A big thanks to all

It's a good few weeks since I last posted - term has restarted and final sponsorship money has been collected and sent off.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WITH GIFT AID ADDED WE'VE TOGETHER MANAGED TO RAISE £2,671.44 - A FANTASTIC EFFORT AND A TOTAL WAY AHEAD OF MY INITIAL THOUGHT OF PERHAPS RAISING £1,000.00.

Thanks again to you all - this news certainly numbs the pain of a 50th Birthday now just three days away!

Best wishes

John

Some Photos!!

Back home now - after an 18 hour journey home yesterday. About to take a holiday but first here's a few photos of the tour:

Day 1 - it starts!



Day 3 - crossing the Severn



Day 5 - meeting my brother and his son in Preston



Day 6 - leaving Kendal



Day 8 - the Cairngorms





Day 10 - job done!

Day 10 Tain to John O'Groats

86 miles in 5 3/4 hours. Done it!! At 5.45pm I rode into John O'Groats with a huge smile on my face and a tear in my eye - job done! Photos of me under the famous signpost on my Facebook page. Day started well though difficult to ride passed the Glenmorangie distillary as I left Tain. Made good progress across the Dornoch Forth through Golspie and Brora. Huge climb up Helmsdale then some lumpy stuff before a drop into Berridale and the steepest climb of the tour - hurt like hell but managed it before lunch and a push onto Wick. To be fair John O'Groats is a little disappointing. Left with a strange cocktail of emotions. when I dreamt up the plan last autumn it seemed a step too far - even allowing for 9 months training. When I went public with my plans I'm sure lot's of people thought "yer right....". 921 miles solo in 10 days a few weeks before your 50th birthday - he must be mad! Maybe the last 10 days has proved that I am mad, though I'd like to think not. I hope it shows what can be done by anyone (and that's exactly what I am). Our bodies are remarkable things and we should be grateful for our health. Which brings me around to the main reason, to raise money for "kidneys for life" a charity that means a huge amount to me and my family. At present we've raised just over 2,000 pounds but I hope it's not finished yet - if you've not yet given just click the "sponsor me" button. Before I go just a couple more things. Firstly some numbers. 921 miles in 66 hours 53 mins in the saddle is an ave of 92 miles per day in an ave of just more than 6.5 hours in the saddle each day. That's an ave speed of 13.1 mph. A hero of mine Albert Contador managed an ave of 24mph in recent Tour de France - but then again he wasn't carrying 10kg of kit with him. I've burnt 66,982 calories or an ave of 6,698 per day - little wonder I've lost over a stone. Oh and I've turned the pedals 280,910 times - no wonder my knees hurt! Gotta finish with some thanks. You have all been truly magnificent - without you I would have given up days ago. I've been sent messages from just about every continent, from people I don't even know (whoever says football supporters are crapp should drop into Burnley (FC) MAD - thank you all (particularly you Dan - UTC). To all the people I've got to know through this marvelous sport of cycling cheers boys (Murray and Tim in particular - you've been immense). To my best mate Ian - I'm sorry preparing for this event has got in the way a bit but cheers! To colleagues at work - your thoughts have kept me going. Thanks too to all the pupils, parents and governors for everything you've done - I'm immensely proud of Long Stratton High. And finally my family - in-laws, mother, brothers, cousins and my 2 sons and 2 daughters and last but certainly not least my darling wife for her immense support over the last 10 days - you are my everything. Cheers, gonna catch some sleep now, train to London early tomorrow. John

Day 9 Dalwhinnie to Tain

94 miles in 7 hours. What a day (again!) Arranged to meet a friend's parents in Inverness for lunch. Knowing that this was just over 60 miles away meant an early start and pushing on hard. So it was head down and pedal like stink - passed Aviemore, over the Slochd summit, Tomatin and then Daviot village. Didn't help that it was persistently raining - with a gusty wind. Into Inverness and over the Foray Forth bridge, before lunch with Mr & Mrs Gorman Sr - Murray your parents are special people. Sandra my "goody" bag was fantastic, thanks. Foolishly I didn't change my wet clothes so 2 hours later was rather stiff, making the 30 miles on to Tain toughish (windy and rainy again). Tim the glide down to the Cromarty Forth bridge was spoilt by roadworks on the bridge itself. Finish in Tain which is a cute little place and home to the Glenmorangie distillary! Body now start to let me down - 50 year old hands and wrists started to get very "tingley" and right knee very swollen and sore. BUT - nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to stop me from finishing this thing sometime tomorrow - even Beridale hill (the steepest one on the tour - deep joy!). Just 82 miles left - gonna need every last bit of support tomorrow. Just one last time now folks, let's finish this off together. Cheers John.

Day 8 Stirling to Dalwhinnie

85 miles in 6.5 hours. Really tough day but worth all the effort - what a fabulous part of the world. I've not been able to upload photos from my mobile onto this blog but I've managed it to my Facebook page - take a look! The day started well really quick ride from Stirling to just south of Perth. Spot of lunch just north of Perth and that was main mistake of the day. I've worked off between 7,000 and 8,000 calories a day on this tour. I've not been able to consume that many calories (believe me I've tried!) as exercise takes blood away from digestive system - the result is I've lost just over a stone in weight. I didn't eat enough for lunch then ended up working very hard to get up to Dalwhinnie - result was I was totally cabbaged by the time I got here - driving rain and gusty winds didn't help much either. Worth it in the end - what an amazing isolated place in the middle of the Cairngorms - check out the location on my tracker. 90 more miles tomorrow - though hoping will be less demanding. Meeting a mate's parents in inverness for lunch and should end up in Tain. Keep up the support and comments. Thanks to all, John.

Day 7 Lockerbie to Stirling

93 miles in 7 hours. Talked of feeling lonely yesterday and response from you all has been magnificent. Fantastic ride from Lockerbie to Crawford up the A73 - scenery amazing uplifting and inspiring. Lunch shared with friendly forestry workers. It all fell apart when I read your comments to yesterday's blog - some more tears and deep breathing. It's not really fair to single individuals out but can I give particular thanks to Tim (I'll treasure your encouragement for a long time), Murray your texts and voicemails are always timely, Dave Wilko (was it you who got Burnley fans involved - Burnley MAD - now getting comments and donations from complete strangers), and Ian (you have mad me laugh outloud). Made the EDP today - they got the dates wrong but hope that's all. Anyway journey through Lanark was fine but things took a turn for the worse North of the A80. Airdrie makes Burnley look like Soutwold! I had to take my satnav off my bars and hide in my pocket - everyone seemed to be drinking either strong larger or vodka!! I'll never speak badly of Gt. Yartmouth again. Anyway I think that's all my urban riding done - next few days should be beautiful - let's enjoy it together. Cheers John.

Day 6 Kendal to Lockerbie

73 miles in just less than 6 hours. Thanks mum for coming out to Kendal, dinner last nite and the send-off this morning. The climb over Shap was tough - shades of the Dragon ride back in June. Early lunch in Penrith - lots of happy memories from my formative years. Good run up to Carlisle which was surprisingly busy and difficult to ride through. Then a nice run out on the A74 to Gretna Green, the Scottish border and on to Lockerbie to end with a fish supper and a pint of beer. Finding handling the emotional/mental side of things tougher than the physical side. Felt lonely, miles from everyone and heading further away today. Missing my amazingly supportive wife and kids. 85 miles to Stirling tomorrow. Thanks once more for all your messages - you'll never know what a difference they make to how I feel. Good night, John.