And so to our last day in the saddle:
Getting the bikes ready for the last time had a slightly nostalgic edge to it and we were glad that the overnight drizzle had stopped, with the promise of some better weather as the day wore on. Our B&B, despite being for all appearances in the middle of nowhere was very comfortable and also very profitable - another donation to Marie Curie: Thank you!
We started with an easy ride due north, up an empty and very straight forest track, with no traffic and briefly visited the Camster Cairns - a 5000 year old settlement, with dwellings simply made out of a massive pile of stones -shame we couldn't see how they kept the roof up!
The road continued dead straight for ages!The last 'big' town we visited was Wick - a good banana stop - and where we had the opportunity to visit
The 'street' (Ebenezer Place) is simply the door frontage of the Wallace hotel. Bit of a cheat really, but in the Guinness Book of Records. Out of Wick, we then only had a dozen miles left, but there was still time for one more last hill.
OK I know it doesn't look much in the photo, nor in comparison to some of the hills we'd done over the last two weeks, but it was a hill nonetheless, and the last one at that!
Over the hill and our first sight of John o'Groats and Orkney! We were able to coast to the coast!
And so to the signpost.
and the obligatory photo. Looking slightly more world-weary (but no thiner, since we were wearing so many layers to keep the cold wind out still despite the welcome sunshine!) and VERY pleased to have finished!
So. In 13 days we've got through 981 miles, 15,535m of climbing (no really, I checked it!), 21 counties, about 3 cwt cake and 13 full English/Scottish breakfasts!
We've both had a fantastic time but would not have been able to do any of it without Mary's help every day. It was great not having to carry all the stuff we needed and she always managed to find something new to eat at our pre-arranged stops. Thank you.
And thank you to to all the people who sponsored us for the ride - We are now collectively over £4000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care - a fantastic result! - but there's still time to add to the total if you would like.
Very well done. Congratulations on completing the ride and raising all that money. Thanks for sharing the experience with us.
ReplyDelete