29/6
Recovery is strange - I am now suffering from slightly swollen feet - apparently my body is storing water fearful I am going to dehydrate again - it was bad yesterday but frequent trips to the loo mean it's reassured that I am not going to hurt it again and they are going down!
30/6
I really appreciate all the good wishes and sponsorship (18k raised ) as I return slowly to normality - the massage yesterday definitely helped to reconnect my body!
16/7
Back to normal - unsurprisingly I did lose weight and I am leaner than for many years - just need to maintain my new found shape.
Final reflections:-
Just after 1430 on Friday 27th June I finally rode into John O'Groats - it was emotional - after all the effort of the last 12 days to finally make it was an amazing relief and sense of achievement.
My hope for an easy last day was in vain we had some hard hills, an easterly wind which made it feel like two pedals forward and one back and a tendon in my left knee was screaming at me but the heavy rain forecast held off, until our minibus trip back to Inverness, we even had some sunshine!
Having taken photographs I phoned John which made me more emotional and thanks to Lucy and Mark who also phoned from Ormiston - I then celebrated with a Starbucks coffee and a portion of hot fresh crispy chips!!
After a mandatory hot shower and celebration meal I had a fitful sleep and was up early for my flight back to Luton for another emotional reunion with John - first time his lip has quivered and eyes welled up in 28 years of marriage - except when we watched Out of Africa!!
It was strange not getting back on my bike on Saturday, which will arrive home on Monday, but will be up for sale as I do not see cycling as a future hobby - we visited some great areas of the country but I would rather go back and hike them with John and walking boots on.
My body feels strange - slightly achy - not quite all connected - and I was ravenous all day not sure if it was low glycogen or just being used to eating more!
I now know I have achieved Lands End to John O'Groats the hard way - the leader Martyn Ryan likes cycling challenges and hence why we went over two mountains in the cyclists top 100, we did it in 13 days ( not 14/15 or 21, as the group who came in after us.) My first clue came when I arrived in Clun - we came over several hills to get there and the man in the B&B looked surprised and said that there was an easier route in!! We did 989 miles, the direct route is 874miles.
The bike had no punctures south to north - so given my training nightmare - it was amazing.
My posterior survived unscathed thanks to daily applications of chamois cream - best buy - and I didn't fall off once unlike the leader who fell off 3 times and on one occasion hit my back wheel as he went - but I stayed rock solid!
Although some of my ascents were slow on the descents I went faster on a bike than I ever thought possible or necessarily wanted to go and it was 100% concentration for 13 days to ensure I was not unseated by potholes, mud, vehicles or wandering sheep!
The physical and mental emotions of this trip are best summed up by the spec savers cheese sandwich advert - worth watching the 30 second clip!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cgXJlo8OeBk