Final day, Brora to John O’Groats!!! We expected rain so we were delighted to have a clear morning. Left Fiona and Margaret in the tents so we could get away sharp.
Cycling by 6.15am and the roads were clear. Great cycling by the sea.
Good progress to Helmsdale.
Very long climb after Helmsdale and we still had the infamous “Berriedale Braes” to tackle. We had a long and fast descent but you cant take advantage of your speed to help you up the other side due to a sharp bend at the bottom. Tough climb but no worse than some in Devon, Cornwall, Dartmoor etc – there are a lot of hills in England and Scotland!!
From the top of Berriedale.
Time for a break! Lucky to find a tearoom just past Dunbeath, beside “Laidhay Croft”. The door wasn’t locked but it doesn’t normally open until 10.00 so we were very grateful to the “kind lady” who took pity on us – we had the usual and Jamie and I sampled the superb baking (obliged??). On to Wick and then the A99 and the final stretch to John O’ Groats.
Not long now!
We made it at 12.15 to a fantastic welcome from Mum and Dad (our invaluable Support Team), Fiona and Margaret in “The Dog Suit”!! Plus a surprise from Moira and John (sister and her husband not long back from cycling in Norway) who took the time to travel from Alnwick, camped at Dunbeath, cycled to John O’ Groats and were there to join the champagne reception. Photographs marked the end of our adventure!
Soup, tea and toasties in the cafe where we caught up with Chris (have a good holiday!) but no sign of Neil and Mick (probably finished earlier). Back to Inverness for showers and a chinese take-away – very nice!!
Statistics of the Day – 63 miles; ave 15.9 mph; 17-22C.
Site – HOME!
John
What a great achievement we are so proud of all of you. What you got planned for next year !!! See you in a few weeks x
Congratulations to the three intrepid cyclists!!! Well done. It has been lovely following, online, your journey with the commentary and photographs. It has been impressive!!
A brilliant thing to do!!
Hope you all sleep well in the comfort of your own beds.
valentine
Well John you did it, had no doubt that you would. Congrats to Blue and Jamie as well and to your Mum and Dad for looking after you all and keeping the show on the road. Loved reading where you have all been and seeing the photos along the way. Would really love a copy of the photo of you and Marg and the family sometime! Great achievement from you all and for a really superb causes. See you soon. Love from the Toshes x x x x x
Very well done all. I’m kinda sorry it’s all over as I have enjoyed following your adventure – what’s next?
Linz
Wohoooooooooooooo you’ve done it!!!!!!!!! Very well done to all three of you. You must be feeling very proud of yourselves after cycling all that way – what an achievement!
Hope you’ve all had a quiet and restful day today. Love to all xxx
fantastic well done u folks !
Yeee Haaaaa!!!
Huge CONGRATULATIONS to each and everyone of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gonna miss the blog to read daily……those photographs were amazing….
Hope you are all fully recovered now!
Well Done once again,
CHEERS!!!!!
Love Claire & PTA, Jazzie, Jiffy & Jp xxxxx
Well Done! …. Great Achievement….Great Team Effort!
Hello John, Gary, Jamie
It took a bit of skilled searching but I found your blog in the end! Congratulations to the 3 of you and also to Ian and Rita for providing the support! Sorry we missed you on the last day – I think you beat us to the finishing post! Really enjoyed the blog – your pictures definately put ours to shame! If you have a touch of the old insomnia anytime soon then our End to End blog should do the trick: http://mikeandneilgoendtoend.webs.com
An amazing experience and now that the legs have recovered, I’m thinking about what to do next. Maybe see you again out on the road some day….
Mike (the bald one) and Neil
Fellow End to Enders