Epilogue

Three weeks ago we set off on our journey from Lands End, not knowing exactly what lay ahead of us.  Looking back, we now know - 20 days of cycling in a range of different weather conditions across a wide range of terrain, covering 1,019 miles in all.  This was a far tougher ride than the north to the south of France four years ago, and more difficult than I had expected.  I found the hills of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset; the mountains of Scotland; and the remnants of hurricane Katya all very challenging.  But we were blessed with a safe journey overall; some fantastic views; 7 completely dry days; and the company of many fine people along the way.

And, for me, all this made the journey worthwhile - life is not always sunny and easy; sometimes it is tough, and the sad news last week that Steve's young son Chris had lost his fight against cancer brought to mind the importance of the work that Suzette and others like her do in supporting families with life-limited children.  So I am proud to be able to wear the Cherished Memories shirt and to ask people to sponsor us.

There are many memories I shall cherish from the last three weeks - the trek up and across Exmoor (the lady in the Post Office stores said "You'll be climbing then" - and boy was she right); the birds hedge-hopping alongside us as we rode by the mouth of the River Severn, looking over to Wales; the views of the mountains of Scotland - here particularly the contrast between leaning into the wind to stay upright in the wild weather of the southern uplands, cycling through low cloud as we made our way over the Grampians and the Cairngorms, and the delight of the sunny clear day as we climbed through the Spittal of Glenshee with its fabulous views.  I shall also remember the ride along the top of Scotland from Bettyhill to John O'Groats - and the absolutely delightful views of that northern coast.

My final blog would not be complete without some "thank you"s.

A very big thank you to my two cycling companions, Pete and Ken to whom I owe a great debt - for their resilience, encouragement, good humour; for helping me along during the harder times of the ride; and for the brilliant bonhomie that made 20 days of physical exertion enjoyable.

Thanks also to Malcolm, DB, Lynds and Louise who came out to meet us along the way, to Simon and Sarah, and Dave and Jude who opened their homes to put us up, and to all those others who so generously supported Cherished Memories through the Just Giving web site and those we met en route - Frank at Great Torrington, Katie at Bishops Lydeard, the Parker family and Judy at Ross-on-Wye, and Malcolm at Chorley.

And thank you to all blog followers who have encouraged me to make this record of the ride and whose support has helped me along.

And finally I thank God for keeping us safe and giving us a fantastic experience, that I shall never forget!

PS. If you feel moved to give or even to give more to the work of Cherished Memories, the just giving web site is still open for a while at www.justgiving.com/teams/lejog 


Now, what's next on my bucket list ...