Since I last posted Donald Trump has been voted President of the USA! In what started as a surely he’s just kidding – to a no he is quite serious but hasn’t got to a hope in hell of winning – to OMG he might have a chance here – and finally, shite, he is the next president of the USA! Do I want to visit a country where the new president is openly sexist, racist, verbally abusive, etc, etc, and there is even less hope of changing their gun laws?? Apparently, according to some, American politics has to get worse before it can get it better and therefore Trump isn’t such a bad thing – well we have another 4 years before we find out!! And as to me – in the grand scheme of things – I’m just one wee half Scottish / English cyclist on a wee bike ride and whoever is president probably won’t have a great deal of affect on my trip – unless Trump, himself, reads this and bans me from entering the USA!
Anyway hopefully no more politics in my blog and on to some exciting stuff – finally got some route planning done and I have 2 nights of accommodation booked in New York! I will largely be camping and using hostels and don’t intend booking accommodation much in advance – I don’t want to be tied down too much to dates and times, etc – so time will tell to see if I’m pedalling like a dervish to make my New York deadline.
So my joining the dots so far are taking me up part of the West Coast of Oregon and then from New York to my end point in Maine – and as my friend pointed out very little in between! But still plenty of time – I think I’ve said that a few times and now down to 7 months until I go!
Back at home we had a spell of lovely cold and crisp weather – too much of this was spent indoors at work but managed to get 2 good walks up Dumyat.
And on a random note- while checking that I was using the word “dervish” in the right context discovered that it is a Muslim word –
Dervish – noun – “A member of a Muslim (specifically Sufi) religious order who has taken vows of poverty and austerity. Dervishes first appeared in the 12th century; they were noted for their wild or ecstatic rituals and were known as dancing, whirling, or howling dervishes according to the practice of their order.