I did it! I pedalled/pushed 1343Km / 834 miles.

Yesterday I finally arrived at Bilbao. Even as I wrote this I’m still letting it all sink in—I did it!

From Reinosa I had 82 miles to go and after one night spent under the stars (no tent) I reached the end of my route.

Above: The view when I woke first thing. A lovely orange sun-lit rock face.

The ride was downhill for huge sections of the route of which I was so glad—also exhilarating —a lovely reward at the end of such an epic journey. To add to the joy, I was also treated to a dedicated riverside trail and also an old train line converted to a cycle path too—superb!

Above: I soon learnt that I’d ride all the way along the base of that as the road u-turned.

Above: The road I came in on is just visible at the middle right.

Above: Superb downhill roads through the valleys. Such wonderful smooth roads, hmmmmmm.

The views all round were fabulous with mountains (or were they just really big hills) and me following the valley roads.

Once again I drew a lucky card at the hostel and among the people I met I’d like to bring attention to Julia and Lennert, a wonderful couple who had been cycling the world together since September. They had to cut their trip short, due to pregnancy of which made a wonderful end (or even a new start!) to their story and brought a smile to my final days. Good luck you three — I hope to read about your family trip by bike one day!

Above: 3.5 of us: a cycling team.

So this brings my trip to an end. It’s been both a struggle and a wonder, I have had the opportunity to see so much, at times endure yet prove to myself just how much I can achieve. A major part of my journey was to face my own fears and just go for it, as I always say to others, and I feel I have done that repeatedly.

So nearly 1.5 years later, I’m the one in the pictures and and I’m the one telling the tale! Who’d have thought I’d actually do it, eh!

🚴🏼‍♂️💨

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