Day 10 - Out of Yosemite, heading to Nevada

If any of you have ever been to Yosemite - you wil understand that WOW WOW WOW sums it up as best as words can! We have spent the last few days slowly rising to the summit of Tioga Pass at 9945 Feet (5/6 of Mt Cook!!!) this morning passing through some incredible scenery and also cycling through light snow (yes - in summer in California). John C - we couldn't help but think of you a lot as we cycled through here and YES you must do this someday soon! (Pic taken yesterday at Tenaya Lake on Tioga Pass Road)

It has been a fantastic last few days camping American style in National Parks which are well set up but basic. We have been in temps of about 38 degs C at times but have managed - usually resting in the middle of the day. We are in bear country so everything is bearproofed which means storing all your gear in metal lockers at your site etc. We have met tons of really cool people from the States and from other parts of the world. Having cycles laden with gear means many people come ask what we are doing and of course are usually flabbergasted to hear that our final destination is New York! I think many are quite jealous and most are very encouraging and admire our efforts to date.

For me (Marty) this is the firts time in the US and I am loving it - my impressions so far are of some very warm people, genuine and very polite and very service oriented - all the waitresses etc are very good and efficient and friendly - yes wanting a good tip but also seem to be enjoying their jo9bs. I am also amazed at how many HUGE vehicles there are (and usually how well people are driving them and avoiding hitting us on some pretty narrow roads!!). Every second vehicle seems to be a hyped up pick up truck - even for Mom to go to the store in! Americans really know how to go camping too with the hugest trailers (caravans) or RVs (recreational vehicles) known to mankind!!! Camping has been fun and we are getting our routines sorted out to get away most mornings about 6.30 a.m so as to avoid heavy traffice and the heat of the day. We usually cycle til lunch and then set up camp. Things may change now as we head into Nevada tomorrow (the desert).

Our fitness is definitely getting better& cycling at altitude didn't seem to be a problem - perhaps living at 6,000ft (Kabul) for the last 6 mths was good training?

Our plans are to head to Tonopah then Rachel (on the Extraterrestrial Highway!) and across Nevada into Utah by about the 14th Aug.

Having a blast and wish you were here with us to be having this fun!