What an incredible event, early on Sunday morning approx 4500 keen cyclists set off for an epic ride with closed roads and motorcycle outriders. The Perthshire scenery was stunning and the support from the locals and tourists alike made the event truly memorable, and one I will do again!

After a night on red wine and pasta, and a 6.00 am departure, we eventually got of to a slow start at 7.45 am , legs feeling finally awake after 10 miles and many hills. I eventually hitched a ride behind a racing tandem ridden by a nice couple from Perth covering 5 miles at 25mph plus pulled my average speed up and I dug deep until the 40 mile stop at around 10.00 am when I got off my bike to find my legs not working! After a comfort stop and a Gel boost back on for the final 51 miles which took us up Schiehallion to the "King of the Hill" section - the geographic centre of Scotland - with a fast down hill section at 45 mph plus life was good. The final 5 miles had a nasty and very steep assent just when you thought you had nothing left!

My final time was 4 hrs 51 minutes - an average of 16.7 MPH inc stops , and beating the challenge Andy set me on his marathon time by 3 mins and putting me in the top 40% of the field!

Thanks again for all the sponsorship