Waking up to the sound of an alarm at 5.30am on the Stenna Brittanica boat just outside of Harwich, was a bit of a shock to the system, and with a proposed 90 mile route ahead of me I knew that it was going to be a pretty tough day ahead.

It felt good to be back on British soil and back on the left hand side of the road, cycling along the A12, which if you’ve ever had the chance is ridiculously scary on a bike. Why the Garmin had decided to send me this way I don’t know and so at the earliest point I got off of there and onto some more easily scalable roads. Knowing that I only had 90 miles today I wanted to get it over and done with pretty quickly.

Making good time, before I knew it I was in Colchester and it was time for a short break to stock up some energy bars. By this time the Garmin was reading 70 miles to go, which was a real psychological boost and so I plugged on, stopping again at a petrol station for a sandwich, coffee and a box of jaffa cakes (they’re great cycling food).

At Brentwood, by which time my legs felt like they wanted to fall off, the super hero dad appeared and offered to lighten the load by taking a hold of the panniers. He hadn’t realised how heavy they actually were and was amazed at the distance that I’d already covered that day. So with a lighter load and more streamlined posture, I was back into racing posture and so shot off towards Romford, Stratford, London Bridge and eventually home. I was really moving and although my achilles were completely shot, I was pleased to be over taking people, by the time I’d reached the 86 mile mark.

As I set off along a route home that I knew (ignoring the Garmin) it was definitely time to stock up on some more food and head to Krispy Kreme (sugar boost), where I met dad and we sat for 45 minutes or so. By this time I was only 10 miles or so from home and starting to get excited and so I set off, moving pretty well and thinking maybe (just maybe) I might be braking some Strava PR’s on my route home from work. I’d have to wait and see.

30 minutes later I was walking in through the front door of home, to the whole family who rewarded me with champagne. I’d done it. I’d cycled from Berlin to London (with a small cheat one day) in 7 days of cycling.

After congrats from the family, the first thing to do was to get all of the data uploaded from the Garmin to Strava. I was disappointed to find out that Day 1’s 84 miles hadn’t saved properly, but the others all had. I managed to get myself a KOM on a category 4 climb in Germany (even though I’m the only person to have cycled it) and overall was ranked 435th of 53000 riders on Strava for distances this month. In total I’ve calculated with the additional 84 miles from day 1 that I’ve cycled 599.6miles and that’s not including the additional miles that should have been added to the ride on day 2 when I cycled near to 150 miles. You can check all of the stats here though http://www.strava.com/athletes/1726419.

By this time I was ready for a bath and bed and although I got the bath, I was told that we should go out for dinner to celebrate at the Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower in Ashtead. Upon arrival I was again greeted by even more friends, all of whom were there to congratulate me on the ride. It was great to be celebrated, but it really wasn’t needed. Every Moment Matters Always, and with the current total raised at £2050 this has definitely been one of those important moments.

Day 5 of cycling solo and the body is starting to hurt. I can’t wait to be out of the saddle.

After 96 miles today, of wind, national parks, flat terrain and two different countries, I’m certainly starting to go a little mad. I’ve found myself singing to myself as my headphones have broken.

The riding itself is going well though and as I’ve now crossed the border into holland theres a lot more sign postage. It makes getting around a lot easier and less reliant on the Garmin, which still manage to add 11 miles to an 83 mile route today and sent me down so very sandy non paths (see below). I’ve come to expect that now. I’m just pleased I’m on a bit more of a sturdy touring bike than a road bike.

Speed is something of an issue, but I’m not going to punish myself doing as many miles as I am and carrying as much weight. It was nice to get on the tail of a weekend roadies tail with an average of 19mph along a short stretch.

I also stopped in a great little town called Doesburg for a toasie and a coffee. Touring is much nicer in The Netherlands where a lot more people speak English and seem to be a little more helpful.

Only 2 days of cycling to go now.

I have a two confessions. Firstly i hate the garmin. Calculations on garmin connect and the garmin itself are totally different and the mileage from the device only works out how far point to point you’ve got to go, so you end uo going stupidly tough routes and finding out you’ve then got even further to go than you thought.

My second confession leads on from the first. I’ve cheated myself. I cycled 30 something miles to then be told to go back on myself again adding 40 more miles to my journey. I wasn’t doing it, not today, not after Tuesday, not after the unexpected 15% climb for 4 miles and certainly not after the 15% descent through the mountains on wet roads carrying this much weight. And so I confess I took a train. In fact I took 5 trains totalling 3 hours of travel to get me to a place where I could then add more mileage but still be in a safe place before dark. I think I’ve managed to rack up 55ish miles today.

So here I am in Bielefeld planning in every loose sense of the word my journey for tomorrow towards Ahaus. I’m hoping to find a hotel there but at the moment I’m struggling to find one that’s cheap. If not it could be my first night in the tent. According to Garmin the route is 66miles. According to Garmin connect its 80. According to
Google it’s 90. I’m going to go with the later, just so I’ve got it in my head that’s how far I am going.

Positives of the day are that I managed a huge climb with panniers on. I certainly feel sorry for a pal who is currently on a trek from Barcelona to London taking on the Ventoux with a similar setup to me! It’s also a lot cooler today. Only 13 degrees. I had to put the jacket on, but at least I’m not losing as much water to the heat.

As I sit here now in the hotel in Goslar, a small historic town in the mountains just outside of Wolfenbüttel (where they make jägermeister), all I can think of is the distance that I cycled yesterday.

The Garmin clapped out at 129.51 miles and I had forgotten to click start for about 10 miles, and continued on after it had until the next major town. I believe I cycled 150 miles even though I was meant to be cycling 90. The Garmin had routed me wrong causing me to head back on myself for a large wave of the trip. I must check the route properly today.

Today I’m a broken man. My Achilles are completely shot, I continue to be covered in sweat rash and the mosquito bites have matured to full itchiness. With all that said though…I cycled 150 miles yesterday. It’s the most incredibly emotional feeling to have cycled that far and getting so close to the £2000 target for EBT is making things even more special.

The ride itself wasn’t actually too bad, just long and very hot. I drank about 10 litres of water and stopped in some great little towns. I met a family who had cycled with their 11 year old daughter from Amsterdam in 9 days. That really spurred me on and gave me the boost I needed.

I woke up this morning in pain, with the idea to carry on to Detmold, but as I sat in reception talking to an older english lady whose husband had passed away this morning from a heart attach, I had the realisation that the strap line “Every Moment Matters Always” couldn’t be more true. So I’ve decided to stay an additional night and enjoy my surroundings.