And now, the end is here…

…and so I face the final curtain.

That is the end of my adventure.  I left home at 10pm on Wednesday 29 May and walked back through the door of my house at 11pm on Thursday 13 June.

Those of you who know me well will know that I like data.  So a few statistics:

• Distance travelled: 1,023 miles
• Time actually riding the bike: 76 hours (3 days and 4 hours)
• Average speed: 13.4 mph
• Maximum speed reached: 36.8 mph (downhill at Clun near Shrewsbury)
• Height climbed: 58,939 feet (more than twice that of Everest, which is 29,000 feet)
• Calories burned just whilst riding: 60,151 (an average male will burn 35,000 over the same period)
• Longest day: 103 miles (last day, also fastest average speed 15.5 mph)
• Shortest day: 57 miles (day 2, also the slowest average speed 11.6 mph - those hills in Devon!)

Thanks to all of you who have written emails to me, sent texts or posted comments on the blog.  I’ve had 1,600 views of the blog, which certainly surprised me.  What is even more surprising is who is reading it.  Clearly most views are from the UK, and I have had visitors from the US, Australia and New Zealand which I would expect as I have shared it with friends in those countries.  However I didn’t expect quite a few visits from Greece, Russia, Poland or Ecuador!

There have been many great points during the journey: cycling into a very familiar Hereford, which felt like a home-away-from-home, going through the Lake District and the wide open expanses of Scotland, particularly the few hours before I got to Glencoe.  However the overriding enjoyment of this trip was seeing England and Scotland at a very different pace, and being able to stop and start whenever I wanted.  There hasn’t really been a ‘bad point’; I have been blessed with sunshine and no rain for two weeks, the problems with the rear wheel were a distraction rather than a disaster, and my fall on the cycle path in Glasgow wasn’t a big deal.  Leaving my family at the start was the most difficult part of the trip.

I know at least one person who is following this blog who is doing the trip later this year (good luck David!).  If you are thinking about it, I only have three bits of advice.  Travel light (the hills won’t forgive a heavy bike), take your time rather than rushing at light-speed, and the route I used was great – you can find it here (it felt very safe, with very little riding on main roads).

The biggest thank-you goes to my wife, Jo, for putting up with everything whilst I did this trip.

And finally, a short film with some of the highlights.  I took about 1,000 pictures; distilling them was not easy!  Click the ‘X’ at the bottom right next to the ‘Vimeo’ to expand the screen.  I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for following my little adventure.

June 2013 - Lejog summary from Zub on Vimeo.

______________________________________________________

And finally, just when I was posting this on Vimeo, this video was on their home page - what an excellent, and unusual, short film about cycling - the Tour of Rwanda.

AN AFRICAN RACE from ben ingham on Vimeo.