I woke up in the night with toothache which wasn't a great start.  About 2 miles outside Lairg the road became a single track.  This first leg of the final day involved some hills but some really long steady descents down winding roads.  It was really great, one of the memorable journeys of the entire ride.  This single track 'A' road took me to a place called Tongue where I saw the first signpost for John O'Groats.

This second leg will stick in my mind forever.  I caught site of the coast within a mile, it was such a great view and feeling.  I felt sure that the journey was almost over.  Everything was going well, Pablo was in great shape, the Sat Nav was behaving and I felt good.  The sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot.  Within a couple of miles the road had turned inland and suddenly it became a lot tougher.  There was hill after hill.  I was overheating struggling up the big hills and then getting too cold on the descent.  The weather turned a bit nasty and I still had 35 miles of this leg to go.  The countryside was a bit bleak, the road deserted and I was starting to tire.  I stopped twice on one hill to catch my breath.  My left leg, which I hurt on day 2 in Bristol, wasn't playing the game.  My left foot was clipped into the pedal but I'm not sure it wasn't doing much.  The only reason it was moving was because my right foot was pushing it around!  If it had been a sheepdog on a working farm I feel sure that the farmer would have shot it last week.

This got gradually worse until I had to stop to have something to eat and a quick stretch.  The wind was biting and I had to crouch down behind a wall to stop myself from getting too cold.  I only stopped for 5 minutes.  The hills didn't stop and I reached my lowest point of the trip.  I was truly on my chin straps.  Further down the road I passed a place called Bettyhill.  The shop sign said 'open 8 days a week' which made me laugh.  At least it wasn't raining.  Oh, spoke too soon.  Soon the hills became less fierce and I passed Dounreay power station (as was).  The road from here into Thurso didn't seem too bad, it finished with a pleasent descent.  I knew I had broken the back of the final day and felt a great deal happier.

I left Thurso after a brief stop for yet more food and a cup of tea.  There were still hills but nothing too scary.  The roads were wet, so I was lucky to have missed the rain.  I only had 20 miles to go so I decided to fire on all cyclinders and really go for it.  I didn't need to worry about tomorrow.  Amazingly I averaged 16.7 mph for the last 20 miles.  Just outside John O'Groats Jake was waiting on his bike to ride in with me.  He asked me if I would do it again but with him next time; not just now son!
The feeling of elation, exhaustion and satisfaction really made for an emotional rollercoaster of a day.

Preparing for the ride over the last 11 months has taken over my life, but it was worth it.  I couldn't have done it without the words of encouragement and support from everyone.  The support team, Sally my wife in particular, have been an absolute rock and in the words of Isaac Newton and others

"I have seen a little further because I'm standing on the shoulders of giants"