Dear All,

A big, big thank you to each and every one of you for sponsoring me and supporting me during my emotional rollercoaster that was the cycle from London to Barcelona!

The trip began on a very cold and rainy Wednesday……the bus dropped us off at the bottom of a hill…which you’ve guessed it, we had to climb!  All the SPARKS staff had surprised us, by coming to wave us off, which was great, apart from the fact that it meant there was a huge crowd of people watching as I tried to ignore how terrified I was and pretend that I was as much of an athlete as the rest of the people looked as I wobbled up the hill with no chance to warm up….it was a lot of pressure…..!!

However, I made it and the next few days were amazingly relaxing, the scenery was beautiful, and without the pressure of daily life, I was finding that I was enjoying the cycling and the eating!!! (Everytime we stopped cycling we were given loaves of malt loaf, flap jacks, cereal bars and carbohydrate drink! Is it any wonder that I lost no weight from 11 days of exercise!!)

My fears before I left were that I would be the slowest on the trip and not be able to finish. All these fears were founded on day 5, when we were faced with climb, after climb, after climb for 90 miles in the baking sunshine. Riding in a group, I was finding it hard to gain momentum coming down hill to help me up the next hill and I was constantly finding myself miles behind everyone else, watching their lycra-clad bottoms racing to the summit. (It didn’t help that my budget bike weighed a ton compared the feather light bikes being ridden by all the bankers!!)

Towards the end of the afternoon when I was battling a particularly long hill on my own, a long way behind everyone else, for what felt like the millionth time, I felt the tears start to prickle. After an internal argument with myself, I lost the battle and began to cry. Which only made the problem worse…because when you cry, you can’t breathe…and breathing is quite important when going uphill!!! ; ) Luckily the guides were amazing and they kept me going for the rest of the afternoon (without the shame of having to get into the van! Phew!!)

As the days went on, I got stronger and began to think that I could make it after all. The ongoing fabulous scenery and the camaraderie of the team really helped. We bonded to the degree that people began to care less and less about finding somewhere private to pee at the tea stops and we all got used to the luxurious loos behind trees, bushes, parked vans or even long grass!We cycled through rain, thunder strorms, high winds and the baking sun….the only thing we didn’t have was snow!!

Day 10 was the Pyrennees – the climb was over 50km long, with the last 13km being particularly steep, again I was a long way behind the pack, but the scenery was breathtaking and with Flashdance “What a feeling” on my Ipod, I felt invincible!!!! As I turned the final hair pin bend, I saw the group that were already at the top, cheering and clapping…it was an incredible feeling….so of course…. I cried!!!

So I’m left with incredible memories, ridiculous tan lines that I have no chance to even out (Only the top half of my fingers are brown from my gloves, my arms are brown to my shoulders and my legs look as if I have ridiculously long socks on with very white thighs) I have lost no weight and have quads to rival Simon Shaw’s!!

And thanks to YOU, I have raised around £3,000 for the children who will never be able to ride a bike and experience the sheer joy and relief of finishing an 844 mile bike ride!!!!!

What did I do at the finish line…..?! I cried of course!!!!

Was it worth the months of not drinking, endless cycling in the rain? ….Yes, absolutely !

Would I do it again? NEVER!!!!!!!!

Now who’s got the wine? xxxx

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