So the mighty day has passed, and to be truthful I didn't suffer as much as I had predicted! I finished in a grand total of 6 hours, including 2 & 1/2 hours rest stops, the worst side effect of which was a slightly tender bottom for the next few days.

 

Queuing up for my bus to Glasgow I met 2 lovely young scots from Ellen just north of Aberdeen, and so we all decided to lump together and tackle the task ahead as one well-oiled cycling machine (by this I don't mean that we all tried to hop on the same bike...but simply that we stayed with each other as a group). So comforted by my new cycling companions we pushed on, after what can only be described as the most disastrous bus journey in the history of disastrous bus journeys...ask me for further details if curious...

We were set off in groups of about 20 at a time, with a couple of minutes interval between each to prevent congestion on the roads. There were 4 rest stops, or what were ironically titled as "feed stations" en route, i say this because by the time we reached every stop there was evidently no food left thanks to greedy early birds passing through...Fortunately we were blessed with a sainsbury's nearing Linlithgow and I made an emergency stop for pasta and lucozade.

The weather was fantastic, having rained torrents in Edinburgh all week, to then have sunshine and clear skies on Sunday was a near miracle. A few dedicated competitors were dressed up to the nines in a variety of costumes, from the Incredibles to a man in a hawaiian skirt and blue wig complete with balloons attached to the rear wheel. Personally I stuck to the cycling shorts and charity t-shirt look. Simple and elegant I feel.

 

Upon arrival in Edinburgh we were greeted with the promised "goody bag", water and medals and crowds of roaring fans...i.e. mum and dad with a camera.

Overall a great success of a day, and thank you once again to everybody who donated for their generosity and support. I hope to talk to you all soon,

tarrah for now,

Hannah.

p.s. there is a small collection of photos which I have uploaded for your perusal at your pleasure...