Day 18 Miami, Arizona

Stats
Daily mileage 36 Ride time 3hr 20min
Avg speed 10.63mph Total mileage 976

I woke up to the hideous sound of my alarm and glad to have not been eaten alive. Although my mouth was dry as a bone and a reached for the water bottles for any remaining droplets left. My head was pounding but my legs felt good. I packed up swiftly and got on the road. I was hoping to make the next town within the hour but due to the headwind it took 90mins. I have to admit that at one point I questioned myself about drinking my own urine! I remember from my school days that it is okay to drink it a couple of times before it gets too toxic. Fortunately, there was an end in sight and I didn’t have to go to such an extreme.

Yesterdays effort took more out of me than I thought. My right Achilles heel was in agony on every revolution. I had this problem whilst cycling across OZ several years ago and rest was the only solution. I made an executive decision to finish very early, do some laundry and relax for the afternoon. After all, I had cycled 360miles in 4 days and needed to chill.

I happened to stop in a place called Miami, unfortunately not the one in Florida. I checked into a relatively cheap hotel and was happy with my decision. Sorry to bore you with the details but I thought I would let you know how I am keeping the blog so up to date. Unlike on our road to Istanbul trip we were having to locate a internet café everyday and spending an hour updating the blog. Due to the lack of sun light hours, I knew I would not have that luxury and decided on buying a very tiny travel laptop. Thus allowing me to write the diary in the evening and when I come across somewhere with Wi-Fi, I would cheekily jump onto an unsecured network and upload the blog/photos. I also have skype, which allows me to make very cheap international calls. I have been astounded by how available Wi-Fi is and how difficult it has been to get mobile phone coverage.

In fact, I was thinking today, that my laptop will be what “Wilson” the volleyball was to Tom Hanks in Castaway. It has been my companion, my enemy and outlet. I know it will be a big drag having to write stuff at the end of the day but on the other hand I will be grateful for it afterwards. Although, if I start dancing around a fire with lappy (my laptops name) in hand I know its time to check myself into a nut clinic.