been advised against back in the diner, but with its twisting climbs and descents, through crowding trees – it was a great biking road. It finished with a suspension bridge over the Hudson and a series of three roundabouts, the first I had come across although there was one more later in the evening.

East Rutherford is technically not a part of New York at all, New Jersey is its own state. But in reality it is just a small part of the great megalopolis that is New York City's urban sprawl. I chosen route 17 because it took me straight here and looked on the map like a relatively minor road, but it was still a large multi-lane highway and as I was coming in at rush hour, bumper to bumper for miles. I pulled into s side street as soon as I passed a sign saying I was now in East Rutherford, found a phone a called Janice to come and meet me so I could follow her back home – which she has only moved into a week ago. There was no way I was going to be able to navigate these streets, especially as it was now fully dark.

Dinner introduced me to another new American phenomenon – the dry town. We went to eat in Rutherford (separated from East Rutherford only by a railway crossing). In East Rutherford there are bars all over the place, but Rutherford is dry – there are no bars and you can't but alcohol in the restaurants. However there are liquor stores and you can take your own alcohol into the restaurants. Okay this happens in the UK with unlicensed places – in Rutherford the Village Gourmet solved the problem by having a liquor store inside the restaurant. You get your table – then enter the shop – a room in the middle of the room, buy your wine and then sit back down, and they were now allowed to open and serve it. Although of course because its a shop – you could also walk in buy your wine and go straight out again. Its all apparently done to honour some promise made to a town benefactor many years ago. As Obelix would say – these Americans are crazy.