Whoa there cycling fans!

On Wednesday 20th May Tara and I set out from Lands End and 10 days later on Friday 29th May we arrived at John o'Groats! Why did we do this? To raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. We cycled an average of 92 miles per day, fuelled by tons of chicken pieces, pasta, spuds and cakes. We limited ourselves to just one pint of regional ale per night. Except when we had two. This was a serious ride.

The route was as follows: Lands End to Callington (hilly), Callington to Burnham-on-Sea (hillier), Burnham to Ludlow (Welsh bits), Ludlow to Wigan (northern bits), Wigan to Penrith (mountainous), Penrith to Cumnock (windy), Cumnock to Crianlarich (wet and windy), Crianlarich to Drumnadrochit (fast and wet and windy), Drumnadrochit to Brora (short and sweet), Brora to John o'Groats (shorter and sweeter).

Day 1. That's us above ready to leave Lands End. Look how happy we look. Clearly not knowing what pain was to come, we set out in joyful spirits. A couple of work colleagues, Steph and Phil cycled the first day with us and were heroic. Should've been 84 miles but our sat nav got us lost and we had to cycle an extra 11 miles - but still they they made it!

Day 2 Tara's mum Gwyn joined the team helping Eileen out with food shopping, map reading and general bike cleaning duties. By now we had passed through Devon and reached Somerset but no cider for us. Oh no, we were very disciplined and only dranks Murphys. Far more nutritious!

Day 3 took us across the old Severn Bridge into Wales where we hallucinated for the first time. Halfway across the bridge was a man walking towards us. "Where you going?" we asked. "England." came the reply. Obvious really. And we can confirm Wales is hillier than England.

Day 4 I broke a second spoke on my back wheel and Plush Hill Cycles in Church Stretton replaced them both at a total cost of £1.60. The lovely bikeman recommended we replace the wheel so of we set for Stan's Cycles in Shrewsbury where we drank coffee and ate cakes until the mechanics had finished. Total cost £80! We ate a lot of cakes. Tara and me think this is probably the best bike shop in the world.

Day 5 saw us unable to find Kendal but we did find Shap Fell. Isn't the Lake District pretty?  The climb to the top was just over 8 miles. At the peak it was just 8C! Absolutely freezing! Why did we go this way? Because it was there!

Day 6 and we hit Scotland. From Carlisle it was uphill all the way and into a strong headwind. It was the lowest point for Tara and me. Finally arrived at the hotel near Kilmarnock where the kitchen was due to close in 20 minutes at 9pm. Great timing eh? Just made it. Steak and chips and a pint of McEwens brought to my room. That helped! 

Day 7 was much better as we turned north towards Glasgow - this day we were buffeted by side winds as we wound through Kilmarnock and Paisley and shot over the Erskine Bridge. We met up with some friends by Loch Lomond and they gave us a lift. I don't mean in a car or anything. As in spirits, see. And we found a beautiful cycle path that ran the entire length of the loch. Long , flat and quiet - just like my tummy!

Day 8 was always to be our longest day. 104 miles from Crianlarich to Drumnadrochit.  These are real names, by the way. And although it never stopped raining we cycled faster that day than at any other time during the ride. We had our second hallucination in Glencoe where it looked like there was a man playing the bagpipes on a hill. In the rain. But it was true - there he was! Magnificent. Then a long cycle alongside Loch Ness, which is beautiful and flat but the road alongside it isn't. But hats off to all the truck drivers who showed remarkable patience as they crept past us up the hills.

Day 9 saw my friend and neighbour Paul join us. Local lad, (well, Oban) yet he wasn't able to explain why our Drumnadrochit landlady told us not to cycle the way we had planned. And she also demanded we park our Ford Transit around the back of the house! She said the local hill was too steep and the van was too intimidating. I'll tell you this, she knows nothing about vans!

Day 10 was full of surprises. Despite BBC Carol telling us it was to be a fine day we caught at least 4 heavy showers. Now, you have to know that in Scotland showers come down sideways. This is a probem when you're descending hills at 45 mph. But we finally made it over the brow of the last hill and there before us was the dark blue North Sea with The Orkneys shimmering in the background. Yes, the sun was shining! Off at last with the rain jackets and all three of us rode to the finish line with our Macmillan shirts glistening in the sun. It was emotional.  

Donations poured in while we were away - fuelled no doubt by our What'sapp group which by day 10 had swelled to 35 followers - a complete surprise for us. The constant flow of messages coming in really lifted us and kept our legs going all day every day.

A BIG thank you must go to Peter and his dad Fred at Welling Cycles. The free servicing and advice they gave has been huge. They provided tons of inner tubes and spare parts to support our ride but all we needed from the big box was two spokes. Yes that's right - we had NO PUNCTURES!

But the best thing of all was the support of my wife Eileen and Tara's mum Gwyn who were right behind us all the way in the support vehicle. Except for when they were in front. Anyway, they fed us and watered us and prepared the rooms each night and cleared them all the following morning. Why, all we had to do was cycle! They were immense and we would not have been able to complete this challenge in 10 days without them.

Now then, the serious stuff. Macmillan supports those people affected by cancer. I have lost my Dad, Tony (70), my big brothers Gerry and Terry (both 49) and my little sister Sally (just 43) to cancer. And Tara has lost her gorgeous Nan, Jo Jo to the dreaded disease too and we think Macmillan does a fantastic job and this is our way of giving something back. We set ourselves a huge target of raising £5,000 but as you can see we have passed that now! Thank you to all who donated so generously. 

As you know, Mrs R is a wise one and she says "Never trust a man with testicles" but trust us when we say donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Once you donate they'll send your money through to Macmillan. So, it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs to the charity. 

You can also donate by texting TWCR60 to 70070 with the amount e.g. £10.

And don't forget to click on the Gift Aid box. We just love taking money off the government and you should too!

Thank you for all your support,

Colin & Tara xx