Update 29/7/25 - We are now on day 11 of 15. Passing the Scottish boarder yesterday it is fair to say that fatigue and the monotony of riding day after day have set in. But spirits remain high, as does the cake intake, and the sun is shining as we ride out of Edinburgh. The end is in site but there are more hills and less coffee shops to encounter along the way but the one thing that keeps us going is the amazing charities we are doing this for.

This summer me (46) and my son, Marlow (8), are cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats unassisted, in what we think will be one of the fastest times for an under 9 year old.

We first thought of the idea last year as a useful excuse to maintain our ongoing coffee drinking and cake eating habit. We had been slowly increasing our cycling distances and at the age of 7, Marlow was already managing 120km rides (which usually required at least three cake stops). To accomplish our task in two weeks we would need to maintain that distance every day so we got serious with our training. Now as we prepare for the event we have set up an instagram page https://www.instagram.com/eatingtheelephant2025 to stream our progress and this page to capture sponsorship.

It was important for me that Marlow chose the Charities, and with some help from his teachers at Countess Wear Community School, he chose ELF (Exeter Leukaemia Fund) & Balloons, a Devon based bereavement support charity for young people.

i think he chose them mainly because he liked the names, but at age 8 that seemed as good a reason as any other.