Kindness and generosity rolls on....

Since finishing the ride three key things have happened that bring all the kindness and generosity I was shown during the ride flooding back, as well as the emotion.
1) An unsolicited very generous donation from my physio.
2) The offer of a beautiful holiday cottage for a week to auction to raise more funds for the charity.
3) Pierre and Maureen the Scots living in Canada who I met on the ferry from Gourock to Dunnoon have made a generous donation via Just Giving now they have got back to Canada.

They and so many others have shown me the basic goodness in the majority of people, we need to celebrate this more, rather than the negative side of modern life that is often portrayed. So ends the sermon for today.

Final thoughts...

Been looking at the final stats for the whole 10 day trip and they make very interesting reading.
Total distance 1029 miles
Time taken 66 hours 7 minutes
Average speed 15.8 mph
Total ascent 53,562 ft
Total kcals burnt while riding 58,045

Here are some comparisons -
Mount Everest is 29,035 ft above sea level, so I climbed it 1.8 times over the 10 days.
Ben Nevis is 4,409 ft above sea level, so I climbed it 12 times, more than once every day.
Mount Snowdon is 3,560 ft above sea level, so I climbed it 15 times, 1.5 times a day.
Scafell is 3,209 ft above sea level, so i climbed it nearly 17 times, 1.7 times per day.
These are the three highest peaks in Scotland, Wales and England and the total for the three would be 11,178 ft, so I climbed the combined height nearly 5 times.
Where would 1,000 miles get me from home in Liverpool?
Trondheim in Norway
Uppsala in Sweden
Warsaw or Krakow in Poland
Budapest, Murcia, Rome or Lisbon to name but a few more. It makes you think, all I did was ride from one end of our country to the other and we live in a fairly small country.
Alternatively, the 1,000 miles would have got me 1/3rd of the way across America coast to coast. Now there's a ride....

Day 10 of the ride, the last day

The final day of an amazing adventure dawned with bright sunshine. I wanted to get out early to make the most of the day, hit the road at 8.15. Went past the Dunroamin Hotel, who stayed open and fed me last night. If you ever go to Bonar Bridge don't go to the Bridge Inn, spend your money at Dunroamin and tell them I sent you. Filled my bottles and pockets at Lairg as there is nothing after this for 30 miles but wilderness, the road is single track with passing places. The bad weather came in as I left, back to cold, wet through, frozen hands and feet with 'ice cream' headache. It stopped as I got near to the Crask Inn, a pub that opens when they feel like it in the wilderness. It was open, just a Belgian couple inside as the owner had gone out for 10 minutes. Took on the traditional coffee & cake. The cake was a German recipe for friendship cake, made with yeast. The idea being that you pass some of the yeast on to friends. Not what you expect to learn in a Scottish wilderness. Caught up with another ender just before getting to Tongue. Tom and I shared some experiences. He was stopping there so we went our own ways. I had reached the north coast and turned east, the road is a rollercoaster for about 25 miles. I was still having the same problems with my right thigh as yesterday but my odd riding style was also causing me an achilles problem. Reaching Thurso was a key moment, 19 miles to go, time for a last coffee & cake infusion. The last 19 miles passed and I turned left 1/4 mile from John'o'Groats. Took off my rain jacket and gilet, it might have been cold and rainy but I wanted to arrive in my Help for Heroes top. Rolled into the car park and up to the post. Guess what, just like Lands End, the sign is private and as it was 5.30 the photographer had taken it home. I had my photo taken with a post minus any fingers. After phoning home I went back up the road to wait for a bus. Waited in a bar with a pot of tea. An Aussie couple chatted about what I had done and I got a final donation from 2 cyclists due to start tomorrow. They and their wives joined me to ask for advice. I told them to take time to enjoy it and meet other people. When the bus came the cyclists paid for my tea. The bus driver had lots of questions for me too, a nice way to round up the trip. The ride was the physical challenge I expected but brought emotional and mental challenges I never expected. Every rider I met lost track of time, days and places. The lesson was about the journey, not places, days or times. I beat the negative thoughts that came through, I didn't let the weather stop me. Today I even growled at it, testosterone running high. Every text, call or message helped me to get through this, everyone who encouraged me, rode with me or took time to wish me well motivated me. I didn't do this on my own, I did it with all of you. Thank you all for helping me to help the real heroes. Biggest thanks to my wife, Gill, she gave me the time and encouragement to do this and I will never forget the adventure she made possible. A final thought, get out there and challenge yourself to do something extraordinary, you will never regret it.

Day 9 of the Ride

Two things broke today. Firstly, the weather which was grey, cold and wet from the moment I woke up. Spent extra time faffing around at the b&b, probably didn't want to go out in it, left at 9am. There were showers all day, you would just start to get warm when the rain would start again, a couple of hail storms were particularly nasty. Peeling frozen fingers off the handle bars is not something you would expect to do in late May. Met up with a group of 10 riders from Essex on a 15 day end to end. Rode with them for half an hour but had to leave them as they were too slow. Visited the commando memorial at Spean Bridge which was very emotional. There is something about this ride that really exposes emotions. Shortly afterwards saw some riders at a cafe with Help for Heroes tops, I pulled in, unzipped my rain cape and said 'snap'. Turned out they were a group of 6 squaddies from the gunners plus a commando all doing the end to end from north to south. Their support driver was an Everton fan. Took a coffee break with them and then continued north. Next stop was sitting on the ground at a petrol station with Dave, a young Edinburgh guy on an old bike, no training, no plan, fuelled on Coca Cola and chocolate, very laid back. You seem to form an immediate bond with other enders, part of a shared emotional experience. What else broke today? After the last 2 days of feeling invincible on the bike, ready to ride all day I developed a problem just over my right knee. Not sure what it is but know I can't put full power through my right leg without causing pain. Had to slow up and take it very easy up the hills, riding up them with one and a half legs. The combination of the weather and my leg made for a difficult day. I expected this to be a physical challenge but it is also mentally and emotionally challenging. Arrived at Bonar Bridge at 7.30pm, cold, wet, tired and sore. By the time I got cleaned up it was about 8.30 so I headed to the Bridge Hotel for a meal and a drink. Turned out I was 10 minutes too late to order and they would not feed me. They said there was nowhere else in the village to eat either. Looked like it was a Ginsters from Spar, turned out that closed at 8. Went back to the b&b to find out where else I could go. She rang around and a hotel at the other end of the village agreed to stay open if I was ok with soup & a sandwich. The place looked nothing special but the couple who ran it were absolutely brilliant. The beef sandwich was local beef slow roasted for 18 hours in their Raeburn. The soup was leek & potato, equally delicious. They saved the day for me. Total today 116miles, 15.0 average, 5160ft climbing, 7hr 42 riding. One day to go, I'm going to be there tomorrow after another 110 to 120 miles.

Day 8 of the ride

The day dawned bright & sunny again but still a cold northerly headwind to ride into all day. Anyone riding from north to south has had an advantage on me so far. Saw the Firth of Clyde for the first time as I rode north to the Gourock Ferry. Time for the first coffe & cake infusion while I waited for the 11.20 sailing. On board met a Scot now living in Canada, here with his wife for a bereavement. Pierre, unusual name for a Scot but he had a French father. He had lived in Ayreshire so I showed him my route. He picked out a place called Stair where I stopped at the pub for a coffee yesterday. He described the pub perfectly. He has cousins living in Maghull, which is where I am from because an uncle moved to Liverpool. He has taken my details to make a donation lovely couple. The scenery changed after the ferry, water, mountains and forest everywhere with huge skies. Made a stop in Inverary which looked magnificent as I approached. Continued to head north, magnificent views everywhere and quiet roads. Planned to stop at Connel for tje final break, filled up on cake and some fudge. Crossing the bridge on leaving was dodgy as the wind was blowing me sideways. 28 miles still to but the force was with me, I called for more power and it was there, covered the final miles in 1hr 45, man on a mission to get to the pub! Longest planned day of the trip, 137miles, average 16.1mph, 4800ft climbing, 8hr 30, 7600kcal. Fuel consumption - tea, juice, fruit, porridge, honey, toast, marmalade for breakfast, two coffees and three cakes on route, 4 1/2 litres energy drink, 7 carbohydrate gel sachets, fruesli bar, 3 squares of fudge, 1 pint protein milk shake, evening meal casserole, dumplings, potatoes, veg, sticky toffee pudding, cream, 2 pints Magners! Two days to go, crossing my fingers the dry weather holds.

Day 7 of the ride

Yesterday was the toughest day of the ride.Feeling a lot more positive again today.Rode with my first other end to enders before and after Dumfries and shared a cafe stop with them. Made another cafe stop 2 hours later on my own, got my 1st donation of the day and set off up the road.20 mins later stopped at the side of the road for a minute, noticed a car reverse back up toward me. When driver got out realised it was the guy from the last cafe. He produced my maps that I had left lying on the cafe table.Stopped 2 hours later at the pub for a coffee. Headed on to Stevenston for tonights stop. Another 115 miles, 7hrs 11 min, ave 16, 4500ft of climbing. Back on form today.Struggling with technology and can't send my photo's at the moment. Starting to get excited about reaching the end.( New shorts allowed sun through and I,ve now got sunburn stripes on my rear!)

Day 6 of the ride

Met up at the shop in Ormskirk at 9am, very pleased with the turnout. Alex and the Pirate were there yo wish me well. The General. Pete M , and Ian H all rode North with me. It had been a strange feeling leaving home again but the guys at the shop raised my moral.Pete ant the General only had an hour or so free so we went to a cafe at Brepherton for an early cuppa before they had to turn around. Ian and I carried on to the cafe at Scorton for the first cake of the day. It was a good ride out and the temperature picked up. After the stop I headed north and Ian went home.I hope I have convinced more people to have a go at the end to end. I planned to stop in Kendal but decided to carry on when I got there. The next stop was Penrith but only after climbing Shap Fell. A big old climb with at least one summit which fooled me into thinking I was over it, but I wasn't it descended and climbed again. The run to Penrith felt like a long one, should have taken on coffee and cake at Kendal. When I got there everything was shut apart from Morrisons. The store was being rebuilt so was housed in a temporary marquee. The best I could find was carrot cake, soreen and water. All consumed on a bench outside. The sat nav stopped giving me directions after Penrith and part of the route disappeared. Hope its ok tommorrow. Big day today, big days now all the way to the end. 120miles, 15.5 average, 7hrs 45, 4900ft of climbing. Of to Scotland in the morning.