Yesterday, I was leaving Folsom and was about 10 miles down the road when a guy on a bicycle was on the other side of the road with panniers.  We both looked at each other, and immediately we slowed down and he rode over to visit with me.  He had an AdventureCycling.org map on his bike just like mine and he was about to finish his ride across America.

His name was Mike Bosomworth (yes, it's a very English name), he hails from Leeds, England and he was fulfilling his dream to bike across America.  He was truly the man.  He was going solo and was lugging about 110 lbs of gear on his bike.  We talked for a long time.  He gave me lots of good advice and boy did I listen to what he had to say.  I asked him what was his most difficult part of the ride and he said "Nevada", no doubt about it.  He said it was a long distance to cross, there were no services and most importantly, no water.  Also, he said to watch out for the dogs when you get to Kentucky.  Apparently there are a lot of dogs that like to chase bicyclists in that state and he said the best way to chase off the dogs is to yell "Go HOME!" as loud as you can and point to where they came from.  Mike is a clinical researcher for the National Health Service in England and is raising money for Alzheimers research.  He is on Facebook as Mike Bosomworth at Leeds University and he has a website for contributions at www.virgingivingmoney.org. under his name.

As I pulled into Placerville, CA, I stopped at a Rabey's grocery store and started looking at my map.  A lady named Kathy with a Placerville Bike Shop shirt came up to me and asked me what I was doing?  I said "I'm biking across America!"  She said "Get out of here!  My husband and I biked across America a couple of years ago!"  She said she had family members drive and RV to serve as a SAG wagon and they biked the Southern Tier to avoid the Rockies.  She warned me about Missouri...she said the state is very bike unfriendly and the roads are terrible.  She also warned me about the dogs of Kentucky and said pepper spray doesn't work at all.  We laughed when we referred to pepper spray as 'Seasoning for the steak' as they chomp into your leg.  Kathy, if you are reading this, send me the link to your 'Big Adventure' at johnwinters111@gmail.com.

Yesterday was a very challenging ride.  It was about 40 miles of just plain 'UP'.  As I was riding through downtown Placerville, I heard a guy yelling as I went by as if to warn me about something I couldn't get out of my clips in time and I fell down pretty hard.  It turned out he was yelling into his cell phone.  Another person, Bob Adams came by and helped me get out of my bike.  He was a very nice man.  I hurt my leg a bit and as I went out of town, I realized my bike was not shifting properly.  I was halfway up a hill but turned back and went to the Placerville Bike Shop where a guy named Matt fixed my bike in less than 10 minutes.  Thanks to him I was able to get to Omo Ranch halfway up the mountain.

Jaine has been a tremendous help to me, without her it would be like bicycling across America with 1 leg.  She is my cheerleader, my support team and everything else in between.

Today will be my toughest ride yet.  It'll be another 40 miles of 'UP' as I go from Omo Ranch to Kirkwood CA.  I'll be going from 3600 ft elevation to 8500 ft.  Wish me luck!

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