Sunday 30th July 2000.

We had team photos taken (unfortunately without Al from the backup team who has been delayed due to work commitments) and hit the road at 10:30. Great trip to Lands End with no hold ups. After a brief stop for lunch (and the Grand Prix) we made good time and arrived at St. Just around 17:10 after driving 304 miles. Hit Cornwall for a swim and then back to Alma Jahns for dinner. Spent some time adding advertising to the transit van, a quick trip to the pub and then an early night.

Monday 31st July 2000.

Up at 6:50. Restless night with pre-ride nerves all round. Set off for Lands End at 8:00, after registering the ride and another photo session departed from Lands End at 9:15. The first hour was great, then started to hit a few hills........Stopped for lunch at 13:30 having covered 59 miles. Stewart had a small disagreement with a removal van, but luckily no harm done just a couple of grazes. Lots of hills after lunch and eventually reached Launceston at 16:35. Had a celebratory Ribena to end the first days cycling and headed off to Oakhampton Youth Hostel, where we had a lovely dinner and now relaxing having a drink (of water!).

Hours in the saddle - 5hrs 13mins. Average speed - 16.3 miles/hr. Number of miles - 85.6 miles.

Tuesday 1st August 2000.

Up at 6:50. Another restless night as it was noisy in the hostel and very hot. After a good breakfast set off back to Launceston and departed at 9:15. Stewart lost a spoke and had to use a spare bike whilst it was repaired, only to lose another when he got the wheel back! Cross country was very hard due to the massive hills, we had expected these but the reality was alot lot worse! Stopped at Tiverton for lunch. In the afternoon Neil and Harry took a wrong turn on the A361 and were heading for Barnstaple instead of Taunton, Dougie was dispatched to find them......After a break headed towards Taunton, all four riders were together and after the nightmare of Devon were actually starting to enjoy the ride. At Taunton went straight through the town so there would be no hassle with the traffic in the morning but lost Dougie. We went to the Travelodge, still no Dougie, a couple of phone calls and a few directions he turned up about half an hour later. After a bath and tea with fresh strawberries and cream, feeling much refreshed. Al arrived tonight - so the team is now complete.

Hours in the saddle - 4hrs 44mins. Average speed - 15.6 miles/hr. Number of miles - 78.04 miles.

Wednesday 2nd August 2000.

Up at 7:45 (lie in today). After breakfast Carol drops us back to the starting point. A good first hour with no hills then Richard lost a cleat and Stewart has a puncture. After 22 miles the weather starts to look threatening and eventually we get soaked. The weather stays much the same until we stop for lunch. After pasta and a change of clothes we leave Bath to tackle the hill the other side. Quote of the day 'The last time I saw a hill that steep there was a sign saying "Danger - Cliffs" at the top.' We all made it and then had a good run on the A46 and over the M4, our first major landmark, we are now North of London. Richard had problems with his missing cleat, Doug and Helen come to his rescue with a new set just before they reach Stroud. We negotiate Stroud with the help of the back up crew and finish up north of the town. Arrived at the Andersons at around 18:30, the wet weather has disappeared and we are looking forward to dinner and a rest.

Hours in the saddle - 5hrs 07mins. Average speed - 16.1 miles/hr. Number of miles - 82.67 miles.

Thursday 3rd August 2000.

Up at 7:30 after a good nights sleep. After breakfast we gather all our stuff together and after thanks to Shirley and Ken head off. We descend to our start point (we don't remember this!), we get out our bikes and start....after 5.78miles and 32 minutes we hit the summit. Hills, ha, we are the sore butt bike ride and we laugh in the face of hills! We make good time round Cheltenham with the help of the back up crew, when the quick release mech. and axle gives up the ghost on the spare bike that Stewart is riding. It's the last straw and sets off to buy a new bike. We make good time even though we make a slight detour at Tewksbury by missing the A38N. We head onto Worcester and stop for lunch. Richard is having some problems with his calf and has a massage. On to Kidderminster after lunch, the rain started, then got worse, then came the thunder and lightning. But we are the sore butt bike ride and we laugh in the face of thunder and lightning! Make good progress to Telford and arrive at 17:40. We are soaked and shattered - but there can be no worse hills, no worse weather and no further distances than we have already done.........(can there?) We head to Carolyn and Ians for tea and then to the Birmingham Metropole where our beds are calling us.

Hours in the saddle - 5hrs 11mins. Average speed - 16.2 miles/hr. Number of miles - 83.87 miles.

Friday 4th August 2000.

Up at 7:30 and have a huge breakfast, we all get together and check out "Nothing to pay sir" our kind of bill! Rooms courtesy of the Birmingham Metropole - thanks again! It's about fifty minutes to get back to our start point, the weather is cloudy but not raining, the sun is supposed to shine later. Neil is having some problems with his knees so we have a couple of stops and Neil decides to take things a bit easier, so Harry and Richard set off full speed, Neil and Stewart following on behind - Stewart is alot happier on his new bike. Stop for lunch after an impressive 57 miles. We head onto Warrington and more head winds, but we are the sore butt bike ride and we laugh in the face of head winds! (Hard work........) We head towards Wigan and have a very brief look round. Then to Helen and Neils in Sale, after long hot baths and a drink, we have stovies, fruit crumble and Rosemount Shiraz.........bliss.

Hours in the saddle - 4hrs 29mins. Average speed - 16.6 miles/hr. Number of miles - 74.58 miles.

Saturday 5th August 2000.

Up at 7:30 and eventually we all have breakfast. Dave a friend of Neils arrives to join us for the days cycling. We head off from Helen and Neils at 9:15 and reach our start point at 9:45. It's overcast and rain is predicted, oh joy. We make good time through Leyland and Preston and then the sune comes out. We stop for lunch at Bolton Le Sands, pizzas courtesy of Carol and have a leisurely break as it's a shorter day today. After lunch we head off again, we suddenly breach the summit of a hill and see glorious Cumbrian countryside bathed in sunshine with Kendal only 15 miles away. Stewart unfortunately has another puncture which ruins his tyre, strange for a new bike - he's not having the best of luck. We all meet in Kendal, which is beautiful and make our way to the youth hostel for tea. Another couple of friends Bob and Jackie arrive to examine the route as they are going to join us on the cycle ride tomorrow.

Hours in the saddle - 3hrs 44mins. Average speed - 17.9 miles/hr. Number of miles - 66.77 miles.

Sunday 6th August 2000.

Up at 6:30 after a restless night. Lovely breakfast, we say goodbye to Natalie and Roger and get the vans out. Stewart replaces the tyre on his bike, Bob and Jackie arrive. The weather is overcast but we have been promised sun later. We head off at 9:10 and head for Shap. As we start to ascend we keep a reasonable pace, we all gather at the summit and unanimously laugh in the face of Shap summit, we are, after all the sore butt bike ride........Lots of friendly rivalry this morning, we gather in Penrith for a tea break, then head on towards Carlisle stopping for lunch on the other side. After lunch head off towards Langholm and Scotland. The head wind that has plagued us for the last three days is still with us - it's meant to blow towards the North - not from it! With only 20 miles to go we head off in anticipation of the border. We pass through Longtown, we know we are close, we turn a corner and there it is - Scotland - a defining moment of the trip. We take photos at the Scotland sign, drivers are tooting at us and we are all on a high. An enjoyable last ten miles to Langholm, then off to the Southwaite Services and a shower, then to Bob and Jackies for tea.

Hours in the saddle - 4hrs 10mins. Average speed - 17.1 miles/hr. Number of miles - 71.33 miles.

Monday 7th August 2000.

Up at 7:00 and over to the Little Chef for breakfast, Harry and Richard are the only ones who take on the Olympic breakfast challenge, they demolish it and laugh in the face of the Olympic breakfast as of course (and I'm sure you all know by now) we are the Sore Butt Bike Ride! Get back to our start point at Langholm and head off towards Dalkeith. Weathers cloudy and rain is expected. Make Hawick in good time when the rain comes on. The hill out of Hawick is three and a half miles long and very hard work. We reach Galashiels and stop for lunch. Off again and we battle through yet more head winds, hard work, but at least the sun comes out. We reach Newtongrange at the end of which is the Sun Inn and Nana Watson and Aunty Nancy. We have a photo session and wait for Stewart. After a couple of pints we head for North Berwick and the Downs' household. Willie has made pizza and pasta and a very nice evening is had by all.

Hours in the saddle - 3hrs 59mins. Average speed - 17.5 miles/hr. Number of miles - 69.53 miles.

Tuesday 8th August 2000.

Up at 7:15, John joins us to cycle today. Huge breakfast, we gather all our bits and head off. Back at the start point we meet up with John and Seonaid, then we're off to Edinburgh. We hit the A90 briefly and the head to South Queensferry, then up to the bridge. This is probably the only time we will cycle over the bridge, what a view, so we stop for a photo. Over the bridge and into Fife. We make good time and head through Kelty and Cowdenbeath just stopping for water and stop for lunch the other side of Kinross, where we are joined by Andrew. We get to Glenfarg, down the glen we go and along the Baiglie straight, we are really in home country now. The cloud that was there this morning has disappeared and the sun has come out. We all gather outside Craigclowan, Richards old school. We set off down the hill towards Perth with Richard leading the team and the backup vehicles following. This is the moment we've all been working towards - we are coming into our home town. We go down the High Street, into St. Johns Street, past St. Johns Kirk, then turn the corner at the City Hall, a man holding a bucket starts cheering - it's Richards dad - then lots of people start cheering, we have arrived. There is a stand with the Scottish MND banner on it, Stuart Baillie and Naula Thompson have come from the Glasgow office to be here, also joining us is Dave Chambers who has MND, he is a real inspiration to everyone. The Lord Provost arrives, Douglas Sinclair from the Kinnoull Rotary Club, representatives from Royal Bank of Scotland, Stagecoach and Nick Du Boulay from the Strath. Reporters and photographers from the Perth Courier and Perth Advertiser arrive and take loads of photos, good publicity for the Scottish MND Association we hope. It has been a wonderful afternoon catching up with family, friends and lots of generous people. Many thanks from all the team for their support. To Richards mum for dinner.

Hours in the saddle - 3hrs 57mins. Average speed - 14.9 miles/hr. Number of miles - 59.17 miles.

Wednesday 9th August 2000.

Up at 7:30 and it's raining. Gradually the team start to appear from their various locations in Perth and we make our way back to the Town Hall where we finished last night. We head off along the Dunkeld Road and the A9. As we approach Dunkeld, we see signs for the cycle route we have heard so much about but have been unable to find on a map, we take that route and it is such a joy. After about three miles it is Richards turn to have a puncture. The back up crew arrive to help and they also have a copy of the Courier, there is a picture from yesterday on page four. We have now been soaked for two hours, but the weather cannot detract from the scenery. We head through Dunkeld, Pitlochry and Blair Atholl and stay on the A9 until we meet the crew for lunch on a quiet country road disturbed only by 10000 midges. We head off after lunch with dry shirts, towards Drumochter Pass when we find some newly laid cycle trails and in spite of the weather start having some fun. We crack on toward the top and pass into the Highland area. We see a stag outlined against a craggy outcrop, the land levels out and we realise that we are at the highest point of the trip. We fly for several miles down these fantastic trails surrounded by the most beautiful countryside. At the bottom of the trail we rejoin the A9, we are really happy. We head towards the Dalwhinnie distillery where we call in for a wee dram, then towards Newtonmore and our hostel.

Hours in the saddle - 4hrs 37mins. Average speed - 16.2 miles/hr. Number of miles - 75.08 miles.

Thursday 10th August 2000.

We all get woken at 6:30 by Doug, as Claire is arriving at 7:20 to join us. We go to the main house and have breakfast, the weather is overcast but is meant to improve. We are all in high spirits as we know there is not far to go and we're looking forward to the beautiful scenery. Off we go with Geoff (a new found friend) and his two boys, who join us from Newtonmore to Kingussie. Once again we hit the Sustrans trail, it's great, good paths off the main road and stunning scenery. We pass Kincraig, Alvie Church and above a Scots pine forest we see an eagle soar. We stop at Aviemore for our first break. We head up to Stochd, when over the summit we get a good downhill run. We are taking our time now and just enjoying ourselves. We enter the village of Tomatin and recognise the name, there is a distillery here, we stop for a short visit and test the 10 year old malt, then to Craggie for lunch. At lunch we are all feeling patriotic and decide on a visit to Culloden, we discover Clava cairns on the way. After a wander around Culloden we head on into Inverness and cross the Kessock Bridge, onwards towards Tore where we have to rejoin the A9. After a long descent we are at Connon Bridge with great views to one side and seven oil rigs on the other!? We all gather for a team photo, then off to Strathpeffer Youth Hostel for tea. This is Als' last night as he has to head back south for a birthday party.

Hours in the saddle - 4hrs 58mins. Average speed - 14.6 miles/hr. Number of miles - 72.02 miles.

Friday 11th August 2000.

A reasonable night, we have breakfast and gather our gear together, we3 are about to set off when Harry discovers his front gear cable has come adrift, he works on it and then decides to change it. We eventually get going and head back to our start point the other side of Dingwall. We see a sign that says John O'Groats 110 miles!! As we pass we see some seals playing in the water. We agree to meet at the Glenmorangie distillery at Tain. We say goodbye to Al, Carol and Helen take him to Inverness for his flight back South. We all reach the distillery and are forced (!?) to sample 10 & 18 year old malts along with two matured in Port and Sherry casks. We agree to meet for lunch in about ten miles. Richard and Stew pass through an area of wood, where they spot two buzzards hunting, they turn a corner and see a red kite fly over them, stunning. We stop for lunch in a beautiful bay and eat down at he waters edge, we are all relaxed and enjoying the day. Off again we head towards the Clynelish distillery at Brora. After a beautiful coastal ride we get there, have a wee dram and a chat in the sun before we set off for the last stage of the penultimate day, Helmsdale. After a while we are overtaken by the Gavigan wagon with Audrey, Chris (Stews mum) and boys on board. We keep going and catch up with them about four miles later, where they are reunited. We carry on and Helmsdale turns out to be just a couple of miles down the road. We find our youth hostel, get showered and changed and head out for a fish and chip supper. After a walk to the harbour and a nightcap, everyone heads off to bed in preparation for the last day. It has started to rain - hope this is not an omen.

Hours in the saddle - 4hrs 09mins. Average speed - 14.3 miles/hr. Number of miles - 59.48 miles.

Saturday 12th August 2000.

Up at 7:30, not a good nights sleep, the weather is overcast but dry, we hope it will brighten up. After breakfast we head off and immediately start up the Navidale climb, we get up no bother. The sun is starting to shine now, we increase our speed until we come to Berrydale. We have been hearing about this from everyone for days now, but know we won't have any problems. We see a 13% sign and know we have arrived! Up we go until we crest the summit and laugh in the face of Berrydale (we are the SBBR!) We carry on and are moving at a rate of knots and passing through some interesting places, Thrumster, Leatheronwheel and eventually Wick. We pass through and catch up with the backup vehicles for lunch. We are 12 miles from John O' Groats. Audrey and the crew catch up with us, then head on into John O'Groats to wait for us. After lunch we start the last stretch, everyone has mixed emotions and we talk about the highs and lows of the trip. We gather at the top of Warth Hill, the sun is shining, we are looking at Orkney and life is good. We have a photo session at the John O'Groats sign, then head on down the hill, cars tooting and waving as we pass. We see Audrey and the kids so wave and yeeha as we pass, down the last 150 metres to the John O'Groats finish point. All the gathered crowd start to clap, we dump the bikes, then it's hugs and handshakes all round. The support crew and others arrive and the celebrations begin. Loads of photos are taken and we crack open a couple of bottles of Champagne. Despite all hte folk, the cyclists keep gravitating towards each other, our ordeal has really bought us together. After a while we head to the John O'Groats Hotel to write our bit in the end to end book, we ended up staying for a couple of pints of Guiness and a couple of Dalwhinnies! After the celebrations we start the trip home and Richard gives his version of the McGeehan speech from the Lions tour. "You have achieved something great, something very few people ever do. In the future when you meet up, be it in a street or at a party you will look at each other and that's all it will take, nothing will need to be said, you will smile, because you remember this moment....." The journey back is surreal, looking at all the places we have passed through and all the places we have stayed. We arrive at Aberfeldy where friends Jim and Mo Cairncross have organised a party for us. We are congratulated and Hazel (Mos mum) has made a cake for us in the shape of the British Mainland, with signs for Lands End and John O'Groats with a bike parked there and of course the party location. We are all overwhelmed that they have gone to so much trouble. We have another cheer as we learn that Jim won the British Firework Championships last weekend. Double celebrations which go on long into the night...........

An abridged version of Richards diary of the trip.

Many congratulations to the cyclists for the feat they have achieved, to the backup crew for the hard work they put in to enable the event to run smoothly and huge thanks to the sponsors and supporters without whom this event would not have been possible.