Day three already? Where did all those hours go? As we cycle out this morning we face a fairly stiff headwind for the first time (we’re temporarily heading South West) and this serves to blow the cobwebs away. The torrential downpour is a little unnecessary I feel... I mean seriously, we’re up, we’re cycling what more do you want?

Anyway..

We’re heading out to Great Bernera which represents a bit of a landmark, it’s our 15^th and final island. Lee and I stop to take a couple of photos as we cross our last causeway around half 10 and we head on to summit our last bump and head North East towards our mid-day rest stop at the Calanish Standing stones (which are amazing, incidentally). We meet up with the safety vehicle in the visitors centre car park and, as the sun begins to show itself, it starts to feel like the end is in sight. Everybody is in great spirits as we head out for the last 35 miles up to Port Nis, the small town 2 miles South of our finish line at the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse.

The cheeriness kind of dissipates as Lee and I settle back into the grind of another couple of hours of pedalling. It’s funny, these should have been the easiest miles but they prove to be a struggle as the tanks are quite empty from the previous 50 plus hours of exertions. I reward myself with a High-5 Sports bar after 10 miles, it’s amazing how dependant my mood is on my level of hydration and fuelling; the bar gives me the lift I need and we start yet another inane conversation to pass the time. It’s quite remarkable actually, 56 hours together (Not to mention a year of planning and organising) and Lee and I still haven’t run out of nonsense to talk about. Today’s topics have included favourite 1980’s sweet, drinks to be taken upon conclusion, food, sweets again, food ( I see a pattern developing) and lots of chat about how our various kit has performed.

This part is worth documenting as I reckon as time goes by the memories will fade. First off, the Felt road bikes from Chris up at Cycleworld have been outstanding. Genuinely outstanding. Lee and I knew nothing about biking when we started off and welcomed the input from Chris, we had initially thought we’d use hybrids or even mountain bikes; that would have been a horrible decision. The F70 bikes are entry level race/triathlon bikes with a lot of carbon and a very aggressive riding position, however, we’ve never known anything else and they genuinely eat up the miles.

Around half two we head downhill with the North coast on our left and the East coast on the horizon (does that make sense?) and the end is in sight. The scenery is amazing: the sky is now completely clear, the seas aqua marine and I can feel my legs burning as I realise that I never quite thought ahead to put sun cream on this morning (it was raining then!). We have been joined on our journey by all the massively supportive members of the Peyton and Mackay Clan who have made their own incredible journey to what must seem like the edge of reason when they see how far they have come. It means a huge amount to both of us and seems to validate the efforts we have made to get this far. Genuine thanks to them all.

The effort of these guys and the now seasoned professionals of our support crew culminates in an amazing finish line at the Butt of Lewis lighthouse around 1510hrs. Dad heads our peloton into the finish line in the oldest hire car we’ve ever seen; Rosco is bouncing around in the back of the open boot filming our progress. Very Tour de France.

As we approach the end of our remarkable 300 mile journey, Lee and I don’t really speak to each other. We don’t really need to, we know exactly what this means in terms of successful planning, blood, sweat, toil and steep learning curves.

We cross the line to rapturous applause (well, our supporter mob plus a few tourists they roped in) and quite a few hugs. Good times.

Rosco leaps back into action at this point in the Producer/Director role (he’s clearly missed his calling) and guides us through a number of interviews on the Adventure Show cameras. It’s a fitting end to an amazing 60 hours (well 57 hours 10 minutes to be exact!) and we’re both suitably proud of our efforts. Ahead tonight lies an amazing meal and rakes of Magners at the Hotel Hebrides in Tarbert... bring it on.

Oh, and maybe some sleeping...

To view photos from the finish line go to Flickr.

Gaz