At 4pm last Friday my father and I (my brother unfortunately had to drop out with a knee injury after 3 days) rolled into John o’Groats to complete our bike ride. I believe I am now due to be entered in the Guinness book of records as the least fit person to cycle from Land’s End to John o’Groats and climb Mount Kilimanjaro (although Chris Moyles may have a claim on this).

The numbers below pretty much sum up the journey:

1,018.4: miles cycled

17,291: metres in vertical height climbed over the 14 days (this is almost like cycling to the summit of Mount Everest from sea level twice over and also why I had to push my bike uphill a few times)

44.6: maximum speed in mph achieved (think I could have gotten closed to 50mph on this hill but wimped out)

1: times I was allowed to map-read on the 2^nd day

7: miles added unnecessarily by my lack of navigational instincts when map-reading on the 2^nd day (as well as two 25% gradient hills)

0: times I was allowed anywhere near a map after the 2^nd day

3: times I wanted to give up in the first 2 days (I am a wimp)

670: maximum altitude in metres cycled at (highest public road in Britain – I vehemently protested against cycling up this hill and was offered a lift by a man in a tractor as I “…looked like I was about to die”)

1: visits to A & E

3: countries cycled through

1: occasions lunch stolen by seagull (tuna baguette in Bristol)

70: age of man who overtook me when cycling up the first hill we encountered on the entire trip

1: tubs of sudocrem purchased

10: weight loss in lbs

76: quantity of 200mg ibuprofen tablets consumed (I’ll be needing that kidney transplant soon then)

1: times overtaken by elderly person on a mobility scooter (I was very tired and emotional at the time)

248: number of funny looks from passers-by due to my bizarre white hand tan (no it isn’t a tribute to Michael Jackson!)

So, to summarise, I found it pretty tough but I did it!

However, a number far more significant than all those above is 500.

This is the number of people who were diagnosed with a brain tumour during the 2 weeks while I was away on this bike ride.

Unlike many other cancers, survival of patients with brain tumours has not improved significantly in the last fifteen years and average life expectancy for an adult with a malignant brain tumour without treatment remains around three months.

Brain Tumour UK, the charity we supported on this bike ride, uses donations to effect significant research into the causes, cures and treatments of brain tumours.

If you have not already, please consider a donation towards this worthwhile cause using the website below:

http://www.justgiving.com/tombrianeddielejog

To all of you that have already donated thank you so much, your support was a fantastic motivating factor during those long days on the road.

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

Tom