FINAL DAY - THE BONKERS MAKES IT
The final day dawned with a mammoth 144 miles to cycle from Tiverton to Lands End. Much to the consternation of Support HQ the route was changed to find our Bonkers going straight down the A30.....But before he could even reach the A30 he had to conquer what Joel accurately described as the 'mountains of Crediton' - even Support HQ and Bertha found it quite hilly!!

The majority of the day saw Support HQ driving along the A30 stopping at virtually every 'P' stop to check Bonkers hadn't been squished (actually it was lovely and quiet!) - believe me there are loads and I wouldn't recommend this method of travelling down to Cornwall.

Looking back on the sponosorship a special mention must go to Ben and his amazing efforts to nag most of TFS into donating money...

And the best text message of support comes from Sammy for conjuring up a most amusing image of her drunken antics (Clapham lot think Ben's 30th!) and making us both laugh out loud!
So the final few hours saw our Bonkers struggling on to Lands End battling against a mighty south westerly wind and lots of hills - for some reason I always presumed you would go downhill to Lands End but that is not the case. He finally arrived in the pitch black wobbling his way to find the sign - but can you believe it - they take it in at night??!?!!! We did manage to find one John O'Groats sign though just to prove to Mr Foster that he really was there....come on Si - pay up! This whole ride is dedicated to Mum, the source of his grit and determination, a very special person in our Bonkers life who over the past couple of years has seen the inside of more hospitals than she would ever possibly care to have imagined but has continued to keep laughing in the face of adversity. Bonkers has said to me that if she can find a little bit more strength out of what he has achieved then the whole ride was worth it. SO - we've reached the end and I know support HQ is not alone in wondering WHY?! indeed, most of you have even dared to ask this question over the past few months. Well Support HQ is delighted to report that on the penultimate evening she got the answer - it seems our Bonkers started this journey with the ridiculous deadline with the idea in his head that he wanted to push himself to find out exactly what his breaking point is which gives rise to the fact that perhaps he never really expected to to finish this quest.....however he has only proved to himself that he doesn't seem to have a point at which he breaks...now that, my friends, is BONKERS! Day 8 What an achievement - Bonkers as cycled 133 miles today and has even managed to smile his way through the pain! It's all become a bit of a blur for Support HQ who is currently sat on A30 midway through the final day but i'll try my best to remember! We waved our Bonkers off at 8.30 after a fabuolus breakfast the great hospitality of our B&B hosts (list will appear tomorrow!) and he cycled his way through the glorious Wye Valley, down around Bristol, down to Bridgwater and onwards to Taunton. Support HQ was just out of Taunton when a text came through about a broken spoke. A quick U-turn and a meander through Taunton found a bike shop who gave a couple of spare spokes but refused to fit them....oh well, can't say the southerners are more generous than northerners!!! still as it was only a minor spoke our Bonkers decided to keep on going whilst support HQ went ahead to find a B&B. After consulting the map and Support HQ's mum (Linda!!) we remembered the B&B just outside of Tiverton where we all stayed for Tim and Saskia's wedding. Excellent - only not so excellent when Support HQ got there to find them having a private party and fully booked.! still they sent me a mile and half down the road to East Barton B&B just outside of Bickleigh - confronted by a gorgeously old and fat black flatcoat i decided this had to be the place to stay. Unfortunately she also said she didn't have any rooms but on seeing my crest fallen face and hearing the story of our Bonkers she promptly changed her mind and took me up to the most fabulous room - what a gorgoeous place! Bonkers finally arrived at 7.30pm having not listened to my directions at all and going a few miles in the wrong direction....men and directions... need I say more?!? Washed and refreshed we headed out to Cadleigh to a gorgeous pub with a roaring fire and treated ourselves to bangers and mash. Our Bonkers seemed to be a little delirious following his mammoth achievement and started reminiscing about his ride so far. It seems that he hasn't really had time to think and put the world to rights as total concentration is needed but he did say that he tried to think of his favourite song of all time to sing along to in his head and wait for it....all he good think about was Eye of the Tiger......yes it seems all those drugs and red bull did have a bad effect. so we find ourselves near the end of this epic journey but with the biggest day of all ahead of us....but you all know our Bonkers - he is definietly going to finish on the day he said...! Day 7 Support HQ is feeling tired and weary after a very long day of driving and supporting so imagine how our Bonkers is feeling.....! Having left at 7.30am Support HQ was happily trucking along the A49 expecting to catch site of Bonkers quite far north when she was suddenly confronted by a flourescent yellow and red bullet coming in the other direction....yes, our Bonkers had flown like the wind and was surprisingly far south. Last night was spent just South of Warrington (apparently cycling through Wigan at dusk is not to be recommended should any of you supporters be thinking of copying Bonkers on his route). Tonight we find ourselves way down south having come through Ludlow, Leominster and Hereford. what has surprised me about today is just how fast this man can cycle - there is me pottering along and taking a detour to some nice village along the way and then finding myself having been overtaken by Bonkers and having to catch him up...and all this on very poorly knees! Support HQ made it to a lovely B&B having stopped off at Boots to stock up on knee supports, nurofen and other pain relieving equipment and Bonkers was not too far behind. Day 6 Being back on English soil seems to be having a wondrous affect on our Bonkers who is currently powering his way through Lancashire. He certainly seems a much chirpier person all round today and is determined to make up those lost miles. So much so that he has asked me to confirm that he still intends to finish on Sunday as planned. As Claire stated, given the huge quantity of drugs he is taking, how can we be sure he is in England? We are indeed hoping that he's not ended up in Wales and is hallucinating...! Personally I put it down to the healing powers of our usher extra-ordinaire Mr Hugo Davies. So if any of you are planning on taking a trip to Lands End over the weekend to cheer him in let support HQ know and we can arrange a meeting point. With Bonkers still quite far north, I shall be setting out very early tomorrow morning rather than this evening to meet him and cheer him on over the final few days. But fear not, being the IT guru that he is, Bonkers has some gadget that allows him to connect onto the web from anywhere in the UK so regular updates shall still be posted. Keep those support messages coming...! Day 5 update Having arrived safely back across the border into trusty England Bonkers is very pleased to achieve what is quite an enormous milestone in this epic journey. He always reckoned that it would take four and half days to get out of Scotland but what he hadn't put into the equation was the wind and atrocious weather conditions at the start. Still, he is only a day behind and support HQ is sure that he can make it up as long as the knees hold out. Three years ago this day Bonkers and support HQ happened to meet at the wedding of some very good friends, Ben and Lucy. Having sent them an email today blaming them for the fact that I now find myself a cycling widow I was told that they were merely facilitators to the whole thing and in fact it was all my own fault - fair point! (happy anniversary Ben and Lucy!!) Apart from the extremely sore knees, imagine being on your own day after day and having to keep those legs turning for 8 hours on the trot and that brain from wandering off thinking of far flung holidays and being nearly eaten by sharks in the seyschelles....we do have to admire our Bonkers for what he has achieved so far. GO BONKERS GO....! Day 5 16.35pm - The Bonkers has arrived in ENGLAND!!! Currently sat on grass in Gretna Green next to a marriage booth..?! The back is holding out nicely thanks to Lauren and all her hard work over the past few months but the pain in the knees is increasing constantly. Currently munching several nurofen coupled with red bull every few hours...well they say it gives you wings...?! Support HQ has to dash - having a horrid day and everything going wrong! More update later Day 4 update Having detoured off via Glasgow in search of a new spoke our Bonkers made it back to his planned route. About 7pm a call into support HQ needing access to a computer in order to find a B&B as the place he found himself in did not have any. Unfortunately support HQ was stood on a doorstep in Reigate waiting for the Fosters to get home to kindly cook dinner. Left to his own devices our Bonkers knocked on a door of a friendly Scot who proceeded to take him in, phone a B&B and even get in his car and show our Bonkers how to get there....hasten to add that Bonkers didn't go via car but followed on his trusty bicycle to ensure he didn't break his challenge rules. So the happy ending to the day was that Bonkers was safely tucked up in bed on a farm in Mauchline just south of Kilmarnock. Having charged up his mobile I believe that all of you who have left messages have now been replied to. Keep the messages coming - they are really, really appreciated. Day 4 Yesterday ended with our Bonkers having cycled some 200km in a lovely old pub in 'Inversomewhere'....a pleased Bonkers having made up at least some of the lost time and the sun even came out I believe. Last heard from Bonkers at lunchtime cycling along the banks of Loch Lomond with a yet another broken spoke and another plea to find a bike shop. He is currently detouring off route to Glasgow in search of another friendly Scotsman. Mobile battery is very low so phone off nearly all the time now until he can find a suitable charger. Update shortly when I hear more.... Day 3 Imagine your worst nightmare and times it by ten - that was the summary of our Bonkers at about eleven o'clock this morning in the torrential rain and heavy winds. Aching knees and cold hands seemed to be the main problem. Still - the Bonkers kept on going only to be scuppered an hour or so later by a couple of broken spokes. A call into the support HQ and a quick internet search found a very helpful young scots bloke happy to help. The Bonkers turned back to Fort William, dropped off his bike and went to warm up, dry out and eat a steak and kidney pie resulting in a much cheerier Bonkers.! The main observation of the episode was that going in the other direction back up north seemed a whole lot easier with the wind helping instead of hindering...who said going downhill to Lands End was easier?! The plan for today is to keep on going to ensure that the deficit of distance doesn't fall below 100km which he can hopefully make up over the next few days. Thank you to everyone for heading the pleas and for all the text messages that are flooding into Bonkers - it makes it much easier when you know you're not alone! Days 1 and 2 - BONKERS IS OFF... Having had a six hour wait at Aberdeen airport due to a change in flight time by our trusty airlines, our Bonkers was well and truly ready to go when dawn broke on John O'Groats on Saturday morning. We would love to say that the weather was glorious but in truth for the past two days it has been chucking it down with rain and there is a violent wind blowing straight into the face of our very own Bonkers. So much so that a very weary person stopped 30 miles short of his first day destination and 20 miles short yesterday - albeit after 8 hours of cycling each day. We knew it was one tough schedule but I think the disbelief going through our Bonkers mind is the fact that even going down hill he was still having to pedal furiously in order to stop the wind from blowing him back up...!!! The forecast today is atrocious but after that things do look to be improving! Luckily the Scots have been very hospitable and kindly B&Bs have kept him supplied with warm food, ice for the back and lovely beds. And when he does get time to look, I believe the scenery is quite stunning! Most of the time Bonkers has his phone switched off but if you want to leave messages of support they would certainly help to spur the boy on and help him towards that delicious cornish pasty in a weeks time! GO BONKERS GO. Thank you to all of you so far for your support and if you can think of anyone else who might want to sponsor him on his epic journey feel free to pass this website on. Many thanks for your support.