Still in the Wilderness

We're now just over halfway to Ely on the 168 mile stretch of nothingness known as Highway 6.

 Each day we are driven out by Chris' lovely wife Julia, waited on hand and foot every 5 miles then driven back to Tonopah 8 hours later, slightly further along the road, lightly boiled and half dazed..

Tonopah to Ely

Traffic along the Tonopah - Ely road is not exactly heavy. Along the 168 mile stretch of road there is precisely nothing.

In the 1980s they built and tested the Stealth Bomber here, as the only inhabitants to watch it were snakes. There really is nothing but scrubland, mountain and desert for mile after mile. It is utterly silent and when we stopped at lunchtime, we could still see the point at which we started 19 miles earlier!

Tools

Tools update:

Chris: 1* half inch spanner (with ratchet)
          1* pair pointy nosed pliers
          1* medium curved wrench
          1* medium screwdriver (flat head)

Steve  1* three quarter inch spanner (no ratchet)
         

Nevada

You were promised pictures of long roads disappearing into the distance...

Nevada

We have arrived in Nevada! Lots of pictures of very long straight roads disappearing into the distance will follow.

Money Raised

We've now raised £1390 for Help For Heroes on our BMy Charity Site along with about £2500 from a sponsored event we did before leaving home.

Many thanks to all those who have donated.

Money and tools

Scores on the doors as we approach Nevada...

Money found on the road:   Chris 58 cents, Steve 32.
Tools found by side of road (these have to be picked up and run with for the rest of the day in order to count)

Chris: 1 pair of pliers + 1 screwdriver
Steve: 1 spanner (three quarter inch).

Our aim is to build up a complete toolbox by New York.

Half Moon Bay Review Article

The Half Moon Bay Review just can't get enough of us...

http://www.hmbreview.com/news/british-friends-set-off-from-hmb-on-cross-country-run/article_cd06bd88-cea8-11e0-8899-001cc4c03286.html

Yosemite

A long hot day in Yosemite National Park. 34 miles at between 7 and 9500 feet is not exactly my idea of a gentle jog. The temperature hovered around 90 degrees in the shade. Unfortunately the nearest shade was about 104 miles away.

The white tops are also a gift from Sun Precautions and are totally UV proof, don't rub at all and are light as a feather. Where's the challenge in that? I hear you say...

Drivers

Most of the drivers we've seen so far in America seem extremely courteous and slow down to a virtual standstill a hundred yards away if they see us crossing the road, (even where we probably shouldn't).

Running through Yosemite there sometimes isn't much space on the side of the road and whilst we obviously try to be as careful as possible, about one in 250 drivers shouts "Get off the road!" in an angry voice, if they have to move out slightly or perhaps slow down to pass us. They are obviously furious that we have forced them to waste a couple more seconds admiring the beautiful scenery all around, when they could be at home in front of the TV.

Cars

This is how we shall be crossing America next time... We saw dozens of immaculate 1950s and 60s cars like this in the area around San Francisco.










As well as a few less roadworthy ones...

Snakes alive (or not)

Conditions here were obviously too harsh for this little fellow who we found by the side of the road.

Ran through the stunning Yosemite National Park today- up to 9500 feet in places which combined with the heat, really makes running uphill a very special experience.

Our drink problem

To give some indication of what the weather is like out here, a typical day goes like this...

After drinking at least a pint of fluid before setting off, we each knock back about 8-10 pints of water, milk or whatever we can get our hands on during the 7-8 hours we are on the road. On the drive back to our hotel we usually manage a 3 pint carton of milk between us, followed by a pint each of whatever disgusting fizzy drink is available during the evening meal.

Yosemite

Have arrived at Yosemite National Park! Hot as hell but no sign of Yogi Bear.

California

The road is hot and desolate, but the hats are excellent. They were very kindly donated by a company called Sun Precautions.

Tracy

All well and jolly here. Hot, hot, hot today but they have made it to Tracy, California. The current score in the 'money found by the side of the road' competition is Chris- 3 cents, Steve 0. Have seen loads of fantastically well maintained old cars dating back to the 1950s- the climate must help.

Also America is no longer as cheap as I remember it!
Here's where they are:


View Untitled in a larger map

Still a bit jet lagged, so wide awake at 5 am but exhausted by early evening. Still, nobody said it was going to be easy did they?

Sunol

Waiting for our lift home outside Sunol Fire Station

Well it's real now!

 

http://www.hmbreview.com/news/british-friends-commence-run-across-america/article_379530be-c9c0-11e0-9e65-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=image&photo=0

Setting Off

We start our run from Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco at 5pm on August 17th 2011. Come and see us off if you like!
(No throwing of rotten vegetables)