Rich's #5

Today started with me discovering a gash in my front tyre almost through to the tube. Not sure when it occurred but the thought of it blowing on the descent yesterday into Palm Desert is a little scary.

We took in 3 states today, starting in California and then nipping into Nevada for a short while and then ending up in Arizona.

The riding was again quite tough with long relentless climbs through the mountains. They weren't steep but there was no respite. It was difficult to make up much time on the descents as the quality of the roads so far has not been great. In fact if Barrack Obama is looking to spend his way out of the credit crunch he could do worse than invest in a road surfacing programme.

The heat also played a part and mentally the long straight roads were difficult to cope with. You'd put your head down for a bit and when you look up the horizon seemed just as far away. I'd swear that the Romans colonised America before the Brits.

At one point Gar and I got our kicks on Route 66. It was just 7 miles, but the impact of the freeways was evident as once (potentially) thriving communities had turned into a ghost town. I felt like Lightning McQueen as I zoomed through - Kapow! Having said that our day ended back on Route 66 in the still busy town of Kingman.

Spirits (for those not men of Kent) were dampened slightly as the news from the Millenium Stadium filtered through and made worse by the realization that Wales had even finished below England in the 6 Nations - a fact I hastily pointed out, but didn't labour because there's not a great deal to shout about in English rugby and also fear of my brakes being tampered with by one of 10 disappointed Welshmen.