(Despite what the title might say, we were definitely in Andorra again today, our last day of riding the Pyrenees).

We faced today with a sense of mixed feelings. Knowing it was our last day on the bike in Andorra was a little sad, but by the same token we were all extremely tired from all the challenging riding we'd been doing and a rest was probably overdue. Personally as in Chamonix two years earlier, I was a tad more apprehensive about today knowing we'd come this far without anyone being hurt aside from a couple of minor bumps and scratches and I was crossing my fingers that nothing dramatic would happen today. Given the challenging nature of this 'enduro' type of mountain biking with its emphasis on going down really steep hills, the risk is ever present for a serious accident, and I'm always thankful at the end of each ride that the Snowballs are all in one piece.

The other thing niggling at me this morning as we ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant, was knowing what was to come. In order to incorporate what Martin calls 'Skyfall' into the ride today, we needed to redo the first part of the ride from Wednesday, namely the arduous 'Smugglers' Climb' which is a nine minute climb going flat out at an average 20% gradient followed by the absolute beast of a climb called 'Sharks Fin' (on Strava it's called 'Could be Worse') which I can testify as being the most painful two and half minutes I have ever spent on a bike. Both these climbs are done at about 2400m to 2600m above sea level, which means everything aches. Your legs ache, as do your arms, fingers, lungs and your eyes feel like they're popping out of your head. You're gasping for air like someone's forcing you under water.

Of course both climbs are optional but it wouldn't seem right to come all this way and not give them another go today. Besides, on Wednesday when Mitchell smashed the Sharks Fin and recorded the second fastest segment time on Strava, I had forgotten to turn my Garmin on, so technically there was no proof I'd done it in the first place.

I also sensed today was a bit of a mission for Courtney. On Wednesday she gave up on the 'Sharks Fin' fairly early, having to walk the rest which in itself is a challenge. I wasn't sure but I was thinking she was going to give it a real crack today.

And so we set off, after the 45 minute or so journey in the bus to take us to Port d'Envalira, we each jumped on the bike with a certain sense of trepidation. Wendy and Mitchell took off first, setting a steady tempo, well ahead of the other group members. Courtney and I hung back to get a shot of Ventolin before getting going.

We each got through this first climb in our own time, and enjoyed the solitude of the mountain as we waited for the others in the group, some of whom did a bit of walking along the way.

Up next was Sharks Fin, and off we went. Mitchell approached it just like Wednesday, full speed ahead, only today he got about half way up and couldn't go any further. It's that type of effort. If you doubt yourself for a second, or don't have the desire to really hurt yourself today, you will simply stop. And you will end up walking the rest of the way. Sensing what had happened to Mitchell, my mind very nearly switched me off also. Somehow I managed to push on and I recall being only metres from the top and very nearly putting a foot down which would have 'disqualified' me in Martin's book. Fortunately I didn't.

Feeling more physically exhausted than I've ever felt before, I collapsed at the top, waiting for the rest of the crew.

With Mitchell walking his bike, and Wendy not far behind doing the same, I was amazed to see Courtney still pedalling away. As she was to acknowledge later, she did stop a couple of times to put her foot down and in a bid to catch her breath, but nonetheless she had managed to pedal the whole way, no walking. This was a proud moment for her and Wendy and I - she really had set herself mentally for this climb, and whilst she didn't technically make Martin's exclusive list, she certainly made ours and more importantly she showed herself what is possible when you really set your mind to it.

As per Wednesday, after a brief lolly stop to allow everyone to re-catch their breath, we traversed the rocky section to follow, feeling more confident and capable this time round, not quite 'dab free', but certainly more accomplished than our first go at it.

We then commenced 'Skyfall', the track Martin had been eager to show us. And as the name suggests, it was as if the descent began in the sky. Not surprisingly there was snow at the starting point.

After what seemed like an eternity waiting for Martin and Will to clear the track of boulders and shale which get washed onto the track by heavy rain, we made our way down, a lake at the bottom our target. Gradually we worked our way through it. It was tough. Extremely steep and very loose, we basically skidded our way down the side of the mountain. Eventually we arrived at the lake which was supposed to be our lunch stop, but the few hundred thousand mozzies that converged on us almost immediately put paid to that. The kids described it as a scene out of the Hunger Games such was the ferocity with which the mozzies attacked us. If there was a Strava segment for getting away from the lake as fast as possible, we all would have broken it.

Eventually finding a relatively mozzie free zone to munch on our baguettes and tuna and crackers, we then proceeded to complete the rest of 'Skyfall'. Unfortunately in order to get the full benefit of the descent, Martin prescribed a short 'push' as he called it which sounded quite innocent and pleasant, which turned out to be a 30 minute 'hike a bike' up a steep, narrow, overgrown, root infested and rocky trail through the Val d'Incles which is effectively a huge valley, popular with walkers. Each of us in those moments were silent but for the heavy breathing and expletive laden thoughts flowing through our heads. Occasionally these thoughts would become vocal.

Finally, we reached the top of Martin's little 'push'. From there it was literally all downhill with a mixture of flowing natural single track, peppered with little complexities along the way, whether they be little streams with slippery rocks, large boulders or sneaky little rocks concealed by tufts of grass or crisscross tree roots.

Finally, the end had come and we found ourselves back at the L'Abarsel in Soleil, our lunch venue from Wednesday, about one minute before we were hit with a huge deluge of rain, the first we'd seen during our stay in Andorra. As the rain drenched our bikes and everything not under cover, we soaked up the euphoria of having accomplished something quite amazing, and washed it down with a nice cold beer. (Courtney and Mitchell got to wash it down with a lemon Fanta).