The end

To start with we made it!

I am back and sitting in the kitchen but still a bit dazed and confused. Sorry for the lack of updates and when I finally get round to writing a full run down you will sort of get the picture. As I have a lot of gear to sort out and some wounds to sort I’ll just give you the abrevieated version:

Day 3 was an absolute killer for me, woke up with a pain in my knee that I remembered from the time I destroyed cartalidge in there. Plodded on only to have my rear mech hanger break just outside Kendal. Rob quickly turned it into a single speed and we set off for Shap, one of the toughest climbs of the ride, with only one gear; 36/16 or something around there. During the begining part the chain jumped up a gear and near enough locked the bottom bracket from being so tight; you could not turn the cranks by hand, yet I was going to get up this hill. That pretty much killed off my knee and meant the remainder of the day was taken with ease. We still made it to Selkirk were we had a few spare parts and got me running on full gears again.

Day 4 was greeted with a limp and the fact that I could not apply pressure on my right knee, sort of makes cycling interesting, once we got going my knee eased up but I had to keep it moving to ensure it did not cease up, difficult whilst travelling through Edingbourgh. The next big obsticle was the 27mile climb out of Pitlochery, not to be forgotten thats for sure. But the cruising down the over side was of course a welcome break. No seriously it was a steady climb for 27 miles! We finally made it to Avimore were we called it a day and I almost called it a night. My knee was swollen beyond recognition, I could not get off my bike or walk and ended up in bed with half the ice from the hotel bar on my leg.

Needless to say I got out of bed on Day 5, I was not going to be beaten just yet. We had quite a nice gentle ride towards Inverness, I spent the time looking at my sunburnt hands wondering if they could get any redder in this sun when it suddenly disappeared and we rode into the clouds and mist. From here on out the secenery was just a white blurr and the roads were damp and greasy. There was only a couple of obsticles left, Helmsdale and Berrydale climbs; these are nothing like I expected. The countryside was great and if my knee was not so painful I’m sure it would have been more fun but they were out of this world. Such a great experience.

The final leg of the journey was such a let down, nothing but mist and bleak countryside. Nothing really to write about apart from the sign for John O’Groats just never came quick enough, 30 miles has never taken so long. Finally Dave nodded and I knew this was the final climb before the roll into the town. As we came down the hill the welcome faces of Sean and Sarah and the support crew meant that that we had made it!

Sorry this is only the quick version and once I get sorted I’ll post some pictures and give you the full run down. Until then I’ve got some washing to do and some sleep to catch up on.