We're Here

So here it is. It’s done. The journey to John O’Groats is done. Thanks to Jonny and Vincent at BluewaveSelect for their sponsorship for this final day.

The sun was shining and the sky was blue when we arrived at John O’Groats today. It was a glorious welcome to the end. I have to say that the scenery was wonderful the whole day, starting with a wonderful bridge over a loch, don’t know which one, and ending with a spectacular view out onto the sea.

There were hugs and tears from all as Mike finished today. The physical challenge of this has been extreme, but the mental side has been even harder. Mike cycling it alone has been an enormous challenge but he got through it. This isn’t just a cycle ride for us, it doesn’t end here, the fundraising carries on and dates for the screening day will be finalised and lives could be saved.

Now I feel that through all of this we cannot go without mentioning what we have lost. Annie was an absolutely amazing girl and I miss her every single day as do many others. But it things like this that gives her death purpose; we have to find things that make the weight of her not being here anymore worth it. So Annie, at the finishing line, I did not just raise my glass to Mike and his amazing achievement, I raised my glass to you and the incredible 17 years you were given, even if they were cut far too short.

Riders bit

Before the usual blurb… Having read Ruth’s piece, I think we all had emotions running high today. As I rode the last mile down the hill looking at the amazing scene over the millpond of the sea to the Orkneys, stunning in their beauty, but I could hardly see them for the tears that were welling up in my eyes.

In part, the exhilaration of completing a challenge that for a bit of an old man was a real trip into the unknown, but also thinking back to why I started doing it in the first place. It was to try and make some good come out of losing Annie.

I have said this a lot on the radio, but while I was riding, 24 young people will have died through an undiagnosed heart condition. We can now screen 200 people between 14 and 35 with the money that has been raised, and if we find that 1 or more of them has an undiagnosed problem, it is conceivable that we have saved a life.

We will start sorting these days out when we get back to Sussex with Varndean and Sussex Downs, hopefully to get them scheduled in for next year. We will keep you updated on progress with all this.

By comparison, the ride was uneventful today. Starting quite early from a sunny Tain, I was keen to get past the last significant hills of the ride, these occurred between 30 and 50 miles in. The first leg was beautiful though, as Ruth said the reflections in the loch were perfect, the sea was glittering in the sun and as I got higher the angle of the sun changed and it grew in its impact. Also, whether it was the prediction that as the ride progressed I would ride myself fit, or wind or flatter start to the leg, but I was doing up towards 16mph. I wanted to get on with it today as I was not looking forward to those final hills.

At the first stop at Helmsdale (isn’t that in GOT?), we bumped into a man supporting other cyclists who were just starting their journey the other way. He really had things sorted out, tailgate with muffins, fruit, hot water to make tea or coffee with in an urn, coke, squash, Danish pastries, rolls, bread and EPO. I had to reassure the #supportteam that I in no way felt short changed by their magnificent efforts. When we got chatting, he asked what our story was and it turned out that he knew all about CRY having raised money for screenings days himself. This time he was working for Exeter Leukaemia Fund (ELF), but would do more CRY work another time. Small world.

His cyclists then rolled up, all young, fit and seemingly untroubled (they had ridden 45 miles to my 30 at this point). They had another 75 to do though. Glad I wasn’t with them!

Then, the hills. The first one turned out to be a long drag rather than a hill that just kept going up from sea level to 800 feet over a few miles. The next two were somewhat sharper, only about 400 feet, but steeper and really woke the legs up. Well, in truth, the legs were fine, it was oxygen that was needed. However, they were done and there were no more significant hills to come, that lifted the mood a lot, and it had been pretty good anyway.

Lunch stop done, and on to Wick. This was rolling along nicely, getting back up from 14 mph to 16 again and still in the sun and the dry. That changed 2 miles before Wick, where a shower I had been watching cross in front of me slowed up a bit and dumped its tail on me. Didn’t last long though, so by the time I had munched my last piece of bakewell tart it was drying again. Now, there were only 17 miles to the end.

Whizzed along, scenery changing, the high hills giving way to the more open moorland of Caithness, oil rigs visible on the horizon and a clearing sky, although there was another shower off to the left and behind me so press on quickly. The last check in was with a very few miles to go and it was definitely a case of ‘let’s get there now’.

Coming over the top of the ridge of land before John O’Groats, I was completely unprepared for the view that would meet me. The sea was like a millpond, the Orkneys rising out of it so close you could touch them it seemed, all bathed in summer sun and so colourful. It was the most beautiful sight and only equalled by the view before Edinburgh coming over the top of the last hill there.

Seeing such beauty and knowing it was a 2.5 mile sprint down, then kicked all the emotions off and I did go the wrong way in the car park, hence the support team having the camera pointing the wrong way when I got close. Videoed all the way in to an extreme close up, you may see the obligatory fist pump, you won’t hear the ‘for you Annie and all of us’ said quietly at the same time, and then just missing seeing the tears in the eyes before the big group hug.

Then it was champers, photos with the signpost and get the picnic blanket to bask in the first real summer sun that we had felt for days (it felt like months!). Other cyclists came and went, but I really didn’t want to leave, just bask in the moment of the achievement of the ride and what it meant with the target having been hit as we sat in the car at stop 2.

Lots of phone calls to various people letting them know we were there and thank them for their help in the ride. We were there for an hour or more.

Then the champagne was all gone, and it felt like time to go. It was like being in a show when I used to do am-dram and you had the last night of a run of shows and you didn’t want the time to be over, even though it was what you had been working towards for so long.

At the risk of being accused of being Halle Berry (wasn’t it she who did the 5 hour long Oscar acceptance speech, as opposed to the Adele type speech), I do have to thank a few people.

Firstly, two wonderful people who played support car for ten days and put up with my anxieties, stresses, tiffs and random food demands as well as spending most evenings writing blogs, researching routes, planning stops, recharging equipment, massaging me (in my dreams) feeding me, carrying bags in, washing bikes, washing bike clothing, washing me (in my dreams again). There were times when I must have been a pain to be with, but they never slapped me around and told me to stop being a diva. Thank you Jenni and Ruth.

They had been set the model for what was required of the support team though by Helen and Steve who were also totally brilliant in caring for initially me and Stewart and then just me. Who can ever forget the 7:45pm arrival at the Jamaica Inn on day 1. In the rain, lights fading having ridden over the top of Bodmin Moor with not a lot of confidence that we were going the right way. The instant care bubble that swept us up was repeated all through the ride and made it possible to do.

Having mentioned Stewart, there were four people who rode days with me. Stewart (day 1 and a half of day 2. Remember, these were the Cornish and Devon days so went up and down a vast amount), Ross and Glenn (days 4 and half of 5), and Jonny day 7. The importance of their company to me was immense. Having people to take with through these days and share the experience with was so good and it allowed me to store up for the solo days that were the others days.

Also, Ross, Joe and Proper Cycling have been enormously helpful with advice and preparation work. The bike is still running fine (bit of a squeak today, but sorted with a squirt and drop) which is a testament to their expertise, although Telford Dave deserves an honourable mention for rescuing some of the damage caused by the Cornish downpours and mud. They were new brake pads at the start of the ride and were pretty well worn out in 2 days. I met other people at JOG today who rode that same day in Cornwall and they also had brake issues and had even had to walk down hill at one time for safety.

Adeptis and all the sponsors for a day deserve mention for their kind donations and continued tweeting, retweeting, sharing, liking and comments on social media. At the start of the ride, the facebook page had a reach of about 400, it peaked at just under 7,000 thanks to so fantastic efforts by you all. Uckfield FM also were stars here, the daily updates, the social media comments and shares were tremendous.

Nearly finally, a quick mention for Danny and Cycleshack as I made two very important last minute purchases the Friday afternoon before leaving on the Saturday, just before shops closed, of items that I had not used before and did not really believe I needed.

Chammy butt’r. My back end would not have survived the ride after getting sores on day two without this, that and just resorting to my favourite comfortable Castellis.

Overshoes. It may be June and July, it may even be warm at times somewhere in the UK, but for the second week, these were worn everyday, irrespective of whether it was wet or not. It was probably going to be wet and they kept my feet warm and mostly dry (bit sweaty at times). If you have warm feet, it helps keep the rest of you warm, and as by the middle of the last week I was wearing full winter kit anyway, essential part of the morning dressing.

Really finally, well maybe, there are the various members of family that I imposed on along the way. Bill, Monica, John, Stephen, Richard and Becky (hopefully haven’t finished imposing on them just yet). Your kindness knows no bounds and your support was brilliant. Just need some of you to move to or back to Scotland for the next time I do this

Some brief stats on the ride below, I said I would do 1,015 and that is just what I did. I will have to typex over the t-shirt I got at JOG that says 876!

Day

Distance

1

82.68

2

81.72

3

68.56

4

71.13

5

88.80

6

70.65

7

74.67

8

82.93

9

67.66

10

92.20

Rest day

8.45

11

74.83

12

73.88

13

77.71

Total

1015.87

There will be more blogs to come, as Ruth said, we haven’t finished yet. Back tomorrow.