Rogerwith Raymond Kim of Huckleberry Bicycles in Berkeley who set him up with the bike.
Letterkenny man Roger Holmes is cycling across America in aid of the Irish Cancer Society.
Not only is it going to be an exhausting and testing journey but he’s also finding it difficult to get watching Euro 2016!
In his first diary for Donegal Daily, Roger sets the scene for what promises to be one great adventure!
“On Tuesday I set out, and I immediately encountered problems. Just silly stuff really, like having to juggle the weight of the luggage around on the bike, running into a headwind, heavy traffic and not having signal for navigation on either of my phones. (Im hoping to pick up a cheap Garmin with GPS soon). I cycled to Pier 41 and took the ferry across the bay. It took a lot longer and was a lot rougher than I had expected, and the bike and saddle bags got bashed around a bit and covered with sea salt. I had to spend a while tightening the luggage up again, and cleaning off the salt in case it causes problems later. It was a bit of a stuttering and embarrassing start to be honest, and I didn’t make much progress on the first day. But as the teething problems arose, I got over them by remembering why Im doing this. People have donated in memory of a loved one, and others have messaged me to wish me well while telling me of their battle with cancer. A few people who I haven’t even seen or heard of since I was at school have been in touch. It is a bit surreal and humbling.
“People have donated stuff that I will need along the way, and I have had some great Donegal people who are living in the San Francisco bay area get behind the challenge by donating and offering to find places for me to stay up ahead on the road.
Roger with his fully loaded bike complete with stars and stripes, Irish tricolor and an Irish Cancer Society balloon in San Francisco.
“I’ve had offers of hospitality from Irish people in many different parts of the USA. We Irish really are a great bunch for helping each other out. There has been slagging of course, but it is all in good spirit. My favorite bit of banter was being called Forrest Gump on wheels! A man who was waiting on the ferry asked what national flag I was flying. When I said Ireland, he replied ‘Oh you should be wearing your kilt’ and ‘you guys have a pretty good soccer league, I like the Leicester Cities a lot’. Em, ok.
“I am missing home and missing the Euro’s, but trying to catch up whenever I have wifi. The timezone has made it hard to see any of the matches so far.
“Tomorrow evening I will start my first climb in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Im aiming for Echo Summit, or Johnson Pass, which is a little over seven thousand feet. That is the first big challenge. I will be happy to see Lake Tahoe and freewheel into Carson City.
“There is a very long road up ahead, but all of the good luck messages, and keeping in mind what all of this is in aid of, is providing good motivation. Thanks to everyone on both sides of the Atlantic for the support so far. Trans Atlantic Cycle is underway, and every turn of the wheel now is taking me a little bit closer to home, and hopefully raising a little bit more every day for The Irish Cancer Society.
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