Day 8 & 9 - home time

After the elation of finishing the ride, we had a relatively quiet rest of trip.
Saturday morning was spent by the hotel pool. Some played water volleyball, whilst others just enjoyed the sun and the relaxation time.

After lunch we got back on the coach for a 6 hours trip back to Cairo. I think a lot of us used this time to relect on what we'd achieved. I had planned on selling my bike when I got home, but found myself wanting to go for a ride - I don't think my body would have allowed it, but mentally I wanted to!
Once at our final hotel, we had yet more food before our final early night.
We were up at half 5 again to ensure we were back at the airport in time for our 9:20 flight home. The flight was, again, delay but only by half an hour this time. It was a slightly longer flight home and with the mood a bit more subdued there was more 'I-spy' than 'getting to know you' going on, but still fun!!
One slight downer, was that Andy became ill around an hour before we were due to land at Heathrow. Fortunately Doctor Brian was still on hand and ensured that he was well taken care of, even if the airplane didn't have any of the necessary equipment he needed. We heard afterwards that Andy recovered after a couple of days.
Another downer was that a few of our bags were 'mislaid' once we arrived at Heathrow, which meant that some people missed their connections home. On the plus side, it gave us a bit more time together and we had relaxed farewells.

It was wonderful to see Graham after being apart for over a week and, yes, there were a few tears. I think they became tears of boredom on his part after a while though - I didn't shut up on the way home!!!
All in all and to summarise - I had the most amazing, toughest, brilliant and worthwhile week of my life. I would highly recommend it to anyone, no matter what age or current physical ability. If you have the drive to get fit for charity and to have the best experience of your life, then go for it.
If not, then make sure you sponsor me for either this trip, link below, or the next Big Heart Bike Ride which is taking place in Tanzania in June 2011 - yes, I've decided to do it all again!!!
My final thanks for everyone who has sponsored me, supported me in whatever way, and to all my new friends who did the ride - I love you all (need to go now, as it's all got far too soppy!!!!) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Day 7 - 5th, and final, day of cycling

So, the final day of cycling had arrived. 60km to the finish. Easy, surely?!?!?! Erm, not exactly!!!
Now, some people had their difficult day on the Wednesday, some Thursday, but mine was to arrive today, Friday.
Thursday had ended on such a high and with a real feeling of 'finish' that it was difficult to get back on the bike again for the final day. Also a lot of us had got into our head that the final day would be pretty straight forward, a formality if you will. But no.

The final day consisted of many, many hills (not the 3 Theo, our leader, had advised) and they weren't the kind of hills I was used to riding - the short, sharp, over quite quickly kind of hill, but the long, never ending kind of hill!!!
To add the many hills, we had the mother of all head winds. Never have I experience anything like it, nor do I wish to again. It was a case of cycle up a hill, rejoice, but then cycle down hill (coz the wind was too strong to free wheel), oh and there's another hill!!!
It was truly demoralising. I found myself cycling alone and could see yet another hill in front of me and just broke down in tears. I didn't realise that just 200 yards away the group had stopped for a break. I couldn't stop crying and had to turn up to the rest of the group in tears. Fortunately, pretty much everyone on the ride had experienced a moment like this, so people were so kind. I also wasn't the only one to be having a 'moment' at this particular stop.
Mike, one of the Welsh contingency, very kindly offered to be my wind break for the final leg of the ride. I stuck to his wheel for the next 12km. He sheilded me from the wind and I just followed his back wheel up every, intense, hill. Mike is a very capable cyclist and could have finished the ride in the top few riders, but he very selflessly kept me going. I truly don't think I'd have finished the ride without him. I so didn't want to get in the van and he helped me achieve that, so thank you Mike.

We had lunch at the top of a fjord, just 1.5km from the end. The view was stunning and the sense of relief and achievement was huge.

Once lunch was done, we completed the 1.5km downhill as a group to the finish line. We had people from the hotel out on the road to welcome and applaud us in and we were given medals and bubbly.




Once the saddles and pedals were off the bikes, it time to get all showered and dressed up for our celebratory evening. We had a lovely meal in the hotel restaurant before retiring to the bar for the evening's entertainment.
Paul Smith sang a beautiful, unaccompanied version of Bring Him Home, followed by the Welsh boys, and Paul, who did a parody of Guide Me O' Thy Great Redeemer which included all the highlights of the week (including PJ putting deep heat on his bruise which worked it's way up his leg to his 'man bits'!)

James then made the entire room cry by reading a fantastic poem written by his mate Melissa about their friend Abuka who had passed away the year previous.
Rachel then summed the show up with a wonderful poem she'd written over the past 24 hours which included every person in the group seemlessly.

After the formal proceedings we then danced the rest of the night away - well until about midnight! The boys then found a football pitch and proceeding to play 3 aside until around 3 in the morning!!! You'd think they hadn't just cycled 420km!!!
All in all a wonderful day with so many mixed emotions!

Day 6 - 4th day of cycling

Day 4 of cycling started with the climb up Mount Sinai for some of the group. I opted for a lie in and the chance of actually completing the 105km of day 4! We set off around half 9 and it was clear from the start that this was a different day from the other we'd encountered so far. From the off there were proper hills that you'd encounter back here but then they became very long and intense hills and with the added head wind, it didn't make for enjoyable cycling.

Everyone was becoming weary today, not really surprisingly, and at the top of the last hill of the day everyone was cheering each other on to the top. There was a real group spirit and atmosphere. From here we had a 13km downhill to the hotel. Naturally the boys just let their bikes do the work whilst keeping their heads down while the rest of us just took it easy. It was a tad scary and I did apply the brakes where necessary, most of the time, but we all got down safely and in the daylight.
The hotel had a party atmosphere too. There was a beach bar and the sea was 'just there'. It was very relaxed and really felt like the end of the ride.

We also had entertainment from our guides, which was slightly amusing and I made sure I kept well clear so I couldn't be roped into anything!!! We all finished Thursday on a high - which made Friday harder.......

Day 5 - 3rd day of cycling

Today was going to be tough. 77km (48m) all uphill.
On top of the distance and the gradient it was also around 35deg C.
We started the morning with a short distance of 15km to our first stop with was at a monestery. The second you walked into the grounds you could feel the peace and serentity. It was a small, but perfectly formed place.

After a bit of culture it was time to climb! Again, I just took a steady pace and today found myself riding with James. He made a quip yesterday about me being old enough to be his mother and today I found myself being just that. Every time he went anywhere near the side of the road I'd tell him to move in or when he learnt how to ride without holding onto his handles bars I'd get scared and tell him off!!! Despite the heat and the constant climbing, however, we did have a very good day's cycling.
Many other people didn't however. As one point we were riding with Jayne and we stopped just to have a minute off the bike. She had been listening to her iPod and when we stopped, right in the middle of the desert just 4 of us with no other sounds around, her iPod was playing classical music. I have no idea what it was but it all felt very surreal suddenly!

Another person who struggled was Kristin. She decided to spend some time in the van due to feeling weak and light headed and by the time we'd got to the hotel, showered and was in the bar we heard that an ambulance had taken Kristin, and our doctor, to Sharm El-Sheikh hospital to be checked over.
Kristin was doing the ride with 3 of her close friends. The other 3 girls were, understandably, really shaken by the whole experience. Kristin arrived back at the hotel at 4am the following morning.
It was an early night for most - especially for the guys who were going to climb Mount Sinai. I decided not to get up at 1:45am to climb a crowded mountain but to stay in bed and ensure that I was able to complete all 420km of the ride. I honestly think that if I had climbed my legs wouldn't have held out.

Day 4 - 2nd day of cycling

After a pretty restless night sleep for most - mainly due to the sound of the sea and the snoring - we were up at 5:30am and ready to head off at 7 for a day of 125km (77.5m). We knew that it would be a long day but we were due to stop every 25km for food (bananas, oranges, nuts and cake bars) and water. These stops quickly became a very welcome sight. A man in a yellow t-shirt would be stood on the side of the road to wave us in and after some of the long, long roads it was always a relief to see a 'yellow man'.
Already it was clear who the strong cyclists were - mainly Michael, who became known as 'The Machine', the 3 blokes from Wales, Si, Steve and Larry. A few of the girls were up with them too however I really felt that I had to go at my own pace otherwise I'd never get through the day in one piece. This, however, meant that I found myself on my own for a few long stretches. When the roads are so long that you can't see anyone ahead and then when you turn round there's no one there either, it can be quite scary. But finally a yellow man appeared and after the 1st break I tagged along with Andy, who was there cycling with his son, James, but James was with the 'big boys'.
We did a lot of the day cyclying beside the sea, and the lorries, until we finally turned inland. Andy's knee gave way and he had to have some time off in the van, so I carried on alone once again!

We had lunch after 95km (60m), which gave us, in theory, a nice short ride to our 2nd night of camping. However, it was now the hottest time of the day and we were starting to climb, and get very tired. I found myself on my own again and, very bored, decided to stop and wait for whoever was behind me. It turned out to be Andy and Gay, the event organiser from Action for Charity. Andy's knee couldn't take him any further so Gay and I trundled on. We caught up with a few others along the way and finally finished the mammoth day.
Once again the tent was all erected and mattresses laid out. There was a 'shower' however it was cold and surrounded by curtains so I decided to give it a miss and totally appreciate the shower in the hotel the following day.
Dinner was, once again, amazing as was the camaraderie - I think we were all grateful to have got through the day.

Day 3 - 1st day of cycling

Up early again today in order to get our bikes fitted with our own saddles and pedals. As I was at the beginning of the alphabet I was one of the first to get sorted. Our mechanic, Jonathon, was there to ensure everyone's bike were set just as they wanted them. We all had mountain bikes with 21 gears. We were also provided with cross bar bags which velcroed onto the bike in order to store the important things, such as sun cream, camera, tissues and sweets!
As there were quite a few of us to get sorted we had plenty of time to lounge by the sea, unfortunately the wind was rather strong which made it a tad chilly but we braved it none the less!
After lunch we finally set off. We were all raring to go, after 2 days of waiting. We'd also been prepped that it was pretty easy day of cycling - only 50km (31m), tail wind and flat. I think this might have had something to do with the 3 crashes that occurred during the afternoon. PJ did a cartwheel over his handles bars not 2km down the road, Rachel then took a tumble, followed by James a little further on down the road. James came out of it pretty unscathed however the other two were sporting cracking bruises for the rest of the week.
We also had a couple of punctures, both on Mike's bike - I'd like to say they were the only 2, however he had a couple more the following day! Hence walking over the finish line on day 1!

Everyone completed the first day's cycling and as a reward we were welcomed with our first night of camping. The 'tent' was all set up for us and the mattresses laid out.

It was a pretty basic set up but our every need was catered for, even down to the cans of lager (they had to be paid for, but you can't have everything!) There was time for a swim/splash/paddle in the hot springs before the sun set and we finally settled down for dinner around 7pm. As mention every need was catered for and we had the most amazing food served, especially considering the surroundings. Soup to start and plenty of rice, potatoes, chicken or beef.
All in all the first day of cycling had gone very well and we were all raring to go for the second.

Day 2 - The Pyramids & transfer

After a very early wake up call, the first of many, we had a good breakfast before heading via coach to the Pyramids. I was a little bit surprised that they are so close to the city of Cairo, I think it makes them lose their magic somehow. Anyhow, we saw them up close and then saw them from afar so that I could join the millions who want a photo of them 'touching' the tip of a pyramid!!
We then headed down to see the Sphinx. Again, it was very impressive but the crowds let us all feeling a bit cold.

Once we'd done the tourist bit and had lunch, we set off on the 4 hour transfer to Ras Sudr. The coach journey wasn't too bad, plenty of time to chat and get to know one another and also to experience the awful driving of the Egyptians!! Talk about scary!
Once checked into the hotel, it was time for more food and a few more cheeky alcoholic beverages.
The hard work starts tomorrow....................

Well, we did it!!

Well, we did indeed do it! What an absolutely amazing week last week was. I am now back in full swing of work and already starting to fade into a distant memory but before it does I want to update this blog so that I can try to capture some of those memories. (I probably won't do it all in this post, so bear with me!)
Ok so - Day 1
I'd been a little bit teary on Friday night, I was so worried about saying goodbye to Graham so I was desperately trying to hold it together on the way to the airport but didn't quite manage it. We found the meeting point, 45 minutes early, but we weren't the only early birds. There were another 3 people there before me so not too many for me to cry in front of! Graham made a swift exit once the tears started again so that I didn't embarass either of us too much.
I was wonderful to meet Linda, who I have been speaking with for the past 6 months on Facebook. She was there in memory of her brother who passed away last year from heart failure - she is such a strong and brave lady and very quickly became my 2nd mother.
Once we'd all checked our bags in, it was up to shops and bar. Our flight was delayed by 2 hours so we had plenty of time to chat, have a cheeky alcoholic beverage and get to know each other a little bit.

5 hours later we landed in Cairo and lost a couple more hours due to the time difference and finally got to our 1st hotel at midnight where they had dinner prepared for us. I also had news from home that David 'The Haymaker' Haye had won his fight against the giant - happy days!!
It was then off to bed for a well needed, if short, sleep.

It's finally here!

I can't believe that after 15 months, it's finally here. We head off to Egypt tomorrow! Ahhhhhhh, not scared, nervous or anxious at all!
The last bit of exercise I did was a Spin class last Thursday evening, I simply haven't had the time over the past couple of weeks. I'm pretty confident though that if I take it steady and stop lots to take pictures that I should get through it.
However, after 15 months of being generally fit and healthy I have come down with a cold. I'm not happy! I'm currently taking echinachea, cough mixture, Halls menthol sweets and drinking lots of water in a vain attempt to clear it before tomorrow morning. I will be so angry if I can't go because of a cold.
The majority of my packing is now complete, just got to get my pedals and saddle off my bike and then we're away!
A massive thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout this past year, to all my friends and family (and strangers!) who have sponsored me and to Alex for coming our cycling with me since January (it would have been very difficult on my own). The sponsorship link is still open, so if you haven't already pledged then please do so.
Thanks again and I'll post with all the challenge hightlights, and I'm sure they'll be lowlights, and lots of photos. Here we go...............................