Some Final thoughts

We left John O'Groats at 9.20am and after catching some Haggis on the way home in Inverness we arrived back in West End at 11.20pm.

We have to thank the many people who supported us, both before and during the adventure, your messages of encouragement meant so much and we were grateful for every text, comment and call. Thanks also go to Deon Tucker for designing and helping with the blog page, and also to Andy and Kate Morrison for the fridge and gas cooker used on the trip.

The journey may be over but the memories live on, please check the blog for video updates of the trip which hopefully should be uploaded over the next few days.

Day 7 - The final lap

After an extremely late night arriving in Inverness, the guys managed to get up early and were treated to a great breakfast from Dave and Anne at the B&B. They set off at 8.20am on the longest leg of the challenge so far, 150 miles, spirits were high, as was adrenalin and it was agreed to the first stop would be made at the 50 mile mark.

This was a short stop, even though Russell and Stuart were still nursing injuries they were all keen to get back on the road knowing that the end was near.

Betty Hill was the next stop, after Bonar Bridge, the 100 mile mark where the guys enjoyed a pasta lunch. Again it was decided the break would be short, and keen to reach the finish they set off.

17 miles outside John O'Groats we stopped for a quick drink, and the guys agreed to time trial the final journey, which they did. John O'Groats was reached in less than 50 mins, They arrived at 9pm, leaving Kelvin little time to set up the camera and video the all important finish!!! The end of such a tremendous journey brought both feelings of elation.......and exhaustion! Pictures and video to capture the moment were taken before heading to the final B&B.

Dinner consisted of pizza having missed last orders, and conversation with the barmaid led to the realisation of what an achievement the journey had been, Lands End to John O'Groats usually takes most cyclists an average of 11-14 days, we had done it in 7 days and that was with injuries!

A combined 5000+ miles were ridden with no punctures, and only one bike malfunction, the weather had been good, with little wind and there had been no catastrophic injuries someone was definitely smiling down on us!

Here are a few photos from John O'Groats.

Day 6 Continued

As promised some great shots of yesterday:

Day 6 - The Penultamate Day

This was the day that the guys had dreaded, not for the wonderful scenery but for the seriously major climbs over Glen Shee & Lecht...

We left the digs (Can I say that we couldn't fault the Bed & Breakfast so if your ever in Bankfoot you must try the Bankfoot Inn) at 830am on the understanding we would meet up the 38 or so miles at the bottom of Glen Shee for photos.









The guys conquered Glen Shee and met up for lunch just after Balmoral by the river..

Then it was onto Lecht which had the highest bar in Scotland, the guys took full advantage of the facilities, hot chocolate nothing stronger which were supplied FOC by the lovely Diana from The
Lecht Ski Resort, icing injured parts is now standard practice at every stop and people have been very kind to us to ablige us with plastic bags full of ice..A BIG THANK YOU!!

The last leg would prove to be the hardest not because of the terrain but the impending doom of the dark evening and ever present black clouds. We stopped for dinner and left for the last 40 miles at 730pm.

Arriving at our next B & B at Inverness at 1030pm....Latest night to date but we did arrive to find a gift sent from our loved ones in the form of Good Luck Balloons and Chocolates!!

More photos to upload tomorrow but as you see the time its well passed our bed time and were up for breakfast at 7am...

Day 5

After a restful night sleep apart from Kelvin who was awaken by Ollie at 5am who then proceeded to call Dave & Stuart on information for the blog...By then everyone was awake by 6am...

The guys left Langhorn at 815am and started their 1st leg which was 50 miles through some stunning the best landscape to date..

Berj arrived at the 1st stop at Peebles and decided to go on alone and make time up so he could watch the England v Slovenia game at 3pm, the other guys arrived shortly after and on leaving found Stuart needing some help getting back on his bike...

Onto the Forth Bridge we all went...


Berj and Kelvin arrived at the 2nd stop and watched the game and what a game...whether we will beat Germany on Sunday will be another matter..

We all arrived at our digs in Bankfoot (Bankfoot Inn) in reasonalbe time and had a lovely meal, they also supplied us with plenty of ice and very kindly washed some very smelly kit!!

We thought as we were well over half way through it would be nice for the guys to share some personnel comments on the challenge so far..

Dave: Feeling good considering the distance covered so far. Sore bottom but otherwise OK. Thankfully no rain yet and surprisingly not one single puncture between us after a combined mileage of 3500.

Ollie: loving the Tour of GB, physically feeling good, but mentally being tested; sitting on a saddle for nine hours every day. When Dave says we have got another thirty miles to go I start feeling bored and want to play another game. Could not have picked a better bunch of guys to do this challenge with, a great team who are sticking together to the end of this tour!!!!

Berj: I've noticed that the sheep and cows keep looking at me in a 'funny way'.

Day 4 - Updated

We then got to our half way point a place called Shap in Cumbria, the landscapes were stunning and the boys were pleased to get off busy roads onto a more scenic route..



Whilst cycling to the borders the boys came upon children jumping into a river, so considering the hot weather and the injuries, they took full advantage..

As you can Stuart really enjoyed the dip and looked some what like the "Man from Atlantis"












Whilst the boys were wasting/enjoying valuable time Kelvin was stuck in a lay by on the A7 on his own waiting for the agreed photo call at the border with Scotland...They finally made it and apologized profusely and we were all friends again..

Yet again, during dinner we were approached by the next table asking what we were doing and with no hesitation they made a donation to Chase which we would like to thank them for.

I quick update on progress we have covered to date 536 miles we cant wait to find out how the bike challenge is going with all of you at Holy Trinity Primary School....

Day 4 into Scotland

After a mad panic the night before to get cleaned up and get to the restaurant before last orders at 930pm we managed to sweet talk the management to allow us to eat, food at the Italian was great and it was nice to be able to unwind and discuss and laugh about all the events of the day... We then went back to the room to have a "Blog Meeting" and to discuss the plan of action for the next day.


We had breakfast and sorted kit for the days activities and took time to take some group photos before the days riding.

The boys started the ride and Kelvin went to the local Pharmacy & Butcher to get supplies for lunch and pain killers for Stuarts Achilles heel which was causing him considerable pain.



At Hall Butchers in Eccleston they very kindly made a donation to Chase and supplied us with very nice free meat...

With the injury Stuart had it was decided to start the ride at a reduced pace as to not aggravate more than needed..

As you can see the right Achilles heel is extremely swollen and he worked very hard to get through the 1st half of the ride today until the 1st stop where he iced the heel and took pain killers....










We stopped for a lunch which consisted of a Mc Kelvin Burger...


The lunch was very much appreciated, as the start of the second half of the day turned to be very challenging with some monster steep inclines. As a team we were all very aware and concerned of the challenge that lay ahead for Stuart but grimacing through the pain the BIG MAN came through with flying colours.


Just before the next scheduled break at Shap we rode along side Gary who had been riding since January 1st around Great Britain viewing all the RSPB sites..He made us all laugh recounting his travelling experiences..






After this being the last scheduled stop the boys moved on another 40miles to the Scottish Border on route Russell who had kept us all amused with his comic stories developed a ham string strain and repetitive knee strain issues which needed to be addressed. Russell needed to call on Ollie's expertise to get through the rest of the day..

Day 3 - THE BIG ONE

After a well cooked full english the guys left Ross on Wye at 8am leaving Kelvin to goto to the bike shop to get Russells bike fixed.

They then met up for some lunch (Cous Cous with feta cheese are you impressed!!!) during there ride some fashion pictures were taken of Stuart & Dave.

Notice Stuart is wearing the yellow jersey......

Who needs the BBC or Sky when you have Russell.

A little map reading on the way???









Our last stop saw us in the CoteBrook Shire Horse Centre where we met some lovely girls who kindly donated some money, they also looked after us with coffee and homemade flap jacks.. thanks again for the donation.



We also met some other cyclists who were on the same challenge over a 11 day period they were Steve Green supporting Daisey's Dream Charity & Andy Woodward supporting Exeter Academy for the Deaf.. we would like to wish them luck...

We arrived at our digs in Preston at 730pm and they are great with wifi access hence the update on the Blog...and look another one of Kelvins task fetching the ice!!!!Hero