The day started with us all sat in the breakfast area in the hotel at 7am as the very kind hotel owner said that she would come down early so that we could get a full breakfast as we were not to leave the hotel on an empty stomach which was very very nice of her.
We all had cereal to start followed by bacon sandwiches which filled a very big hole in our stomachs, but all four of us where anxious about the day ahead and we all had a bit of a sore stomach and generally felt rough.
Once we had scoffed down our breakfast. We all headed back to our rooms to get our stuff ready and clean our teeth and generally just get ready for the last and final day of our trip.
The lovely hotel owner also washed and filled all of our drink bottles, which was very nice of her. Especially as these have not really been washed properly in quite some time and it did make us wonder what could be growing in them.
We head to the garage and get the bikes out and load them up with our panniers and Jane was still trying to get someone to take them for her. However I told her that she was not allowed to as this would be cheating.
Were on the road by eight o’clock and Steve was looking a little wobbly and so we decided that we should cycle in the formation so that both Steve and Hayley will be between myself and Jane so this would give a bit of protection to the inexperience cyclists.
We will be cycling down the A30 today and this is a notoriously busy road and although we did look for an alternative route there was nothing that was easy to follow and also it was an easy ride because the a 30 literally just cuts through the countryside and most the hills have been taken out with bridges and what not.
We crashed through the first 10 or 15 miles and both Steve and Hayley were impressed with how quickly they were getting the miles done and the A30 wasn’t too busy at this point and so we managed to avoid any major problems. Steve was a little bit scared of the traffic, especially when crossing slip roads and when the slip roads joined the carriageway, these also made way for some interesting moments.
We made our first stop at McDonald’s and we all got a milkshake and this is where I decided I needed to adjust my gears again as they were jumping all over the place and also take a look at Hayley’s gears as they were being a little bit awkward as well.
Steve was finding the hills quite tough and on numerous occasions had to get off and push his bike but also the traffic wasn’t being very nice and so he didn’t feel particularly safe cycling up steep hills whilst wobbling about.
Myself and Jane found this day quite easy to do and the hills for us were nothing compared with hills in the previous three weeks.
The Sun was shining but it wasn’t too hot. Yet it was still early but we could tell that it was going to be a very nice day.
As the A30 got nearer to lands end. The roads got narrower and the hills got steeper. This was taking its toll on both Hayley and Steve and so they had slowed right down. However, this was to be expected and myself and Jane were very pleased that not only had they come on the cycle ride they were actually cycling a lot of miles with us and keeping quite a good pace.
We were fast approaching a roundabout, and Steve was leading the group, I was closely behind Steve and he braked very hard and I nearly ran up the back of him. This was quite scary for everbody but not only that Steve was a little bit unsteady at the roundabout and went through a few moments where he was hopping around trying to stay on the bike while oncoming cars got closer and closer, however he did recover and got round the roundabout quite nicely and we all cheered.
My parents and sister and her boyfriend drove past us hooting their horns as they headed to Lands End to meet us and as we cycled to Sennen the scenery was changing and the weather was getting misty and foggy, we were now getting a little bit cold as the sun disappeared into the sea mist
We cycled into the tourist trap that is now Lands End and myself and Jane felt relief but also a lot of satisfaction as we pedalled through the crowds of tourists to find the famous sign that is at Lands End.
My parents and debs with her boyfriend Jay saw us and started cheering along with lots of other tourists who were very interested to know what we had done. While at the sign we posed for photographs and chatted to random people and generally felt pleased to have made it. After 23 hard cycling days through all weather conditions meeting all sorts of people along the way.
All that was left to do was get the bikes in the car and just get back home to our little village and start celebrating with beers and more beers.
The bikes fitted nicely into my parents car once we had taken the wheels off and also taken the pannier racks off and then all that was left was putting the bags and luggage into Hayley and Steve’s car while myself and Jane got into my sisters car and we started the drive home.
This drive was estimated to take around six hours and to be honest it wasn’t far off. There was a fair amount of traffic but nothing really too bad. In the car we slept and we also raved to old school dance music and I was telling jokes and generally just buzzing from the adrenaline from succeeding in a tough challenge.
Once we arrived back in Middleton we got everyone’s beds ready and then we headed out down to our local pub where we had plenty of beer and we were greeted by the bar staff and the locals that had been following us via this blog.
Once we arrived home after being suitably drunk we ordered fast food and chatted a little bit more and then we soon all just drifted off to bed where we slept like logs.
This trip has been not only physically but mentally challenging on both of us, however, it has proved that once you put your mind to something, anything can be achieved. This could possibly be the start of something that will continue for a long time as I’m already planning my next adventure.
Although the trip has finished we will still be raising money for Help for Heroes. So please donate generously using the numerous ways on the site to do so. However, we will be writing a cheque for the money raised for this trip in October, which will proudly be handed over to Help for Heroes. Thank you all for following our trip and supporting us on our epic journey.