Inspiring bike trip across America

Apr 29 2009 by Iain Pollock, Dumfries Standard Wednesday

A FORMER teacher from Moffat has just completed an amazing coast to coast trip across the United States by bicycle to give a message of hope to anyone suffering heart disease.

Sixty-year-old Andy Armstrong, who also ran a second hand book shop in the town before retiring last October, made the 63-day trip from Jacksonville on Florida’s Atlantic coast to finish in San Diego on the Pacific at the weekend on a recumbent cycle which he has called Gladys.

And a triumphant Andy, who suffered angina 10 years ago and confesses that at that time he couldn’t walk more than a hundred yards, said: “I hope other people who may be suffering from heart problems can be inspired – as long as they consult their doctor then anything is possible.”

He added: “I had an implant 10 years ago and I was very depressed because I had always been very active and I thought then my active life was over.”

But, despite the arduous trek, the physical challenge on some of the mountain passes, excessive distances and latterly temperatures over 100 degrees he said: “I certainly haven’t felt in the last few weeks that my heart has been under stress but I wouldn’t have believed that 10 years ago.”

One of his first tasks as he completed the trek was to send a letter to the cardiology department at Dumfries Infirmary pointing out what he’d done and stating that if they had anybody as depressed as he had once been to show them his letter.

Andy, who had previously cycled in Britain and Europe, made up his mind to take up the challenge across the States after retiring and with more time on his hands.

He told the Standard there was only one day on the near 3,500-mile trip that he thought about giving up … and that was because of dogs.

Andy said: “It was in Louisiana when I experienced about 20 dog attacks in the same day.

“A lot of homes there use dogs more as a cheap burglar alarm than a pet and they ran out sometimes snarling and snapping and I thought that if this was going to continue it wasn’t for me.”

But instead of cycling on and trying to outrun them he adopted a policy of stopping and getting to his feet as soon as a dog came running for him and without the thrill of the chase the dogs gave up and he would walk on and they went back home.

The scenery along the route he described as “magnificent” – particularly in West Texas.

He said: “I though it was breathtaking there – it was everything I imagined it to be.

“My generation was brought up on Western films and Western stories and seeing it was just absolutely breathtaking.”

He also found many of what he called “the 20-minute” relationships where he would meet up with someone and have a chat over a cup of coffee or at the roadside and found them very interesting.

In addition he met up with some other cyclists and though he left them behind, when he reached San Diego he phoned one, a retired Air Force officer from Arkansas who was still back in New Mexico to let him know he had finished.

At the finish line he said: “I’m certainly thrilled that I’ve done it and hope it’s an inspiration to others.”

Throughout the trip he kept in touch with his wife Sheila and friends with an occasional email newsletter and some excerpts gave them a vivid insight into the trip.

In Florida for instance in the town of Madison he said it was sufficiently far enough away from the coast for the accents to be very deep south and with some people he struggled with the conversations.

He also pointed out that the Sunshine State was in the middle of a cold spell and, while warm enough during the days, the nights were cold and his water bottles were frozen when he awoke. In Alabama he wrote that he had come across only one alligator in the whole state – behind reception in a hotel in Milton.

He found the town of Oberlin in Louisiana a classic straight from a James Stewart film or Bill Bryson book with a majestic courthouse at one end of the high street and a railway at the other and sadly 80 per cent of the shops on the broad high street closed.

As for the crossing of the Mississippi river he said: “Those of us who live in Britain cannot really comprehend the size of the great rivers of the world.”

At this stage in the trip he said that, as he went west, the roadkill had become much more exotic – he still saw racoons, skunks and possums, but was now seeing more armadillos, turtles and snakes and coyotes.

In West Texas the winds were gale force and it was difficult even to walk. It was here he came to Langtry (population 19 with only five living downtown) and it was virtually a ghost town with a visitor centre to the preserved Jersey Lily Bar where Judge Roy Bean dispensed justice West of the Pecos.

Still in West Texas he had to climb a pass of over 6,000 feet with the wind speed still increasing and eventually had to take shelter and spent a depressing 17 hours in Kent which has only two houses and one business selling petrol and groceries.

In Arizona he found some of the main roads were closed because of dust storms after he had battled his way through sleet and hail on the New Mexico border.

Finally he had anticipated the final few days in California being easy but hadn’t allowed for the hills and the extreme heat with temperatures over 100 degrees.

But reach the Pacific coast he did and his final words: “I enjoyed the trip more than I could have imagined.”