Brighton to Barcelona 15th - 25th September 2010
We reached our final destination Barcelona on the 25th September at 1300 after an epic 815 mile fundraising cycle done over 10 days starting from Brighton.
Here is an account of our last day into Barca, just to give you a taster!
Terrassa into Barcelona - Final Day
The cycle route was very intricate now as we were so close to entering this major city. The GPS proved invaluable as did its user, Nigel Byrne, who was shouldering the responsibility of getting us safely to our final destination without going on a motorway, again.
The final climb was a long drag of just over three miles at an average gradient of about 6 per cent. It seemed to go on for ever as we only had a finite amount of time before our official reception into Barcelona.
At the top of the hill we stopped for photos, enjoying the wonderful view of the city below us. Our final destination was well within sight.
After annoying the traffic with our impromptu photo shoot we headed off down the mountain only to find a viewing point around the next corner.
We were greeted by family and friends, champagne and beer. The mayor’s office had sent a city official to officially greet us. The reception was quite overwhelming. The feeling of our accomplishment was yet to set in, but I’m sure it will over the next few days.
It has been a long journey, 815 miles to be precise, with a lot of personal challenges overcome. The group worked fantastically and were amazingly supported on route by our drivers, Nick and Ryan.
The planning of the trip was impeccable and a massive thanks should be aired to Nigel Byrne and Marco Spano for planning the route and to our own Michael Chambers, also known to us all now as Spanners, for organising all the accommodation and meals on route.
All pains and injuries seem so far away now, as do the mountain climbs.
I would like to think that we have done something great for the two Hospices we have been raising money for over the last eight months. For us Sussex group, we are all very proud of what little impact we have made to St Barnabas.
Right, I’ll say this one last time, because that’s what I do. If you haven’t donated by now, please do. This has been a very physically demanding challenge for all of us. We would love to raise even more money for St Barnabas. We have now cycled 815 miles over the Pyrenees and have burned approximately 60,000 calories, from Brighton to Barcelona.
Our elevation gain to date has been 38,167 feet or 11.633km. That’s 8,000 feet higher than Everest and 4,000 feet higher than a 747’s cruising altitude. It has been hard work but rewarding work.
Here’s to another B2B challenge in 2012.
