It's done! It's finally done!

What an absolutely incredible 8 days. It genuinely was the best and hardest challenge I have ever done.

The final day was just a short hop to Cannes, about 75km, but everyone was in high spirits and wanting to make the best of the day to really celebrate our amazing achievement.

We rode up a short climb at break neck pace then stopped for a drink (strictly a coffee stop but a few lager shandies were had) after some expert faffing.

From there, I decided to let loose a bit. An uphill drag presented itself, and some of the speedier riders pullled off the front of our group. For once, I thought it would be a great idea to go with them. We thrashed it up, racing each other all the way, before then cruising to our lunch stop in Antibes.

This was a great moment because the restaurant was right on the beach. It made it feel like we truly had conquered the ride, and dipping our feet in the sea gave that final sense of accomplishment.

We just had to kill some time before our police escort was ready, then in we rolled to Cannes. Traffic was bad so we barely turned our pedals on the way in, but it was just a remarkable feeling to finally be reaching the finish line.

It was also surreal. All the fear, emotion and energy that had been poured into this last week was now at an end. All the pain and suffering was no more, and all the fantastic people I had met were no longer going to be right there to chat to. Still, we shared some emotional embraces and congratuled each other on a job very well done.

Then I went and got drunk.

This ride has been unlike anything I've done before. The training was all-encompassing (thank you again to Rosie for putting up with it). The ride was brutal. The scenery stunning. But the lasting memory will be of what I achieved and the wonderful friends I have made along the way. Above all of that, too, will be the money raised for Bloodwise. It was at the core of the ride, and fuelled every one of us over the mountains. It was a fucking struggle, but we know it was worth it.

Thank you all for reading. Thank you for donating. Thank you for supporting. Thank you for caring. This has been a stupid, wonderful, beautiful, horror show of a week. And I have loved it.

Final video diary here: https://youtu.be/TcmL8LjL-LQ

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