So the final day of my challenge had arrived. A deliberately short day so that the boys and H could see me arrive (the landed late on the 31st). 

We only had about 35km to do by the handicap of a hangover and a 3am finish made it seem a lot longer. We both consumed a full bottle of water in about the first 15 minutes. It was a strange feeling knowing that the adventure/challenge was coming to an end. I’ve been lucky to go so many different places and see how many of our European neighbours live in reality. I also need to return to reality – but before I do, I turned to Garmin for one final time for the route in to Barbs. It didn’t let us down picking out mainly quiet lanes as we got ever closer. In Ferrairas we were passed by a local cyclist who we chatted to a traffic lights. We were discussing how good Foia was. 

We stopped for a quick coffee before pressing on to Barbs. 

As we arrived down the track I saw Seb first. They’d made a bamboo arch for us to cycle through and a red and white tape for us to burst through. The flags of the 4 countries were on display and a Heineken was on hand to reach the parts that other beers could reach ( if I remember the saying correctly). 

Aunty Barb – who administered the wine that set me off in this course in the first place, H, Lou, Seb, Dad, Emma (my Portuguese interpreter who I called upon when I was stuck) and Mia – my youngest follower – were all there. 

A fitting end to the ride. 

Donations now stand at £7,222 against my goal of £10,000. Thanks to everyone who has supported me and donated generously. I will get round to thanking you all if I haven’t done so already. 

If you haven’t donated yet – don’t be shy – click on the following link. Don’t put it off until another day – do it now before something else gets in the way. CLICK HERE TO DONATE

I’ll write a few more blogs on my thoughts and reflections and to also share some stats with you over the next few days. I’ll share two stats with you now though. My clothes are hanging off me. I left England weighing about 92.5kgs. No surprise really – I’ve cycled every day for the last 27 days apart from 2 rest days. My shape has changed quite a bit. So what do I weigh now? ……91kgs. 1.5 kgs is all I’ve lost. Can’t bloody well believe it!!!

The 2nd stat – one that I didn’t want to tempt fate with until now is that I’ve not had a single puncture!!!

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Many thanks

JON