Will Life Be The Same Again?

Back to normal? Nothing's normal anymore! Bikes are not just means of getting to school, to work or to go to tennis or football training. They can actually carry you the full length of Britain!

I plan to take the LEJOG bike back to Australia and ride it around Port Phillip Bay in October, but a trip up to Cape York is definitely not on the agenda. Thanks to friends and family for the encouragement and for donating to the McMillan Cancer Support group.

Spaced out....

Speaking for myself, all this seems to have happened on another planet. I can't believe that exactly a week ago we were huddled in a weird and wind-blasted pub called the Crask Inn - I swear it was the only building for forty miles. We were watching Jim fix his eighteenth puncture in the saloon bar, listening to a RangeRover-load of southerners bizarrely quoting kids' poetry at one another, and overhearing a leathery group of heavyweight bikers speaking a language Jeff insisted was Gaelic (it wasn't, it was Dutch, but Gaelic makes a better story). All this might have occurred in another dimension of space and time. Fascinating though it was, I don't think I'm really homesick for that parallel universe. The bike has been safely locked in the shed, and by way of exercise, I think maybe I'll saunter off to the coffeeshop and surround a civilised muffin or two....

The statistics

The official distance is 1060 miles, with a total of 23000 meters climbed overall. That's 2.5 mount Everests in 17 days. So anyone who thought we had it easy can think again. If, as you should be, you're impressed, just a reminder the charity site remains open too.

Coming down slowly

After the elation and celebration of our successfully accomplishing the trip, comes the slow return to reality. The coach journey to Edinburgh came down the east coast, which thank heaven, we didn't have to cycle. The hills were horrendous, but the coastal views were great. Safely delivered to Edinburgh, after a no.or linguistic difficulty, involving the difference between "bikes" and "bags" we settled into our hotel, and a good meal. Food no longer regarded as fuel. This morning the mournful duty of packing the bikes and going home. The blog will remain open for some time to allow all the team members to reflect on the trip, and add any pictures, compromising or otherwise, that they choose. So fans, and followers stay tuned.