June 24th

Dan has been having a tough day, 3 days in the heat have finally taken their toll. During the last section from Washington to the Mississippi Daniel has been feeling increasingly “flat” and his speed has been decreasing. In order to avoid any major problems he has stopped 20 miles short of the Mississippi TS and is having a rest/sleep until the temperatures drop and then they’ll continue to the timestation and probably rest up early for the night, stopping before then. He will lose some time but hopefully it will give him a chance to fully rehydrate and get those pedals turning once again. It looks like the temperatures will ease off a little as they continue east.

I spoke to Daniel before he got back on his bicycle to cycle the last 20 miles to the Mississippi. He was feeling better but feels that his body simply cannot cope with the intense heat, hour after hour. He can’t take in enough fluid to stay hydrated. So the plan is to stop early (I think they have stopped as I write at 23.25(EDT)), to start early with the same 4 hours sleep 5/6 hours off the bicycle and hopefully regain all his strength and be totally hydrated. To avoid the same dehydration levels of the last 12 hours he has decided that, as they have some time in hand, he’ll take a “siesta” tomorrow for around two hours as extra time, so not eating into the planned 6 hour break. His thinking is by doing this he’ll be fit and ready to attack the Appalacians which are the toughest part of the route, without making it difficult to reach Annapolis by 3pm (EDT) on Monday 29th.

Only 961 miles to go!

Daniel took an extra rest and photo session stop at mile 2198 around 13:00(EDT) – the mile at which he stopped last year and which has been ingrained in his mind ever since. He’s feeling 100% better than 24 hours ago but still having a recovery day, readying himself for the mountains.

Dan at mile 2198 around 13:00(EDT) – where he stopped last year…