Two days later...

Miles cycled - NONE!!
Hangovers - 2

The euphoria of our arrival in John O'Groats continued into the wee small hours of Sunday morning, with much banter, speeches and whisky - thank goodness I did plenty of drinking training too!  But then everyone's thoughts turned to getting home.  We were bussed to Inverness, where Bob was waiting to bring me and my bike home for a well-earned sleep (once I'd popped in to our local to bask in a bit of glory!).   I'm not feeling too bad now, considering - not too stiff, just tired.

I am still amazed at what I have achieved!  Everyone keeps asking what's next, but I can't top what I've just experienced, and I'm more than happy that whenever I see a map of the UK, I can inwardly smile to think I've pedalled all that way in such a short time.  It was the most physically and emotionally challenging thing I've ever done, yet also the most rewarding.  The stats, if anyone's interested:

Total miles cycled (including the odd wrong turn!) - 1010
Total ascent - 50,300 ft (Everest is 29,000!)
Average speed - 10.6 mph
Total time in the saddle - 94 hrs 53 mins (no wonder my backside is a little tender!!)

I met 24 other cyclists and 3 crew, all of whom were great people I'll remember fondly.  The majority were keen cyclists, and found the going a little easier than I did, but it was our mini-team bringing up the rear each day I'll always be grateful to.  We gelled as a group, helped each other along the way, and definitely saw all the sights at a slower pace than the rest, and it was a real privilege to share this experience with such great characters.

From the left - Aled (looks great in lycra tights!), Johnathan (who carried a yellow plastic duck since Somerset!), me!, Phil (much fitter than us and could have been at the front with the others, but stayed with us to get his value for money!) and John (who celebrated both his 45th wedding anniversary and his 69th birthday on the trip!)

 But the one I'll miss the most is John.  What an incredible achievement for him.  His wonderful sense of humour and unfailing courage and determination I can only aspire to.

Thanks for your company, John!

I'm still collecting for my charity, and will update again in a couple of weeks once the final total is in, so if you've enjoyed reading my blog, please feel free to donate!

www.justgiving.com/JanesBigTrip