Day 15
Sunday 15 July 2012

The final leg. A happy start to the day in Helmsdale for all of us except Jo, who was feeling very poorly. An inability to stay warm, consume food or drink and an upset stomach does not set you up for the final days ride and the celebration that the rest of us were revving up for.

She was determined to ride - and rode she did.

On the verge of leaving Helmsdale, we witnessed the heavens opening. Wow. What a heavy shower. It went on quite a while and we delayed the start.

Then we were off. And immediately on to a climb. Heather was off, like she was on a time trial. At the top of the climb, the fastest descent I have ever done. It was fast but it didn't feel as fast as 47.5mph. That was quite scary when I looked at that statistic in the cafe at lunchtime.

A headwind then tried to keep us out of John O'Groats but nothing was going to stop us getting there. Not even the hard, bumpy road which felt like agony to me. I was tucked up behind Heather, or Glynis, or Suzanne. I did a short spell on the front myself, but it was short.

And then a final van stop in a lay by whilst we re grouped for the mass descent past our hotel and to the legendary sign post oin JOG. What a great feeling. It was a blue sky, sunny, warm day, We were blessed. The final photo is an image now etched in my memory. What a wonderful moment. A fantastic achievement. We had done it. We had done it.