SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE FOR THE REPORTS AND CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS.

4 PEOPLE - Andrew and Joe Jordon-White, Rachel Thompson and Al Clark (see the photos!)

2 COUNTRIES - UK and Afghanistan

1 CHALLENGE - To Cycle from Lands End to John O 'Groats raising money for the injured soldiers charity -

                                                   TOE IN THE WATER

Andrew and Joe will be cycling the actual route in the - MISSION COMPLETE!

Rachel and Al will be cycling the route on cycle machines in

: 1,407 kms in 19 days around operational commitments: Over 74 km/day. 

19th October - 6th November 2009

PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY AND HELP RAISE MONEY FOR THIS AMAZING LIFE CHANGING CHARITY

£783.54 of the total raised has kindly been donated by 28 Engineer Regiment Group as a result of six of the Regiment running the 34th US Marine Corps Marathon in Bastion on Sunday 25th October.  Thank you so much to the runners and all who donated. 

Donations are still coming in for the charity cycle. This website will remain open until those in Afghanistan return to the UK.  We are continuing to raise money over the coming months and are confident we will hit the £8000 target. Thank you for your support.

The tri-service initiative TOE IN THE WATER (TITW) aims to inspire the men and women who have sustained often traumatic injuries, including the loss of limbs, to move beyond their disability and to become re-inspired by life. Competitive sailing is a physically and mentally challenging adventurous sport and provides a unique opportunity for injured men and women to sail and race on equal terms with their able-bodied contemporaries. The overarching aim of the project is to provide competitive world class racing to injured servicemen and women as an extension of their rehabilitation at the .

www.toeinthewater.org

In order to help small organisations like Toe in the Water keep their administrative costs to a minimum, and because we share a common purpose in supporting injured servicemen and women, Toe in the Water has teamed up with Help for Heroes and JustGiving so that you can raise money quickly and easily online.  Help for Heroes is a fundraising charity with the specific aim of raising money to fund projects which support injured servicemen, and Toe in the Water is one of those projects.

31 Oct 09 - UK:  Joe and Andrew have now completed day two and arrived at Hereford this evening.  So far Joe has had two punctures both of which were on the very busy A30 from Lands End.  We did not realise how hilly Devon and Cornwall are (we hope the Afghanistan team have been using their hill settings on hard!). The time is now 2116 hrs and we will soon be sound asleep ready for a 0600 hrs wake up to start another long 11 hour cycle!

UK: 1,006 kms to go.  Afghanistan: 434 kms to go

2 Nov 09 - Afghanistan - We're nearly there, only 4 more 5am starts!  Please continue to give generously to keep us motivated to the end.  Afghanistan: 278 kms to go

5 Nov 09 - Afghanistan and UK - FINAL 24hrs!  The cycle is going exceedingly well both in the UK and Afghanistan and we have around 24 hrs left to go.  UK: 192 kms to go.  Afghanistan: 87 kms to go

It has been a bad week for British forces in Afghanistan which makes this charity cycle even more worthwhile to help those who have been seriously injured.  In Afghanistan we have only 87 kms to go, so 1320 kms cycled over the past 18 days.  In the UK they have overcome punchers, gales, rain and many hills and are now on the final stages to get to John O'Groats.

5 Nov 09 - Cyclists in Afghanistan and the UK are connected:  At 0645 hrs UK time and 1115 hrs Afghanistan time, Rachel and Andrew spoke and compared stories of the cycle.  In the UK, Andrew and Joe were having breakfast in Inverness whilst Rachel and Al in Afghanistan had already done 43 kms 6 hours earlier.  The UK cyclists will soon catch the Afghanistan cyclists up.  Andrew said, "It has been horrendous and we never thought it would be this hard!  The weather has been awful and we are so sore.  However every mile is worth it to raise money for injured soldiers and Toe in the Water". 

All 4 cyclists despite aches, pains and tiredness are on track to finish together tomorrow.  The plan is to finish around the same time but in different time zones.

6 Nov 09 - JOHN O'GROATS - THE CYCLISTS FINISH!  After a very long 19 days in and 7 days in the , we have all reached John O'Groates!  There were 4 very happy but tired cyclists yesterday.

- We were up at 5am and completed the normal 43km session before breakfast and then did the final sprint to John O'Groates in the afternoon whilst being supported by colleagues and friends in Lashkar Gah.  See the victory photo as we finally reached 1,407kms!  Our legs have now relaxed and felt like lead in the evening.  We cannot wait for a huge lie in until 7am tomorrow!  Do keep in touch over the coming months and we look forward to seeing you when we safely get back to the in the Spring.

- The final two days were a battle of mind over matter as the head said yes and the legs said no. We made it into JOG on a relatively dry morning to see the stunning coastline. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we were the only people completing this challenge at this time of year and we raised some surprised comments from the locals! The scenery in Northern Scotland is both beautiful and a challenge to cycle but the support we've had where we've stopped on the way has been fantastic, particularly Trevor and Irene from the Bay Owl Inn in Dunbeath (we were cold, wet and had another puncture). Also to everyone who has donated or supported us in any way, many many thanks, we're very proud to have helped raise money for this charity.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us along the way and who has donated so incredibly generously to Toe in the Water.