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After so much time on the road, and effort spending 23 days of getting all the way from Gibraltar to Yorkshire by bicycle, todays first job was to look at booking the flight back to Gibraltar. Which I did. I will have a week in Yorkshire and fly back to Gibraltar on Saturday, dismantling the bike and packing it up to come back with me on the plane.

So many people have asked me if I am cycling back as well! Big no! I dont think I could stomach the thought! It would feel like im unwinding everything I've just done, and seeing the same places again, knowing what lays ahead would be four times the challenge mentally than what I have just done!

Being back at home is lovely. Being able to spend some good time with my one year old nephew, my brothers and other family. Tomorrow Im taking a trip to Lancashire to see the Grandparents and to show them the videos of the arrival, as well as newspapers which have covered it.

Everyone has been inviting me out for dinner. People have been turning up at the house with donations for the Jane Tomlinson appeal. I've been getting phone calls from regional papers - another radio interview to do tomorrow as well. It really is just crazy. Just on the arrival over 160 pounds was thrown into the buckets. Thank you to everyone who did that, and thank you to everyone for sending me cards. They will be kept forever.

I've been trying to get the video off DVDs and stuff, but its been a slow process due to a number of problems and just general disturbances and being so busy with other people. But I will get it on the site soon for those to see in Gibraltar and for those who couldnt be there for the arrival, because it was absolutely spectacular. I will be on a high for a long time!

Its really hard for me to believe that I successfully cycled all the way from Gibraltar to Yorkshire. Being back home, just feels like a normal visit. Sometimes its easy to forget that my method of getting here this time wasnt by airplane! It was a bicycle! My own muscles and strength took me home!

The achievement and success is something that is mine. This is with me for the rest of my life and no one can take it away from me. The whole project was a solo effort, researching, taking advice off people, planning the route and just figuring out everything from beginning to end.

The media recognition is due to an absolute fantastic effort from Jonathan Fitzgerald for publicity in Yorkshire and Vanessa Palmero Haywood for publicity in Gibraltar. This event was featured on so many outlets, TV, Newspapers, Radio including GBC Television, The Chronicle, Gib Live, Radio Gibraltar, Talk Radio Europe, ITVs Calendar News, Radio Sheffield, Newark Advertiser, Rotherham Advertiser, Sheffield Star, The Yorkshire Post, Hallam FM, Boundary Sound and more. Thank you to all for giving me the opportunity to reach out, and finally get some good news in the news.

With so many people knowing abuot it, and the huge amount of traffic this website has generated. I really hope that by what I have done may inspire other people to do something too. It doesnt matter how big or small. But to do something that pushes personal boundaries, takes you out of the normal comfort zone, something different and special. Something that would be an amazing achievement for yourself is just so rewarding. It feels like society dictates that that to win the game of life, is to find a partner, get married, buy a house, have kids, have a good career. But I personally question that. Thats just living. Winning is when you exceed on what you think you're capable of doing. But do not compare against others people. I cycled from Gibraltar to Yorkshire, which was amazing for me! But I know of people who have cycled around the whole world including through third world countries and dangerous territories. But what is important is the personal achievement, and for me Gibraltar to Yorkshire was just that! It was recognised by all my friends and family, which is what is important.

People have asked me, what have I learned on this trip? I've learnt a lot! I know so much more about cycling, health, fitness, best foods to eat etc. I learnt the difference between a Hostel and a Hostal! But most importantly, I learnt that with the right frame of mind, determination and an utter solid belief of success, that I really can achieve anything I want! There is no such thing as can't. I am just an average guy, so the same applies to everyone who is reading this. You can do anything you want. You just have to want to do it enough and believe that you can. There was never a doubt in my mind from beginning to end that I wouldnt be able to do this. Thats why it was never an "attempt". An "attempt" means room for failure. Never try to do anything - just do it.

Please keep checking back on the site for any further updates, reflections etc that has come out of Gibraltar to Yorkshire. I will post some more statistics and the video, more pictures up very soon.

Finally, I want to thank everybody who followed me on my journey through this site. You kept me company by doing that, and it was amazing to be reading all your messages. You gave me the motivation and kept my spirits up through the lonely times, thank you for that. I also hope you enjoyed following the GPS, the Twitter updates and the blog. Thank you to everyone for all your support. I couldn't have done it with out you!

Andrew Fitzgerald

Final stats
Start	Gibraltar Casemates. Sep 4th 10:10
End	Rotherham, Yorkshire. Sep 26th 15:10
Total Journey Time	22 Days 6 Hours
Saddle Time	125 hr 20 min 26 sec.
Distance travelled	2434.73km
Average Speed	19.2kph
Max speed	70.7km on Day 2

Day 23 - West of Upper Broughton to Maltby, Rotherham, YORKSHIRE.

So, the last day of Gibraltar to Yorkshire. An early start due to commiting to a 3pm arrival in Maltby. I finally got my English fry up breakfast, and have to say thats the best breakfast in the whole trip I ever had! I set off with awesome power, and of course excitement due to this being the last day. Everything I dreamed off would happen today.

Had the fun of cycling down more busy dual carriageways for the first part of the journey. I just really wanted to ge tthe first 40km out of the way, and then very familiar homeland territory and roads were appearing. Signs for Rotherham, Doncaster, Sheffield. My home turf! Absolutely amazing!

Had a stop to do a live interview with Radio Sheffield, and also Hallam FM had me in their news bulletens today. When I was in range of their transmission it was really surreal to hear myself on the radio as I was cycling along.

I got to Worksop, the last town in Nottinghamshire before heading out and across the border. It presented one last little hurdle. The railway crossing was closed, and I had to take a diversion around it.

I was then ahead of time so plodded along slowly for the rendezvou with my brother who was to film me crossing the border over into Yorkshire. Fantastic to meet up with him, and then was followed the rest of the way in car, filmed and pictures at the border.

And there it was, the sign for Rotherham! Absolutely amazing to have crossed into it! Just didnt feel real, the whole thing doesnt feel real! We had a stop for some photos, and then was just a matter of cycling, the last 10km - to home.

That road heading into my home town of Maltby just seemed to go on forever. I was running about ten minutes late. Cycled through into Maltby, down the high street, up past my old school. Down some residential streets - and then the moment that I have been dreaming about since the start of the whole of Gibraltar to Yorkshire. - Coming round that corner onto the street, to greet my family and friends here.

What I saw just absolutely and utterly was beyond belief. The whole street had been completely and utterly overtaken, there were people everywhere! A huge cheer went up and streamers and champagne being thrown all over me. Absolutely stunning! Will have the video up as soon as possible!

I just could not believe the reception. I want to thank everyone who came. The whole street came out and was totally taken over by this. Photographers from a number of local papers were there. It was just such an immense occasion. Just about everyone I know, and people I dont know so well had come out to see my arrival. I just cannot believe how surreal it was, and I just could not have asked or expected anything better. Gave my mum a huge hug who burst into tears. I was feeling emotional myself.

A huge suprise was Mike Tomlinson himself was there, and finally got to meet him and had a fantastic chat with him. Really appreciated him being there. Went inside and my family had prepared a party. Banners, just everything all in my honour.

Wow! Is all I can say! Didnt actually manage to sit down till gone 11pm with trying to get round everyone. I never realised I was so popular!

I want to thank everybody who turned out today, it made the whole thing worth it. Im still in a feeling of disbelief that I've actually done this. I just cycled from Gibraltar to my home town in Yorkshire, solo, and totally unaided. Done in less time than expected and also done without too many major problems.

I am absolutely elated, its just all wow! So much for the brain to process.

Keep an eye on the site, I'll be writing up more about the aftermath and feelings and posting arrival videos very shortly.

In tribute to a huge inspiration to me - Mark Beaumont - JOB DONE!

Todays stats
Start	West of Upper Broughton.09:00
End	Maltby, YORKSHIRE.15:10
Saddle Time	4 hr 20 min 21 sec.
Distance travelled	82.66km
Average Speed	19.0kph
Max speed	48.1kph

Day 22 - Just North of Oxford to West of Upper Broughton.

I know I've said this before. But I honestly think today might have been one of the toughest days. Being so close, yet so far from the finish has been tough on the head. Knowing that tomorrow is the end is exciting. Its taken a lot of mental discipline to focus on the fact that I still need to keep cycling and not wish it away. When you wish time away, thats when boredom sets in, and when time drags, and when motivation levels drop. I actually felt so demotivated on the bike at points today. More than at any other times during the trip. I guess you can compare the feeling to Christmas Eve as a kid. No one likes Christmas Eve. They just want Christmas Day to come along! It felt a little like that today.

A long day too. Putting in a lot of mileage to make that 3pm arrival time tomorrow and pushing myself up through the Midlands of England to north Leicestershire. The weather was so much kinder on me today. Sunshine, and a bit of cloud later on! No rain, no drizzle no dampness that I

had yesterday. But it was bitter cold at times. That wind was just nasty. As most of my trip has been under heat, I'm more equipped for that. So all I can do is layer up what clothes I have. Im wearing 2 T- shirts, a jumper and then the Gibraltar to Yorkshire shirt over that. I was

tempted to find somewhere and buy some gloves today as well! I really dont deal well with the cold. I was stopped outside a petrol literally shivering trying to eat food. I would more happily cycle under 45c heat than 10c any day.

Had a long run down a very busy dual carriageway, but at least it had a hard shoulder to hide in. There was times today as well that I just didnt have energy. Felt so weak. Just keeping the bike moving at slow speeds seemed to be a real chore. Then out of nowhere... Wham, speed and power again. My Ankle isnt doing too well either. Off the bike I'm now hobbling around. Saddle Sores are also kicking in. Its understandable though, considering I'm going the longest ever without a single rest day.

Fun times started when it came to finding the hotel at the end of the day. After a gruelling 138km. I get to Station Road, Upper Broughton where the Hotel was. I was literally stood there and saw a sign saying Upper Broughton and another saying Station Road. And what was it? Just a little village! No hotels anywhere, there was nothing! At this point too darkness started setting in, and for the first time on the whole trip. It was lights on and vis jacket on as I cycled on into the night. Found a POI on the Sat Nav for a hotel which had the same phone number but a different name. Maybe it renamed I thought. So headed for that. Which took me 3km back down a road I had just come down and left me in the middle of a farm with a load of sheep baa'ing at me. Great! What a hotel!

So I put something into practice, which I havnt previously being able to do before. With no language barrier. I phoned the hotel to ask them where it was! Wow, What an amazing concept! After a rather confusing conversation. I did realise that actually it was just another 500m away - and sure enough there it was!

One final blow to a very hard day... No restaurant on site. No nothing on site! I thought I was through with all that after leaving France! However, another awesome thing about being where I am. I currently have some family travelling north to see my arrival. Saw my tweet about not being able to find the hotel, phoned me. I mentioned no restaurant and they turned up at the hotel! Then we headed off in the car to get some dinner. A huge thanks to my Aunty and Uncle and Cousin for that. It was great to see them! Amusingly im about an hour away in the car from home now! Which is where theyre headed ready to see my arrival tomorrow! So fantastic end to today and of course making me feel a lot closer to home.

Right leg is really aching tonight. With the ankle hurting, i've been having to cycle harder on the right leg, and its absolutely in pain now. It feels like it could be a pulled hamstring or something! So got the deep heat on it tonight, hopefully that'll keep it at bay and enable me to finish the remaining 80km of Gibraltar to Yorkshire tomorrow!

Todays stats
Start	Just North of Oxford.09:00
End	West of Upper Broughton.19:55
Saddle Time	7 hr 01 min 10 sec.
Distance travelled	146.67km
Average Speed	18.8kph
Max speed	52.7km

Day 21 - Portsmouth, UK to Just north of Oxford.

So last night, was finally able to board the ferry at 10pm! Wow I wish I had known that. It was such a long boring wait. But I did get chatting to a few people in the terminal and telling them what I was doing. The bike was getting a bit of attention, especially the wind chargers. People think theyre great!

So onboard the ferry. was so exciting, I was gleaming! I must do a cruise one day. I think huge ships like that are amazing. Got into my cabin. All good there. Small, but definately can't complain. Then went and had my second dinner of the evening! The ferry had a huge deck at the back to see out. So was amazing to see the night lights of France getting smaller. Was so amazing out there. I was so happy to be here, crossing the English channel.

Slept average, it was a smooth crossing but it was kinda vibraty from the engines. Then at 05.30 UK time, an hour before docking. They play this nice pianoy music to wake you up nicely. Then by 06:00 theyre banging on the doors making sure youre up. Because they want you off sharp at 06:30!

So off the ferry, through the UK border, and Viola! I'm in England! Plan was for greasy fry up! But it was early and I had a lot of miles ahead of me, so I headed out of Portsmouth. How strange cycling on the left. Having to look over the other shoulder, cars passing me on the right. Looking opposite directions at T-Junctions. Taking roundabouts the other way. I know left is my native side, but with doing all my cycle training on the right,and spending the last 3 weeks solidly

cycling on the right. It was a bit of a difference. Also as it has been six months since being in the UK. It of course looked all nostalgic and weired!

And wow, everythings English!! I can talk to people, I can read stuff again! Woo hoo!

Had a big climb out of Portsmouth, then like France, its back narrow country roads again, endless amount. I've done 20km and still no breakky! Looking at where I was, and the route. I was stuck kn the middle of nowhere for a while! So how annoying, to be back in the UK, and for breakky it was the Cuassonts I'd bought in France for breakfast!!! Not fair! Then the rain set in. Then my ankle started hurting again. Then the excitement of being in the UK wore off and I was on a bit of a low. But what was nice, is being entertained by English radio! Yaay!

Tried diverting into what seemed to a reasonable sized town, which just turned out to be a tiny village. As time ticked on, my traditional English breakfast fry up just wasnt going to happen.

As the rain set in, it actually got colder. At 11am it was colder than it was at 06.30 and I just had to layer up. I was freezing and my head started pounding because of it. If anyone here thinks that I've got it easy now I'm back in the UK. Very wrong. Though the UK has some nice things, such as no language barriers. The country has its own hardships and challenges. The roads are hellish - Narrow windy country roads with no shoulder to hide in, people drive faster and too close to cyclists! One van driver even decided to annoy me by purposly stopping on a hill and then set off again which lost my momentum. I have no idea whether he did this on purpose. The road surfaces are terrible, theyre not as slick making it harder to pedal on. Theyre pot holed and patched up. I'm afraid to say the continent is a far nicer place to cycle!

Anyway enough of the bad. What Spain and France don't have, and wow they have some catching up to do. Is road side greasy burger bars!!! Found one of those and got myself a heart attack in a bun. Fantastic! They dont use George Formans. Oh no! There is nothing more British than sitting in a lay by in the cold wind and rain warming yourself up with a bacon, egg, cheese burger and a coffee! Fantastic! Got chatting to a few people there as well. They see the bike, they see the shirt. Theyre interested. Its actually so nice to be able to talk to people again.

After a really slow start, the much needed calory intake gave me that boost. I was off, and cycling fast, catching up on the mileage. Feeling good, and once again loving the fact that I'm in the UK! What I havnt done, is thought too much about the end, which draws closer and closer. My focus was getting to the pre-booked Hotel just past Oxford today. Which stood at over 140km from Portsmouth.

With a sore ankle it was tough, and Oxford city centre was just nuts. The british capital of Cycling, and it was crazy! There were cyclists everywhere, traffic and busses everywhere. One was even reversing up the road!

Made it through the city centre and dodged rush hour queues. My Gibraltar cycling experience was needed here! It was nice to be over taking the cars for a change. Throughout the whole trip, today was also the first time I had to deal with traffic jams.

Checked into Hotel tonight. First proper bed since Rochefort! But early start tomorrow, have another long one then!

Todays stats
Start	Portsmouth, UK.06:45
End	Just north of Oxford.18:15
Saddle Time	8 hr 10 min 28sec.
Distance travelled	142.56km
Average Speed	17.4kph
Max speed	50.1km

Day 20 - West of Javron-Les-Capellis to Ouistreham (Caen) Ferry.

What a terrible nights sleep. First im all over the show and stressed about tomorrow. Getting the bike fixed. Then Im woken up by a scuffling noise near my head. There was something underneath the tent scuffling around! Arghhh!! Ignoring it,

and then dreaming of nasty stuff invading me.

Really didnt make for a good time! Especially seeing blobs moving about. I was expecting some nasty big ass thing to burst through the lining and kill me.

I was awake before the alarm at 7am. Hearing more scuffling noises around me under the tent. Urghhhh wasnt good. Got packed up and was on the bike by 8am. Amazingly the back tyre had held up overnight! So headed out east to the bike shop. Oh, even after lifting the tent, I never found out what was underneath it! There was nothing there!

I got to this Zone Artisand industrial estate where it was supposed to be, and could I find it? Could I heck! I cycled around and around, and no sign of it anywhere! Really wasnt a good time! It must have existed, the guy at the camp site knew about it, and when Emma and Franz phoned them, they had an answer service! But I couldnt find it!

So, no option. Head north, and pray!

I found a Super-U store near Bagnoles, the next big town. Went in there. They had innertubes! Woo hoo! Just not the size I wanted! Arghhh! So i got another repair kit and some breakfast. Not a good idea cycling 25km with no breakfast, but I had no choice!

I then continued on, and found a big Elecerec store. Wasnt sure what was in there, but went in on the off chance. Bingo!!! Tubes! OMG so happy about that!

So, four tubes packed and I'm off. Decided to just keep running on the patched tube until it gives out... Which is exactly what it did just 10km later! Replaced the tube with a new one. Also lost a screw out of my break leaver. So had to tye wrap that up to get it working again. I also did a temp fix on the rack. Im hoping it'll last out till Sunday.

It was then go go go. Heading north. Just like the last few days, endless farms and villages. Looking at the mileage, I was well back on schedule to reach Caen! Awesome! Never felt so happy. Also feeling good, loads of energy. Then came a huge climb. Biggest climb since Spain. But downhill was fun.

30km from the Ferry port and bags of time! Feeling great. Looming clouds werent going to dampen my spirits. Unfortunately by the time I reached the city of Caen, those looming clouds were an absolute rainstorm! France was going to throw one last hurdle at me. The rain was so bad, the GPS gave in, leaving me having to find my

own way. The blackberry trackball also started having problems because they were just getting wet, as I was trying to use them to navigate.

The rain got worse, I had to take shelter under a bridge for a while. Let it die off. Then was a 10km zoom down the hard shoulder of a very busy dual carriageway which wasnt fun heading out to Oustreham where the ferry port was. Got absolutely saturated in the process. That road wasnt nice.

But then, I saw it. The north coast of France, the sea and the boarding gates for the Ferry. I made it!!!

Not only did I make it, I was 3 hours early to even board the ferry. So had some food, and got this blog done now.

Done. I have now cycled the entire lengths of Spain and France! I have crossed the entire continent, on a pushbike, carrying my own luggage, unsupported. Tomorrow morning, I will roll off the Ferry in the UK. Hold the Champagne though. I have 3 gruelling days ahead. Its a spring to the finish line. Another 350km approx stands between Portsmouth and the finish. I have 2 and a half days to that in. Going to be some early starts. Cold and probably more wet weather. I will also have to adopt to cycling on the left. Although this is my 'native' side of the road so shouldnt be a problem.

The final leg of Gibraltar to Yorkshire, starts tomorrow!

Todays stats
Start	West of Javron-Les-Capellis.08:00
End	Oustreham Ferry Port (Caen).18:30
Saddle Time	6 hr 33 min 31 sec.
Distance travelled	139.08km
Average Speed	19.9kph
Max speed	64.1km

Day 19 - Menil to West of Javron-Les-Capellis

Feeling a lot better this morning, and with being well on target for Caen, I even managed a little lay in. Well, tried to. At 8am, the nearby church bells were donging away and there was no snooze button! But once they stopped I fell asleep again.

Time did fly tho. By the time I had had breakfast, packed up and was on the bike it was 11am! Oops! But that was fine. Plenty of

time to do the 100km planned.

So off I went. Feeling alot better, more power again to the pedals. Once again continuing on through farmlands, lots of up down hills making it tough going. Little french villages. Thats all it was for the first 50km. I did pass through a relativly large town, and a stupid woman in a car nearly anailated me by pulling out on me. Saw it coming and took avasive action already!

Cycling along, next minute, that dreadded feeling of a loss of air in the tyre. Uh oh, puncture in the back tyre. Now, I had been keeping eyes peeled for a decathlon or bike shop since the puncture problems before, as I went through 3 tubes with that. So now, I definately need a bike shop or Decathlon or something like that. I fitted the new tube, and off I went. Being the back wheel, its a pain, have to pull all the bags off, tent etc. Bike upside down, get filthy positioning the chain etc. Takes a lot longer taking the wheel off and putting it back on again.

So finally did that, got going again. Checking google maps for a bike shop nearby. Nothing coming up what so ever. Grr. Then next minute, my worst nightmare. A sudden noise of a woosh of air then an instant feeling of the rims on the back. The back tyre completely blew out. All stop. Pulling the wheel off again, the new tube had a huge hole in it! That wasnt a puncture it completely blew out. Now I will put my hands up and say, was that my fault? Too much pressure with the luggage weight? I guess so. But oh crap. That was the last tube!

I had no option to pull out a previously dud tube, and attempt to patch it up with a puncture repair kit. So I did that, and finally got going again. 10 minutes later. Oh gawd, on the rims again. Flat.

So, another tube, patched that up. 10 minutes later. Same problem. Absolutely dead in the water now. The patched were not holding. Maybe the weight being the back. I dont know. Im furious! So, next tube, patched it up. Got going again. Next minute. Arghhhhhhh! Its flat again. There was nothing in the tyre repuncturing, just these patches are crap! So i trippled, quadruple patched this tube. Just sticking patches around patches anything to hold the air just so I can limp to a bike shop.

By the time all this was done, and that back wheel was off and on more times than I care to remember. Its getting late. No way in hell will any shops be open now.

I got my friends Emma and Franz on the ball. The people I had gone to La Rochelle with. Looking up any bike shops in my area. Nothing. Except one 20km behind me, or one 40km infront of me. Looking at the distance travelled, I was already under what I needed to be today to make sure im still on schedule for Caen. But then they found another bike shop on the french yellow pages. A small town to the east 18km. But 20km north on-route a large town. There has to be a bike shop at the large town right? well they couldnt find anything on the internet. But there was definately one to the east. Closed today but opening at 8am in the morning.

Ok I take it, especially as I've found another problem. I dont know when this happened, but the rack, which is holding the luggage. Well one one side of it has sheered and is hanging loose. If the other side sheers the rack will collapse and the bike will no longer be capable of holding the luggage. With the other side now on more strain, its just a matter of time. I need a bike shop, and I need one now.

I trundled on. Keeping pressure low on the back, making the bike stiffer to ride. But anything to not burst open those patches. Took the diversion. Still too far from that ferry than I'd like to be. I need to be there by tomorrow night. Completely and utterly behind schedule now. So Im heading to Javron. Its 19:30 already. Not even done 100km today. I spots a camp site. So pitched in.

Looked at the maths. Im now about 7km from that bike shop. Then Caen stands 111km away. The shop opens at 8am. So get up super early. Hope those patches holds up and gets me there. Then go and get more tubes. They better had them in stock its as simple as that! I will also see about getting a new rack fitted if possible. Because if the other side breaks its game over. I HAVE NOT COME THIS FAR TO LET STUPID PUNCTURES AND A BROKEN RACK STOP ME!!!!

As you can imagine (and sorry for the caps there). Absolutley fuming and peeved today. Very frustrated doesnt come close. Praying that tomorrow I get the tubes, hopefully get the rack fixed. Then I've got a good (trouble free) run to that Ferry port. Was hoping to be well ahead of schedule by now and tomorrow be a nice easy relaxing days before 2 very big, long days in the UK on Friday.

One upshot. The guy at the campsite was british! So like it or not, he got my story of the toubles I've had today!

Worst thing, this camp site has no food whatsoever (as usual) and with all the trouble I havnt had chance to stock up. So really is no dinner tonight, except crisps and biscuits which I have left. I just need to get to that ferry tomorrow whatever it takes! If things go well, its doable.

Todays stats
Start	Menil.11:00
End	West of Javron-Les-Capellis.19:45
Saddle Time	4 hr 52 min 14 sec.
Distance travelled	94.33km
Average Speed	19.3kph
Max speed	52.0km

Day 18 - Saint-Laurent-Sur-Sevre to Menil

Rubbish night last night, was cold, and I felt feverish. Woke up a few times. With there being no where to get food, I know I didnt eat enough last night.

Got up this morning feeling utterly rubbish, but better than last night. Eventually got going on the bike, tho was a late start at 11am before I finally was able to get off.

There was nowhere to get breakfast either. I just kept on going through one little farming village to another. So I was running on my own supplies which did get rather thin on the ground.

The ankle has started playing up again, I can feel it twinging. But you know? Its tough luck. It can twinge all it wants. The other problems I've had today is general weakness and just not feeling too great. Stomach cramps, feeling of sickness. And erm, well at one point we needed an emergency stop at the side of the road to go find a bush to do something really private. I wont say anymore. But hey, this is life on the road!

I did finally get into a large enough town, saw signs for a big supermarket. So took a detour and went there. Was fantastic, was able to get well stocked up on food. Which was needed.

Ive been very lucky with the weather too. Its actually been rather warm. Just clear skies, making it cold at night but warm during the day. Seeing high 20s on the cycle computer.

I had some real tough hills today as well, even in the lowest gears I was really struggling to get up them. This has been a tough day. Probably the toughest so far. This is the problem with taking the back roads. Steeper hills and less places to find supplies. But I tell you something, no matter how bad I feel, and Im facing a hill that I dont think I have the energy to pull myself up. You know how I get up that hill? I just look down and my shirt, and see the two charities logos on there. I think to myself: "Get your arse up that hill or you dont deserve to be wearing those logos!" Yes I am hard on myself but its the only way.

Towards the end of the day, I set the GPS for a campsite on route. It finds one, then sends me down the most ridiculous road I've ever seen. It was not a road! Then it wanted me to cycle vertically up a cliff! That wasnt a road either! So had to go around. But finally did make it to a campsite. Very happy about that.

Had a walk around the small town the campsite was in. Absolutely nowhere to get food again! Arghhh. I really cant wait to get to the UK and have the biggest greasiest fry up ever! I topped up on supplies earlier and went on overload with the sandwiches so will cane them tonight. As long as I get a filling of protein, carbs etc its good.

Despite todays difficulties. My determination is absolutely sky high the roof. I pulled off over 110km and now only have 198km to the ferry port in Caen. I am well on track for making that ferry on Thursday night! However, once I'm in the UK, I have two very long days ahead of me to get myself up north for Sunday. But right now, Im focussed on just getting to that ferry.

Todays stats
Start	Saint-Laurent-Sur-Sevre.11:00
End	Menil.18:45
Saddle Time	5 hr 57 min 54 sec.
Distance travelled	112.25km
Average Speed	18.8kph
Max speed	52.6km

Day 17 - Rochefort to Saint-Laurent-Sur-Sevre

So this is it, the start of the final week of Gibraltar to Yorkshire. But Im trying my hardest not to think like that. Theres still a long way to go, and some very heavy days ahead. Today being one of them.

Having completely re-written my route. And daftly forgetting to pick the print out up off my friend Emma yesterday, Ive been more reliant on the GPS than ever before. And wow, was it taking me down some back roads today. Some good for mountain biking. But by taking the back roads, rather than the main routes. I'm saving over 100km from Rochefort to Caen. Which is something I'd planned anyway. 100km is a day basically.

Having 440km to Caen, I decided the day after the rest to really blast out some kms again today and get that down to about 300km to Caen.

Going through all the back roads, passing fields, dodging tractors. Bouncing over rough tracks, all in the name of heading north! It was nice to be away from the traffic tho, and found some really nice places.

Also as I've headed inland again and away from coastal areas, there has been a noticeable increase to hills! So I've had a few climbs to do today. Absolutely nothing on the sacle of the mountains in Spain tho. But even so, they were pretty tough, and some short but incredibly steep. I was literally grinding on the first gear. (Thats bike term for standing up and peddling as hard as you can for the extra power up hills)

Stopped for maccy dees for lunch as well :) I did spot one. But other than that, there were very few supply places.

Even before the 100km mark I was feeling tired, legs aching back aching. Really felt like I've hit a wall. The body is getting to the point of having enough of all this. To be honest, I cant blame it. I've had feelings of having enough too today. So a few low points there. Im just focussed now on keeping on going and getting to Caen. Because once im there, I will have made it across the whole of France and Spain, and the finish line will be in sight. I'm looking forward to getting into the UK, to some english speaking territory. Even though I'm getting closer each day, it doesnt feel like it. I'm really in the heart of foreigness now!

Interestingly also, I seemed to have entered a very religious area of France. On corners, and roundabouts, theres crosses, and virgin marys everywhere. Id be interested to know more about that.

Towards the end of the day it was time to find a camp site. And viola one within 3km and on the route Im taking. But having got there, it didnt exist! Damn gps! Maybe it closed down. There was actually signs for it too, but it literally didnt exist! So another one 10km onwards, north but also slightly west (off course). So I headed for it. Finally got there, and its closed. Finished for the season now! Arghhh! I was tempted to pitch anyway! There was no one around. But another look on the GPS saw another one north about 6km so thought theres still daylight, lets try that.

Third time lucky I was in. But woah. I didnt feel like i had the energy to put the tent up. Absolutely whiped out today. Tonight im feeling week and for the first time on the trip, not hugely well to be honest. Hopefully a good sleep will sort that out. But theres no food or restaurant or nothing on site either. So I'll just be on the rations tonight, I get a feeling this could be a really tough week.

But here's, the good news! Im now 303km from Caen. Which means if I do over 100km tomorrow then Wednesday and Thursday will be easy days. I can see me getting to Caen Thursday afternoon and having hours to kill before I can board the ferry. But rather that than having a panic of not getting there in time!

Todays stats
Start	Rochefort.10:15
End	Saint-Laurent-Sur-Sevre.19:45
Saddle Time	7 hr 36 min 16 sec.
Distance travelled	143.58km
Average Speed	18.8kph
Max speed	48.4km

Day 16 - Rochefort / La Rochelle - Rest Day

Well today was the final rest day before I hit 7 days of continuous cycling to the end.

Typically the guests in the hotel room next door were in and out and noisey at 8am on this Sunday morning and I wanted a lay in. No chance there!

So had a walk around Rochefort. Amazingly found a large store that was open, so was able to stock up on bits and pieces needed for the trip ahead. Got some breakfast, and then basically chilled out for a bit.

I'm on a ground floor room, and this cat jumped in through the window and spent a good couple of hours in my room. One question, do all French Cats purr so loud? Coz this cat had the loudest purr of any cat I've known!

Then, a long time distant friend, Emma who moved from the UK to not far from here to be with her boyfriend, Franz turned up and we headed off in the car to La Rochelle for the afternoon. (This was just an excursion! - The bike didnt go!) We had a wander around the town there, the Marina. Grabbed some food, had some waffles. All good, and nice to have a couple of friendly faces to talk to. And woah did I do some talking :) Sorry guys, was probably information

overflow, but its been a while since ive been able to rabbit on to English speaking people :) hahah! Would like to say a big thank you to Emma and Franz for today. Cheers guys, hopefully it wont be another 5 years before I see you again!

Back to the hotel room, and to planning the journey up to Caen. Google Maps says 424km. I've had to completely re-write the route from Rochefort. Tomorrow I intend to do a big day. I want to get well ahead of time in case I get any problems. I am dedicated to be on that ferry which sets sail at 23:00 on Thursday. If I arrive in Caen at 08:00 on Thursday then I dont care! The mission is now: Get the hell out of France! Just kidding there. I still have over 400km of France to enjoy.

Compared to Spain, France is a cyclists paradise! Cycle lanes everywhere, flatter roads, campsites all over the place. Even bike racks outside supermarkets to lock the bike up. A lot more people seem to cycle around here.

Day 15 - Lillan to Rochefort

Well, Unbeleivable! Having done extra kms to make up for lost time yesterday, and to get La Rochelle in reach for today. I get to the campsite last night, and could not find any available hotels in La Rochelle. Further investigation found that there is some sort of boating thing going on this weekend in that town and all the hotels are booked up! So much for my rest day off there then. However, the town next to it, called Rochefort had a hotel. So I pitched in there.

Interestingly by staying at Rochefort has changed the whole route up north from there. As La Rochelle was actually a slight detour. The reason for going there was to meet up with some friends, and also because its a nice place. However my friends have car so they can come meet me in Rochefort and then we can drive to La Rochelle tomorrow!

Also interestingly, Rochefort is nearer. So that made today a real easy one!

Got packed up, and headed north to Le Verdon, where I then needed to catch a short ferry crossing over to Royan. It was actually really nice to do that. Made today a real different day. I was suprised at how big this ferry was. It was like doing a channel crossing! But that is to come soon! This short ferry and the ferry to Portsmouth will be the only times on route where I advance without the use of pedal power. To avoid this ferry would have incurred a huge detour taking an extra day.

Once off at Royan, it was then just a relativly short 40km cycle to Rochefort, where I got checked into the hotel. Really short day as far as cycling goes!

Getting to Royan has also marked the end of the South of France, and now I'm in central France! France is a shorter country as I head north rather than north east as I was in Spain.

The road into Rochefort was no fun, suddenly going into a dual carriageway with cars whizzing past at motorway speeds - and no hard shoulder! Then a huge bridge over the river, which gave a nice view!

This is the big news. I now stand approximetly 450km from Caen, where I will catch the ferry to Portsmouth. Which I can do in four days. Tomorrow is a rest day, and the last rest day before I go for the blitz and get myself to the UK. I have booked and commited myself to Caen to Portsmouth overnight ferry on Thursday. I have also commited myself to then using the Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning to steam up the UK and arrive at my destination on Sunday 26th September at 3pm. All of that is going to involve some long cycling days and putting in extra miles, with no more rest days after tomorrow. 7 Days of solid cycling on top of what I have already done to push myself to the finish line.

But I have to push myself to Caen by Thursday night. I do not have time for punctures, detours or any other problems. It will be go go go go to make that ferry to the UK.

Click Here for the Facebook Event page for the arrival!

Exciting times lay ahead, but tomorrow I look forward to meeting my friends and having a relaxing day.

Todays stats
Start	Lillan.10:00
End	Rochefort.15:30
Saddle Time	3 hr 01 min 15 sec.
Distance travelled	54.69km
Average Speed	18.1kph
Max speed	38.8km

Day 14 Parentis en Born to Lillan

After a pretty bad day yesterday. I decided to get off a bit earlier and... GO FOR IT!

Meaning, I possibly had a chance to just push out some extra today and catch up. Well I say catch up, I wasnt really behind. I just wanted to be a day ahead.

If I could reach close spitting distance of Le Verdon, where there is a little ferry over to Royan, then La Rochelle is reachable for tomorrow. As La Rochelle is 75km from Royan.

La Rochelle gives me a rest day and an oppotunirty to meet up with an old friend. So as you can quite imagine, i'm keen to get there.

So off I went. I realised I needed to keep above 20kph all day today to make that target. The whole day was flat. As it has been pretty much since getting into France. So it was pedal pedal pedal pedal. No downhills to give me a break and some free kilometers! Oh no, If I stop pedalling, I stop moving!

Like yesterday, I was cycling through nothing but trees on either side. It really is the forest region of france. Plenty of trucks going by loaded up with logs. Which made me think of Final Destination 2. Speaking of movies. I then played a game of Speed. If the bike dropped below 20kph it'd go boom! Oh, and also I need to stop shouting "Bonjour!" in a variety of silly voices at people. Yes I'm starting to lose my sanity! But something has to keep me going, through endless straight roads.

The reason for needing to go go go go! Is because it seems that receptions for campsites close at about 7pm. So need to get to a campsite and checked in before this time. There is only about 75 minutes of daylight left after this time anyway now. As I head north, daylight will run out quicker.

The weather was better today, no rain! Partly cloudy, saw temps back at a reasonable 25c at some points which was nice :) So definately a positive outlook, especially when I conquered over 100km before 3pm. I continued going to over the 150km mark although a bit slower!

But Viola, I made it. At the time of writing this, I'm only about 10km from Le Verdon. So tomorrow I do that, then hop on the ferry then 75km to La Rochelle. I needed to be close, not because of th emileage but more because of the time. The ferry is going to be a slow process.

The campsite tonight even had wifi on it! But it didnt work, typically i must have pitched slightly out of range. But it also had a restaurant and managed a fantastic meal. Seafood Salad to start and a huge Spag Bol that beat me aftewards. But definately burnt off some carbs today so needed to replace them!

Todays stats
Start	Parentis en Born.09:30
End	Lillan .18:45
Saddle Time	7 hr 22 min 21 sec.
Distance travelled	154.76km
Average Speed	20.9kph
Max speed	38.5km

Day 13 - Ondres to Parentis en Born

So first full day in France, was awoken up by strange pattering noises on the tent. Oh gawd.. Rain! Looked outside, yup it was drizzly. Thick grey clouds, and for the first time on this whole trip. No sun in sight. I was definately no longer in Spain!

Got packed up, ate some breakfast. Then headed off, but had a problem with the speedometer on the bike not reading. Re-aligned the sensors and changed the battery on the transmitter and that seemed to sort it. But with that I was delayed getting going, it wasnt until 10.30 when I got off today.

It was drizzly and cold. It did not get above 19c all day today. Then to make matters worse, the drizzle turned into full on pissing it down rain. For the first time, the rain covers and my waterproofs were on. Then I was off, cycling into driving rain. Everything just wet. Doesnt do good for the mood thats for sure.

However, early on today I passed the 1250km mark, which means I'm now officially past the half way mark in terms of mileage! Hurraay! With that in mind, and being in France I'm trying my hardest not to think about the finish too much. Its just having always entered france from the UK before, France feels like the nextdoor neighbour and therfore not far. But I have to remain focussed and remember that Im in still in the very South of France and theres a long way north yet!

Also, looking at the mileage yesterday, I realised that if I exceeded my target today and gave a good push tomorrow. I could actually hit La Rochelle on Saturday night. I was well on course for doing that. Until.. My route took from a town called Mimizan, and up a direct road to the west heading straight north to Biscarrosse Plage. I must have been 15km from that town which was my target with time to spare, and I came across a huge military installation with closed gates

blocking the road, and a big sign saying something about Missiles!! This was definately not a road I could have gotten away with sneaking through! I think i may have discovered Frances secret nuclear missile testing base, who knows!

Basically. I had to back track back to Mimizan and go via Gantes and Parentis en Born. I only got as far as Parentis en Born when time for checking into a camp site was running out. I was tempted to just cycle into the night and wild camp it. But a twinge on my ankle and aching legs was sensibility kicking in and saying. No, Pace this!

But it left me utterly gutted. Now looks like the race to get to La Rochelle for Saturday night is well and truely over. With all the rain, spirits have been low. Having to go back over 10km and then divert is soul destroying. But, tomorrow is a new day and I will try and get an early start and just ride, and see where I get to. Getting to La Rochelle on Sunday night, is no fail. Its on schedule. But would have been nice to be a day ahead :)

As camp sites are everywhere in this part of France, and as the rain did finally stop. I got pitched down for the night again. Had a walk down the road to a restaurant, and got some steak and chips in me. So that was nice :)

Todays stats
Start	Ondres.10:30
End	Parentis en Born.18:45
Saddle Time	6 hr 01 min 50 sec.
Distance travelled	125.06km
Average Speed	20.7kph
Max speed	39.8km

Day 12 Pamplona to Ondres, France

Today was always going to be an exciting day. First, the pyranese would present a challenge and some nice scenary, and then of course the crossing over into France.

So packed up and off at a reasonable time, and off to the Pyranese I went.

The N121a road which is basically Pamplona to France, is a tough one for the cyclist. Because it has a number of tunnels which cyclists are disallowed through. So as I'm on the road, theres signs telling me to get off it again. Then very little signing to say how I continue on the same route.

People told me that the Pyranese were easier than they thought it would be.. They were absolutely right! I had a big climb up to about 850m and then a huge downhill which was fun! Then it was just ups and downs. It wasnt too bad at all. Passed through some really nice places. The Pyranese are a great place to cycle, and theres a lot to explore of that whole region especially if going east. But passing through north, wasnt too bad at all.

Excitement grew when I realised the border to France was on my right, and then finally come the evening time. There it was. The sight I had been looking at on Google Streetview for some time. The bridge over the river which crossed into France. Absolutely amazing to have been there!

Me, someone who never ridden a bike since childhood, has now successfully crossed the entire of Spain solo! What an achievement. Major Achivement number 2 done!

I hung around at the border for a little while taking some pictures and just having a personal glory moment! Then rode on, into a bigger unknown than what Spain is.

The difference was so noticeable straight away. The place is so built up, so commercialised in comparison to spain. Big stores everywhere! Needing food, I chickened out and dived for a maccy dees. Reason? Well Big Mac is the same in any language isnt it!? I know no French!

The traffic was just mad, cars everywhere. Then I saw something else rewarding... The sea. I havnt seen the sea since leaving Gibraltar. But there it was, the Atlantic Ocean in its glory and a Beach! I'll be following the west coast up north so will see more of the sea which is great :)

Something else totally different to Spain. Signs for camping sites everywhere! Absolutely no shortage of them! When it got to around 6.30pm i decided to head for one. Got there but the reception area was all closed. Ummm what do i do? Just go in and pitch anyway? Umm not sure. Checked the GPS.. ahh theres another one another 3km onwards. Lets go there! In spain they were seperated by 50km!

Found this other camp site. Woman in reception was Dutch so spoke great english. All good there. Got pitched. Fantastic. So much quieter than Spanish camp sites. So much more peaceful. Really nice actually! The only thing that went wrong, is that she pointed me in the direction of a restaurant. So got showered and changed, and tried to find it but couldnt. But it was OK. I have food. Just would have been nice to have a proper meal.

So there we go. A new country, which will give some new challenges. Mainly a language barrier. With that it will be harder to obtain what I need, and will make me feel even more alone out here and lost. France will no doubt chuck some bad weather at me as I head north. Its going to get cold. Its going to get dull, its going to get rainy. That all dampens the spirits. Though I've been to France before, I'm definately not knowledgeable about the way of the land. Best practices etc. So new challenges will present themselves to me thats for sure.

But there are good things. Im expecting flatter terrain and therefore hoping to push some mileage through. I have a scheduled rest stop in La Rochelle. I have friends there and should get to see them. As I will be heading north rather than north east. France should seem to be a shorter country than Spain. Especially if I can push more mileage, But we will see.

Right now, Im very excited to be here, and to have got this far. If I can cycle across the whole of Spain, then I know I can cycle across the whole of France.

Todays stats
Start	Pamplona.09:50
End	Ondres, France.19:15
Saddle Time	6 hr 57 min 53 sec.
Distance travelled	138.34km
Average Speed	19.8kph
Max speed	61.9km

Day 11 - Pamplona - Rest Day

Today was a rest day in Pamplona. Like Ciudad Real, had a nice lay in. Went for a wander around, and got stocked up on supplies. Annoyingly, Decathlon or any bike shop seemed to be miles away out of the city centre. So I wasnt able to buy any more innertubes as yet. But I will be on the look out thats for sure!

With a foot that is still sore, i was not wanting to walk hugely far on it. So spent a lot of the day just chilling in the hotel work. Sadly letting life catch up with me. Having to sort stuff such as paying the bills and send a couple of emails for work as well! Yup, thanks to modern technology, even on a bike tour, there is no escape from real life!

Had a nice afternoon siesta as well. I keep getting reoccuring dreams where I am back in Gibraltar! Aww maybe I miss you guys too much. But basically Im back, but just to visit, and end up heading back to where i was to complete the cycling, like i was splitting up the trip. Hmm very strange! This afternoon, I even dreamt I was in work! Arghh!

So I went to a supermarket and stocked up on loads of high energy supplies. As I will be crossing into France, and no know French, I dont know how to ask for food. So made sure Im stocked up pretty well to see me through the whole country :) Ok only joking on that. But did accidently get rather a lot! That'll be more weight to lump over the Pyranese tomorrow!

So, whether the ankle is better or not - its tough! Tomorrow I'm off over the pyranese mountains and will cross over into France. Speaking to other cyclists, they found the pyranese easier than they expected. I really hope its the same for me! The route takes me up the N121a, in which bicycles cannot go the whole way, due to tunnels. So I have to go over and around, adding time, effort and mileage to the journey. The last couple of days have been quite enduring with the head winds, and just focussed on getting to Pamplona. I want to enjoy the pyranese tomorrow, and enjoy the achievement of crossing into France.

I have a strange fascination with land borders and have been looking at the border on streetview, and just cannot wait to get there. The other thing I cannot wait for, is to see the sea again! I might not see that tomorrow, but over the coming days as I cycle up the west coast of france I should see quite a bit of it!

So tonight, I got greased, carbed and proteined up with a huge Sausage, Egg, Chips and Bacon from a nearby cafe in Pamplona. That should get some energy in for tomorrow!

Watch out France.. I'm coming!!!

Day 10 - Algreda to Pamplona

Decided for an early start this morning. Was up, ready packed and on the bike by 08:30. Far earlier than normal. 130kph stood between me and Pamplona. I really wasnt sure of the type of cycling to come.

My goodness was it freezing this morning! Temps down to about 13c. Can definately tell im further north now! But what a fantastic morning! Dropping down from the high elevation levels of 1000m to 400m saw me do 30km in the first hour! With 50km done a couple of hours after that! On another high, I passed through the 1000km mark! Fantastic achievement!

But things went for a slow down. The terrain got tough, and that head wind was back. The headwind was back with avengance! Had a couple of minor technical problems, one was an unsual one where the cleat adaptor on my shoe decided to lose a screw. Which meant I couldnt clip into the pedal. I love being prepared and had a spare screw with me, so off I went again. The gears seem to have fallen out of line again, which means, some of them are causing pedal slip and even had a chain de-railment aswell.

Despite that, I pushed on towards Pamplona. The road going in was a nightmare. Full of trucks. The head wind got stronger and stronger. Making it like cycling through treacle. Worse of all, my left ankle started playing up making it painful to cycle. I managed to work away to cycle without it hurting so much and chose to ignore it. Battling through the winds and hanging onto the bike for sheer life as every truck passed causing enough air turbulence to throw me off. Just watching the kilometer markers slowly go back counting down to 0 which would indicate the centre of Pamplona.

The road got worse, it lead onto a motorway! Trucks were pipping at me as if to say "You cant go here!" but the N121 was signposted onto it. It had to be the way, there wasnt actually any signs to say no cyclists alowed. So a 5km blast down the hard shoulder of a motorway and straight back off again. I do not like cycling on those things!

Battling on, Pamplona became close. I got my first view of the pyranese (Leaving those for another day!) Heading down towards Pamplona. The end finally in sight. Just another 10km to go, and what does the road do? Leads straight back to the motorway again. With big signs up saying no cyclists!! What a cycle friendly Pamplona city is! Love it!

So had to double back on myself, and use the GPS to navigate my way into the city. Except, the GPS decided that the best way into the city was across a field. Doubling back on that, I suddenly saw something i wasnt expecting. A huge Jet Plane coming into land at Pamplona airport. I was right next to the runway! Was hoping another would come in to get a photo!

Using a bit of intuition, I finally hobbled into Pamplona city. Navigating city traffic and made it to the hotel. The reception of the hotel was on the first floor of a huge building. So after all the battling and tough cycling today. I was then carrying the bike up a flight of stairs!

But all good, all checked in and a far better hotel than last night thats for sure.

Viola! Leg 2 of Gibrlatar to Yorkshire is done. Im hoping tomorrows rest day will sort the ankle out. I am now at the top of Spain. I have battled mountains, desolate areas with no food or water, head winds, scorching temperatures and burning sun. Spain is almost conquered, but she has just one more obstical to throw in my way... The Pyranese mountains lye before the French border. I will conquer that on Wednesday!

Todays stats
Start	Algreda.08:30
End	Pamplona.17:40
Saddle Time	7 hr 05 min 01 sec.
Distance travelled	126.71km
Average Speed	17.8kph
Max speed	55.9km

Day 9 - Barahona - Algreda

Got up this morning and no one at all in sight. Which made breakfast impossible. However I had supplies which would suit as breakfast, so that was OK. Went down to get the bike, and what do you know? The front tyre is flat again! Arghhhhh!. I pumped it up, got cycling, but barely got 5km down the road. Inspected the tyre, the rim, everything and put yet another new tube in it. 3rd time lucky!

Having had no signal last night, I got to the town of Almazan, stopped at a petrol station there - which had no shop for some needed supplies. But had a signal there, so got the blog and everything up to date. The road I was on lead out of town, but decided to double back and go into town, to see about some supplies and more importantly. Get some money out of a cash machine. Looking ahead there didnt seem to be anymore towns what so ever.

As Im on the road into town, I see some cyclists heading towards me and heard a type of voice I hadnt heard since leaving Gibraltar.. ENGLISH!!! "Hello, Hello Hi!" I shouted to make sure they knew I was english. I had been contacted by some people previously who had said that a team of cyclists are heading down from Winchester to Gibraltar. Sure enough, it was them! Theyre covering over 100 miles per day and doing the whole trip in 13 days. Far faster than I am! However, it is a huge event and they have raised some serious money. It is a supported ride with many riders.

I headed into town and met up with their support van and more of their riders, and had a good chat, and some biscuits :) How fantastic though! To meet up with people who are going the opposite way. Of course I let them know about the horrific steep hills to come :P They are doing a fantastic thing raising a lot of money for Inspired Living and hopefully I've also impressed them as I am solo. Their van was stocked to the gills of water and spare innertubes and tyres and no doubt everything they could need. Whereas I have to carry and find what I need. However whereas I'm trundling on doing 100km a day, they are pushing over double that. Typically today was the first day I wasnt wearing my Gibraltar to Yorkshrie Shirt! As both of them are well and truely ready for a wash!

Trundled off, and that gave me such a high seeing those people. How lucky it was that I actually bumped into them as well. I nearly went straight out of town and would have missed them. Couldnt have gone better! You can find out more about what they are doing at http://www.gibaltarride.co.uk

Headed off, and then high spirits were whisked away by the most incredible head winds I've had to deal with. Even on the downhills, if I didnt pedal, the bike came to a stop. For hours they were just blasting at me, making more than 10kph a struggle. Just sat trundling along in the lowest gears. As trucks went past, the air turbulence was so great I was nearly knocked off into the gutter a few times. Really testing, and really difficult.

Worst still I was severely running out of food and drink. I had previously stopped in a town, which was a complete ghost town. Sundays are just dead in Spain. Took advice of a friend and

headed for the church as theres usually water there. There was, but the tap was broken! So had to make it to Agreda, some 30km with just 1.5litres of water left under heavy winds, high climbing etc. Infact I summeted at 1200m. My highest altitude yet. Then it was downhill which got me into town.

So then what should have been a fine relaxing finishing to the day, just wasnt. Found a hostel. Closed down. Found another one... closed down. Found another one. Door was locked. But the restaurant side was open. So asked in there. Had to wait ages for the woman to finish serving everyone else. Then was asking about the bike and she was rabbiting onto me something I had no idea what. Got a room sorted out, but had no idea where to leave the bike. There was a garage across the car park from the hostal but it looked like it belong to a truck depot or something. But having made a call to my spanish translation service (Thanks Jepcy!) it was indeed this garage she meant! So finally got the bike locked up in there and headed to the room.. .Which was the most dirtiest room ive had to stay in. Infact I dont think it was cleaned since the last person. Urgh. But this is what you get for 25euros a night! This is life on the road!

I was hoping to get further than Agreda today, to give me an easy sail into Pamplona tomorrow. But that head wind plus lack of proper food, just finished me off.

Right, to more positive things. 123km to Pamplona tomorrow! That wind had better have stopped! Im ordering it to. Then I get a much needed rest day before taking on the Pyranese. Then and I'm feeling it already.. FRANCE!!!!

Todays stats
Start	Barahona.10:15
End	Algreda.19:20
Saddle Time	6 hr 10 min 00 sec.
Distance travelled	105.03km
Average Speed	17.0kph
Max speed	60.0km

Day 8 Sacedon - Barahona

Was a late start today simply because it took ages to get breakfast from the Restaurant at the Camp Site. Which of course was Tomato & Toast. I've taken for tasking for 2x now so its at least semi substantial!

Barahona was my target today. But the roads were so up and down. Had a great start but it was taking it out of me and the bike. Had a couple of huge climbs as well. I might as well be at the Pyranese already! Despite heading for the northern region of Spain, the temperatures heated up and I was feeling it today.

The sweeping landscapes and the lakes were fantastic. Though the roads had me cycling right the way round them, and at one point I was heading South! I dont want to go south! There was some real stop for pictures moments!

Being September 11th today, and having had friends in New York during the time of the 9/11 attacks. I never knew anyone personally, but humans caused 9/11 and as a result of that, it should never be forgotton. At 2.45pm local time. Stuck the breaks on for a one minute stop. This marked the time the first plane went into the tower.

As early evening rolled on, I got a puncture! The

first one! No problem, and at least it was the front wheel, which is the easiest to change. Got the tube changed. Then less than an hour later.. Another one! Same wheel! I had triple checked the tyre and the rim for any foreign objects to cause that puncture and pulled a nasty spikey thing out. By the way, its not fun changing a tube in the baking heat with flies attacking you all the time. Why do flies want to fly in my ear all the time? Whats so good about my ears?!!!

The second puncture did put me behind. Time was waring on and without much sleep last night, fatigue was kicking in. Cycling through the middle of nowhere for most of the day didnt present me with anywhere really to stop for proper food. Lunch was sitting behind a petrol station with a petrol station sandwich and shake. The rest was my own nibbles on route.

My 100km for the day finished in Siguenza which is a fairly decent town. But if I reached Barahona, that puts Pamplona 230km away. Knackered and eating nuts and mint cake to keep me going, I trundled it to Barahona. The roads were not kind! There was a huge climb up to Barahona by the end as well. Which gave a fantastic view!

Checking the GPS, and Google Maps yielded zero campsites and zero hotels anywhere around the area of Barahona. I passed hotels 30km ago in Siguenza. It was another 25km to the next town and the sun was setting. Another hour I'd have had lights on and night gear on. Something I wish to avoid. So tonight, a wild camp with no dinner. Just cakes and crisps to replenish the energy levels. But at least I had made it to Barahona. Not only that, I've crossed another state boundry. Castillo de la Mancha is conquered, and now im in Castilla y Leon!

Then... and I'm honestly starting to think there must be a god. Im cycling out of Barahona and what I do a see? "Bar - Hostal" with two dodgy guys sat outside. Tiny place it was. I actually cycled past, and then it hit me afterwards. "Woah that was a hostal!" So spun round and went back to it. Got myself a room, a shower and some dinner. Amazing!

An interesting place, this town is tiny. There was no one else here. Got showered, then went down into the little bar. Asked the guy if there was dinner. He said, yes in 10 minutes. The Real Madrid football game was finishing on the TV! So sat had a coke and watched the end of that with them! Then went through to the restaurant bit, where there was no one else. And he cooked me Pork chop and chips, after a russian salad.

Having only 45 euros cash on me, I was little worried that I might come up short. This place is in the middle of nowhere. These guys arent going to accept credit cards. No sign of a machine behind the bar. The guy was also writing out the reciepts for people by hand. Amazingly the total bill, including dinner and the room, was 45 euros! The fact I had two punctures and slipping gears today is nothing compared to the good luck I have had!!

The guy wished me a good journey and I headed off up to bed.

What was a little hard tonight, is that this is the first evening with zero mobile signal. Hence why this update is late. There was no hiding behind a phone sat in the bar or restaurant by myself. A real test of confidence required tonight! Plus getting online, getting on Facebook etc is my fresh air from the solitude that is travelling all this way on the road. Plus its always unnerving when theres no mobile signal and Im cut off from the world! Im really starting to wish I hadnt watched the Hostal movies!

Legs are feeling fine, but my lips are dry after those battering winds the other day. I never thought to take any lip balm. But will look for some once Im in pamplona. Also on my lower back I've been feeling some irritation for a couple of days now. Had a chance to look in a mirror at it, and wooooah! Red raw or what!! I think the cycling shorts have obviously been rubbing. So treating that with plenty of sudacreme and hopefully can get it under control once I have a rest day in Pamplona.

Todays stats
Start	Sacedon.10:35
End	Barahona.20:30
Saddle Time	6 hr 31 min 02 sec.
Distance travelled	130.05km
Average Speed	19.9kph
Max speed	54.9km

Day 7 Villuanueva de Alcardete to Sacedon.

Think I had the best nights sleep last night, except dreaming about world war 2 and people were coming to burn our houses down. But other than that, all good. I woke up a bit later than expected. Got the breakfast that was on offer... You guessed it, Tomatoe on Toast again! and headed off.

After fields and more fields yesterday, the day started off with... Youre getting good at this! More fields! However, my eyes were in for a treat afterwards as some hills started appearing which gave way to some great scenary, and some great wild camp spots. Something I couldnt find at all yesterday.

Pushing on and continuning to pedal, it really was blatant that I was in the middle of nowhere. Passing through towns, yielded no places to get food at all. So was running on what food I had. I was feeling weak today on the bike as well. Got to the only petrol station there was in a semi large town, where I was finally able to stock up on some food and get something in me/ But the 24hr restaurant wasnt open! So todays food intake has been utter rubbish.

Despite that coninued on and after a fantastic lake, and a bridge and some stunning views. I arrived in Sacedon. My map said it was 130km from where I was today but arrived at it, at

110km. Which is the first time thats ever happened! Usually the distances has been greater

than what it said on my route plan! So that was nice! And bingo, a camp site in Sacedon also. So got pitched up in there.

Restaurant on site, but typical spanish, dinner doesnt start till 9pm, so for two hours was just munching on crisps or whatever I can find. Before I leave tomorrow I have to stock up on food and plenty of water. There is a lot of empty area coming up. But glad to have a proper meal tonight. Last night, I asked about "cena" (dinner) and was presented with a sandwich menu. Tonight I'm going to stuff myself at that restaurant because I know i need it.

3 Days and I should be in Pamplona. Then its another rest day, then Pyranese, then France!

And of course, a big happy National Day to Gibraltar today. Shame I cant be there to party with everyone. No beer for me until I reach Yorkshire. Gibraltar to Yorkshire was timed to get the best weather. `Tonight DJ Zoosh (aka Dj Jonny) is DJing in Lord Nelson in Gibraltar. Go there, and buy him a shot. Because every time you do, he's donating the value of that to the Gibraltar Society for Cancer Relif. So buy him a shot or two for me!

The first week on the road is complete! I've travelled 738.96km in 7 days. That includes a day off as well. So im running ahead of time right now :) 138km ahead :D excellent :D

Todays stats
Start	Villanueva De Alcardete.10:30
End	Sacedon.17:45
Saddle Time	5 hr 19 min 17 sec.
Distance travelled	111.89km
Average Speed	21.0kph
Max speed	46.5kph