Donate

September 27, 2016

This was the last remaining “hard” day. By hard I mean climbing, the miles are generally not too bad but hills – or adverse weather – mess you up. I set off around 9 from the Walmart carpark. My head was a little fuzzy from the beers, I won the poker AGAIN.

3 2

I left Lancaster in Pennsylvania and headed East through a few large towns. I noticed a few horse and carts but thought nothing of it. However after a while drafting behind a horse carriage, I noticed I was in a Amish settlement. The area is called Pennsylvania Dutch Country and covers a fairly large region. There were buggys everywhere and horses were parked where cars should be. I said hello to all of them but the women didn’t seen to acknowledge me, I’m not sure if this is because of their culture?

5

4

I left the town and hit some hills before I received a text message…… “Stop we’ve crashed”.

6

I was getting bits of information while I cycled the 13 miles back to the crash site. Naturally I was thinking the worst when I received the message but Rob assured me everyone was ok, which is the most important thing. It turns out Rob had crashed into a car and basically wrote it off. The woman was uninjured but her car was in a bad way. The police came and she was towed away while the lads waited until I came. Strangely she had told the lads that she had no insurance, or no insurance that covers a crash. She left uninjured and with no complaints. The bumper on our van was smashed in and was catching on the wheel when it turned. We got a local garage to force the bumper away from the wheel and we were back on the road.

8 7

It could have been far, far worse and although we might lose a few quid, things are ok! I think Rob was a little shaken but it will be quickly forgotten. It’s unfortunate this happening on the second to last day, considering we’ve covered 3000 miles.

9

Tomorrow is the last day/night in the van as we hand it back early on the 28th. I cycle 70 miles tomorrow to reach the East coast and are staying at a place called Long Branch in New jersey. The plan is for the lads to take all the gear to NY while I cycle the small 50 miles (50 miles seems so small now) into the Big Apple. We’ve had an amazing time in this van and it’s been absolutely brilliant. It’s a bit overwhelming to think how far we’ve come and how many roads/states/towns/cities/Walmart’s we’ve seen!

11

This might well be my last post until I finish as we will be having a good time tomorrow and getting ready for the big day. Of course I will write another to let you know how it ends! I’m feeling a bit emotional writing this it doesn’t really seem real, have we really just crossed the USA! I think we have!!

10

Night from yet another Walmart, in Warrington Pennsylvania!

Sponsorship

Charities

The story

The ride

Follow Shane Prendergast

Help me help them.

I want to raise as much money and awareness as possible and I can't do that without your donations and help. Any amount - large or small - will contribute to helping children with deafness or cancer. Feel free to share, follow, tweet and please tell your friends and family about Ride For The Child. Whatever you can afford, it’s a small price to pay to improve these children’s lives.

Donate