Neil is struggling with the cycling. Andy and Alex (the AA) have been kicking some A and zooming around all over the place. The last few miles to Ithaca, all uphill, took it out of them, but after a short recovery period they seemed about as tired as me and my entire days exercise consisted of a mid-day cycle on Leo’s bike, some elbow grease pumping tires, a session on a treadmill and a brief swim. Leo is sticking with Neil and also seems to be finding it harder than the AA. However, Neil’s bike is a bit of a mess [View Full Entry]

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I do enjoy writing this blog - it serves two important functions. Firstly, it makes me feel like I’m doing something productive - unadulterated leisure makes me restless. Secondly, it allows me to escape the company of five smelly blokes and feel a little bit in contact with the rest of the world. Tonight I am in Ithica, the nicest hotel so far with a sauna, indoor and outdoor pool, fitness room and most importantly, Street Fighter 2 machines for a quarter a time, all of which I have made use of. The coffee with creamer (definitely not a white coffee, [View Full Entry]

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Today was a bad day for the cyclers to begin, the heavens opened and it pissed it down for hours from about 11am. The boys left at 7am so they got a few hours in before it began but after that it was even hard driving. At times the beast sent up enough spray from puddles to obscure the entire windscreen for several seconds Breakfast hadn’t begun when they set off so they began on an empty stomach whilst Rob and I returned after some photos for my first proper American breakfast of pancakes, butter, syrup, bacon, scrambled egg, French toast [View Full Entry]

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By the time I reached Niagara Falls today, I had already been travelling for four hours. A coach into Toronto took an hour and a half-hour walk later I got on a Greyhound coach. I ended up waiting an hour and a half at this end too because the lazy gits didn't leave until 11am. I don't begrudge them their leisure, however, as they'll be starting their epic journey tomorrow. There weren't enough seats in the car for me to fit in too, but in a way I am glad, I'd feel like I hadn't 'done' America properly without taking a [View Full Entry]

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Today, at 15mph, we ascended the CN tower for amazing views of Toronto. There seems to be little more to the city than attractive buildings and so a 330m high view of these was impressive. Whilst the others queued for an hour and twenty minutes for the lift to the ‘Sky Pod’ the uppermost viewing point, Rob, Al and I had a wander around, taking in the city hall, a few shops and a lot of sky-scrapers. As part of my fast food quest, I went to Harvey’s and had a root beer which, in Al’s words, tasted like cough medicine. [View Full Entry]

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It's wonderful to be somewhere hot and humid again. I'm sure I'll come to hate it, but I associate humidity with holidays so sweating like a pig gets me excited. Aside from this, arriving in Toronto felt much like England with unfriendly immigration and customs staff and baggage delays. After a brief chat to an Indian man, a nationality who are always pleasing to talk to because with a little prompting they will tell you their whole life story and that of most of their extended family, Rob rolled up in a monster truck and drove me back to the motel. [View Full Entry]

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Ed's Travel Route Ed SmithClick on the image on the left to view my travel map Things I'm most excited about Eating pancakes with butter and syrup for breakfast, a Supersize fast food meal for lunch and a massive steak for dinner, all at low US prices Learning Spanish with one-on-one teaching at dirt cheap prices Tequilla Living with a Guatemalan family Snorkling off the coast of Belize, in the second largest reef in the world The possiblity that my volunteering might actually [View Full Entry]

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After weeks of consideration, random internet browsing, discussion, guide book reading and changing plans, I have finally got my act together and sorted out my big adventure before the world of work. Last year I went to India for a month with Tom and Lucy but I'm not quite sure it counts as an adventure. Tom and Lucy held hands a lot and I grew a beard and made frequent reports on my bowel movements (which to this day are still not quite right) but apart from that we largely got chauffered around, by private guides and drivers, went longer distances [View Full Entry]

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