Heather Fell tackles John O’Groats to Lands End - The finish

I can’t believe it is all over, I reached the final destination of Lands End nine days after leaving John O’Groates. It has taken me a couple to days to collect my thoughts and recover, but it’s already starting to become a distant memory.

A few days before the start we were advised to enjoy every day and cherish the moment, even when our legs were on fire, we were battling into a headwind or the rain stinging our faces. Thankfully I took this on board and as a result appreciated every pedal stroke, okay maybe my memory is already playing tricks on me and being selective, but the truth is I really did love it.

The final few days were tough, the West country threw everything it could find at us, there were hills after hills, a consistent strong headwind and what felt like relentless rain. We spent our last night at base camp celebrating how far we had come and basically presuming we had made it, I think it was partly this complacency that was to blame for Sunday being one of the toughest days. With “only” 93 miles to pedal - yes it is funny how my perception of distance has changed after eight days of 105 miles plus - I presumed the final push down through cornwall would be the equivalent of the victory leg on the Tour de France.

For the first time on the trip I was cold and almost miserable, conversations had started to dry up and we were finding ourselves actually discussing what is happening in the “real” world. Yes the physical conditions on the final day were tough but it is only now that I realise what made it so challenging for me; I did not want to leave the bubble I had lived in for the last nine days, basically I didn’t want it to end. In a strange way I was grateful for the poor weather we were greeted with at the finish line, it made the emotions and goodbyes slightly easier to deal with.

This has been a trip of a lifetime and made even more worthwhile by raising money for the Bath Rugby Community Foundation. If you have enjoyed reading my blog then please feel free to click on the link below and help me raise as many £’s as I cycled in miles:

virginmoneygiving.com