We did it!

Yes, I am very proud to say that at 4pm on Monday 29th June 2009 I had pedalled 166 miles from Whitehaven in Cumbria to my home town of Hartlepool.  It was a tremendously hard four days but something that I am very glad to have completed.

Day 1 - We travelled to Whitehaven by mini bus and set off at lunchtime to pedal the 34 miles to Keswick.  It was a warm humid day so we made sure we rehydrated adequately and re-fuelled with a curry.

Day 2 - Leaving Keswick we needed to get to Penrith by 2pm to watch the Lion's game.  No comment. Afterwards we set off to complete the 39 miles for the day and got to Langwathby.

Day 3 - We always knew this would be our hardest day and it lived up to it.  We had to gain a lot of height (up to 800m) and the terrain was not always ideal ranging from boggy march land to loose rock.  By the end of the day we had covered another 37 miles and were very pleased to see Rookhope.

Day 4 - The dash to the line.  This was by far our furthest day as we had to cover 56 miles.  large sections were on disused railway lines and downhill paths so the miles flew by until we stopped in Durham city for a quick refuel.  The last 25 miles were a blur as we picked up the pace and we reached sunny Hartlepool at 4pm.  Several well desreved beers then followed.

I need to thank all of you who have already generously donated.  It certainly spurred me on when things got tough.  Not all of the donations are on line so I will need to update the total.  Ideally the best way to donate is via this web site as Gift Aid is paid by the Government and that all adds up.  If you would prefer to send me a cheque then please make it payable to Zoes place.

Once again thank you for all your generosity and support.

It means a lot.

Paul.