Day 10 - The final day!

Breakfast was a lovely leisurely affair this morning, porridge, scrambled eggs, freshly baked bread rolls and smoked salmon and a bacon sarnie for Gareth. We were even more grateful for the 4 miles grace we'd accumulated yesterday due to gps error when we realised that exactly 4 miles in to today's ride came the start of one of the biggest, steepest hill climbs of the entire journey. Luckily we were just warmed up when we met the wall that they called a hill. The Legendary Blokes on Bikes were not so lucky, having stayed in Helmsdale they had no chance to warm up before hitting the hills. Unfortunately my morning ritual excluded the daily dose of paracetamol and ibuprofen for the knee so having taken them late the first climb of the day out of Helmsdale was slow and painful. Buoyed by Jan and Ivor cheering us on at the Caithness sign we rode on to enjoy the lovely fast, smooth down hill stretch only to immediately face another seemingly vertical (alright, only 13%) incline. This one went on FOREVER and seemed to just get steeper with each turn. I thought switch backs were only employed in mountains in such places as the Alps.... it appears not. The LBonB's caught up with us at the top of the Berriedale (the 2nd monster hill) and we all pulled in to the layby to enjoy a cuppa and give us all a chance to chat (the first time despite seeing them and waving and shouting hello every day since the start!) The LBonB's left whilst we arranged where to meet Jan & Ivor (next stop Wick). We were adamant that we werent going to let these guys beat us to the finishing line today, so with a bit of friendly rivalry behind us we pushed on to catch them up, rested behind them for a few minutes then with a bit of a cheeky grin from Gareth and a nod of ascent from me we overtook them and knocked out the next 18 miles in around 56 minutes. We stopped only briefly at Wick, maybe a little worried they'd catch us up despite passing their support vehicle 5 miles back, before pushing on for the last 15 miles to John O Groats. The last 15 miles were relatively flat, only one long but gentle climb up before a long descent into John O Groats. We passed the finishing line together with huge smiles on our faces (having narrowly avoided the skid pan effect of the gravel in the car park)and I promptly burst into tears... Having had the official photos taken and messing around posing with the bikes and trying to come to terms with the fact that we'd finished it, the LBonB's came in just half an hour after us. We clapped and cheered them across the line and their support guy handed around the beers. A bottle of bubbly was opened and shared. After a swig of bubbly, half a bottle of beer (at 2pm) I was ready for bed so we said our good byes, topped up the caffeine levels and headed back on the 3.5hour drive to Jan and Ivor's house. I slept most of the way after exclaiming about how steep those two damn hills were that we'd just cycled up. We stopped in on the way back to visit Isla, the little girl for whom's cause we are raising money (Gareth's cousin's daughter). After proudly showing us her newly made strawberry hat for a playgroup version of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" she was given two medals to give to Gareth and I for completing the challenge (Thanks Jan and Ivor, for the medals, the support and everything else you've done to help us out on this trip - you've been invaluable). So I will write again, for anyone who's interested, maybe in a couple of days time, to summarise the route, hints, tips, and most importantly of all the LEJOG song lyrics (also on youtube if I can persuade Gareth to perform!) Thanks again to all those who have read the blog, donated or supported in any way. I can honestly say it's down to you that I got up some of those hills. It's been so touching to see how many people even care about what we're getting up to, let alone take the time to comment or send messages of encouragement. Food diary Porridge, bacon sandwich, smoked salmon, scrambled egg, tomatoes, toast, energy bar, shortbread, energy gels (had to use them at some point!), butteries, cheese, pasties, crisps, percy pigs, jelly sweets, cake, curly wurly, mince & tatties, scone & jam.