I woke up in the middle of the night… nope not time to get up yet… back to sleep!  Then the alarm went off at 5am and I felt a bit sick – nerves, middle of the night hunger? Well it was time to get going… I had a quick shower and got into my lycra (After the cold temperature on my Saturday cycle I thought it best to wear long sleeves under my cycling top. )  I forced down as much porridge and banana as I could stomach along with a bottle of lucozade sport to start the carb loading.  Then, not wanting to miss out on my daily caffeine I took my coffee with me in the car.

I met my brother at The Quay in Glasgow at 6.20 a.m. and we drove in convoy along to the Gorbals Leisure Centre where we parked and got ready.  Within a couple of minutes we were on our bikes pedalling along the path at the other side of the River Clyde from Glasgow Green and the start line.  Squeeeeek Squeeeek Squeeeek – having washed my bike the night before, my chain was in need of some serious lubrication! Oh dear, not the flawless start I was hoping for!  Sadly the bike maintenance team were not on hand to help!  A quick loo stop and then we headed to join the crowd and wait for Stuart to arrive. I thanked the Lord for the clear skies but hoped it would warm up a bit.

It was a few minutes after the 6.45 a.m. start when we crossed the start line (I was one handedly trying to start my Strava App at the same time!)  We took it easy heading out of the park and on to the main road.  Despite our eagerness to get going (it was pretty cold) we obeyed the red lights and headed along the road parallel to the Clyde before heading South along Eglinton Street and past Eglinton Toll then on down through Shawlands along Pollokshaws Road and through Thornliebank.   We agreed between us to take it easy as there was a strong headwind and another 105 miles to go!  I was feeling a bit tired when we came to the first major hills and I worried that my 12 mile cycle the night before had maybe been a bit much.  By the time we got up past the Osprey pub I was already bursting for my first emergency stop! haha too much liquid consumed with breakfast and on the way to the start line in the car!

There was an amazing view oof Glasgow over our shoulders as we headed out along the Stewarton Road which helped distract us from the massive hill, also having lots of other people cycling at the same time was a good motivation to keep pushing up hill.  The cycle was lovely when we got to the top and then went at a much faster pace along the rolling hills before turning left and heading out to Galston for our first very welcome stop at 25 miles.   I was delighted that the Decathlon chaps were there and I got a bit of lubrication for my chain and a bit of an adjustment for my front derailleur which seemed to be rubbing a bit.

After our first stop we began a long climb up a hill.  I think we had stopped too long as my legs were dead – they were full of lactic acid and I had no strength at all!  I almost felt like giving up and I wondered if the others would go on without me if I got dropped behind!  Miraculously it wore off a bit and we continued together.  When Stuart pointed to the biggest hills in the distance in what seemed to be the wrong direction I though he was at it!  However, true to his word the route wound round to head up the biggest hills in view!  I was a bit demoralised as we weren’t even half way there and I was already really struggling to go up hills in the headwind.  I was so grateful to have David there going at the front with his strong legs and determination.  I tucked in behind him and followed him up the road past a forest and onto the top of a moor where the wind seemed so much stronger.   Even though I was struggling, I was keen to take a shot at the front and give my brother a  rest so I tried my best to push on over the moor.  It wasn’t long before David pedalled past me seeing that I wasn’t getting far very fast!

There were seriously dark clouds and a lot of wind as we came down off the moor into a village and turned left.  Not only that but the road was in a terrible state and the surface was more akin to off road than tarmac!  My poor saddle bottom was killing me and i was flinching with every bump and certainly not relaxed.  Just as I felt nearly ready to cry, the sun came out and we all cheered up significantly… answered prayers!!

The road wound on and it felt like it went in every direction except that of heading towards Edinburgh!  There were some nasty challenging climbs and some rolling hills where we had a bit of relief from the pain of climbing!  We were not defeated by this little beast which reared its head on our horizon dotted with people walking up! I would not be beaten!

The hills were hard!  There were many times when I questioned my ability to complete the challenge!  At the 2nd feed stop I felt so sick when I had to force myself to eat a sandwich!  It was really cold when we stopped to change David’s tyre after a puncture and I to don my ‘bus home’ leggings to keep the chill off!

I’ve never been so mentally and physically challenged in my whole life but we did it – it went on and on and on over 10 hours (8hrs 45 of which were moving forward!)  I could not have achieved it on my own as I really needed the support of my team David and Stuart and for that I am truly grateful.

Somehow we managed to clock up 2.5 extra miles to that advertised!  The cycle down into the Stadium was almost delightful – mostly downhill and with the knowledge that we were nearly there!

I tried to get us to do a team Sky entrance to the stadium but it was a bit narrow but we arrived together as a team with our hands in the air to celebrate!

Hanging around for another 40 minutes at Glasgow waiting on the transporter with the bikes wasn’t much fun and by that point I was wearing every piece of clothing I’d taken with me to avoid getting a chill!

What a day out! Thankfully my lovely friend Jill had made me macaroni cheese for my dinner to replace my lost energy and I had a fantastic hot shower to wash away the aches and pains in my elbows and neck!  The day after it was mainly my hamstrings and my wrists which were sore!

So with 2 challenges down and 1 to go I took a day’s holiday from work and rested!