The Epilogue

Why did we do it? 3 nearly or 60 year old or so males? Insanity? Probably!
However the idea moved on to support a worthwhile charity and because of Colin's friend Suzette's involvement with Cherished Memories we planned our ride to raise funds for the cause.
Did it spur us on? Yes having committed to complete the ride for the benefit of the charity we were all determined to finish to raise the maximum possible.
Did we enjoy it? Yes we did, we met many interesting and varied characters on our journey. The scenery was stunning, even in the rain!
Would we do it again? No.
Do we regret doing it? Certainly not, we loved it.
Thanks to all that have followed our exploits and for the many people who have supported us on our way. Especially Simon & Sarah, David & Jude who welcomed us into their homes and looked after us all, fed us and gave us accommodation for the night, breakfast in the morning and saw us on our way.
Thank you all for your interest & support.
Pete, Colin &Ken

Day 19 the End

Craig & Heather looked after us well at the Strathy Inn. The breakfast was one of our better ones. We set of on our final two climbs. It was a lovely morning with plenty of warm sun shine. We made Thurso in time for lunch and sat outside. Then on to Dunnet Head the most Northerly point in the UK mainland. From here it was only 12 miles to John o'Groats. We arrived at 3.30 pm to complete our 1019 mile trip. We are going to celebrate now and should be back in the world tomorrow morning!!

Day 18

We set off from Lairg after a hearty breakfast and all was well we set of for Altnaharra where we stopped for lunch. After suitable refreshment we set off alongside a Loch with fantastic views. We stopped for coffe at the Crask Inn which turned out to have a history associated with Bothies. We got our usual dowsing with rain, but it later cleared up. Colin and I seem to feel the hills today after the long day yesterday. We were glad to reach the Strathy Inn in daylight. And so to repair for our last day tomorrow. Only 40miles. We might celebrate!

Day 18

Day 17

We set off after a hearty breakfast from Terry and Shan's guest house, thinking we had a good days cycling in front of us. We set of down an off road alternative to the A9. After a couple if miles we realised that we would not make our destination by nightfall at the rate of progress we were making. Luckily we found a cycle path adjacent to the main road and got to Inverness for coffee and lunch. We now had 45 miles still to do. We set off uphill of course and it seemed we would not arrive I'm Lairg until well after dark so we pressed on undeterred. As usual it started to rain and eventually chucked it down and we all got drowned, or so it seemed. Fortunately we all arrived just in time for dinner at the local hotel. Quick shower and of to bed but 82 miles nearer JOG! Only 95 miles left to do, I can't wait, I think we have all had enough now as we have only had one dry day in Scotland so far!

Day 16

Having got up early for a day in ths hills the weather looked very unsettled so we all opted for wet weather gear. We didn't need it for the ran so much as to keep the cold out. We stopped for soup and hot chocolate after about 15 miles. We had some superb views as we crossed the Grampions, but it was very hilly cycling and opted to wall up some of the steeper inclines of 1 in 5. Still only 75 miles tomorrow and all downhill! Yeh right.

Day 15

Another sunny day and great cycling weather. Ruth set us up with large bowls of porridge and a cooked breakfast, so we set off at 9.30 and called into the local shop for provisions. The first 20 or so miles were relatively easy until we came to the 400+ m high climb, which took Colin & I much longer than Ken but we got there and had great scenery to boost our spirits. The ride down into Braemar was exilerating reaching speeds well in excess of 35mph. Colin's bike started to have problems with the brakes so we called into Braemar, but it is such a small place we ended up in Ballater before we could get it fixed. However all is well and we arrived safely at our B&B. Looks like a steeper set of climbs tomorrow. Something to look forward to.