Reliability goes a long way, says Jones
On Monday night, Lochaber Ideas Week heard from former Newtonmore shinty player turned trans-continental cyclist Russell Jones, who talked about his 4,267mile race across America.
Before setting out on this mammoth ride in 2017, Russell’s interest in cycling began in his late 30s and his first big ride, Kingussie to Marseille.
After a break of a few years he eventually did a Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle for charity in aid of a lifelong friend who had suffered a stroke and his brother, who recently died.
Russell told the audience: ‘Life’s too short and you never know what’s around the corner, and this gave me the motivation to do it. After setting off from Land’s End, I found that I was quite happy with being on my own for days at a time on the bike, only cycling about 100 miles per day.’
Upon completion, he didn’t feel like he had pushed himself enough and that sense of achievement was lacking.
The trans-America cycle was something he initially thought was just for pros, but he soon found that some people were doing 150 miles per day and not taking the race too seriously.
‘I just started going out on Saturday for a 120-mile ride and then did the same on Sunday. I kinda felt alright after it. Swithered for a bit, but then decided I would do it.’
It took Russell to some lively parts of the US and some more rundown areas; through the stunning Rocky mountains, and the monotonous roads of eastern Colorado and Kansas.
He found some major differences, especially spending so much time on the roads. Russell said: ‘I saw two vultures eating a dead armadillo in Kansas and thought to myself, “I’m not in Kingussie anymore”.’
The riders lost a fellow competitor in Kansas who was struck by a car and tragically died. There was some uncertainty as to whether the race would continue, but Russell wanted to finish, no matter what.
Completing the ride in Yorktown, Virginia, in just under 28 days, Russell got that sense of achievement he was looking for.
He has since gone onto a gruelling trans-European ride, and put everything he had learned into a shorter ride around Ireland, so he did not spend so much time away from family.
Modest, Russell described his cycling style as that of an old ARF truck – doesn’t look very good, not very quick, but reliably goes a long way in a long time.