Day 6

Dear Diary...

Today is the last day!

We meet our host's wife today, a formidable Greek lady who does seem to be more outgoing but worthy of Mrs Negative. We are thrown out of the dining room for daring to enter five minutes before the schedule for breakfast!

We all meet at Terry's hotel and he is concerned that he has such a lot of drinking water left.

We set off realising that whilst this is the last day it is probably the longest. We find the cycle path just south of Whitby. This is the old Whitby to Scarborough railway line. The surface is good but being ash is very dusty.

The heat is building by 10.00 and we are thankful of our water bottles. The views of Robin Hood Bay are spectacular and we are going well but the miles aren't clicking away as fast as I would like.

We've decided to save time today and have lunch on the hoof. Terry is raiding a supermarket for butties and we plan to meet him at Hunmanby.

Rob has a puncture just after Scarborough and the timing is all going to pot. We have to meet Terry in Cayton to refill our empty water bottles. It's very hot and the dust from the cycle track combined with the heat has dried us out.

We make the lunch meet and enjoy the sandwiches and fruit Terry has filled the boot with. As we take another fill of water he's now worried that he'll run out...what a difference a few hours make.

Rob has another puncture and we fix it outside a farmhouse. It's quite windy and we are unlikely to make the time of our rendezvous with the welcoming party at Hornsea.

We didn't notice it immediately but the wind has dropped and we arrive in Bridlington just as the England vs. Italy match is starting. It's deserted, 'someone's gassed Bridlington!'. The roads are very quite and we make up time rapidly.

We are now going to be early!

A quick phone call to Kairen and she reluctantly agrees to leave early and miss the second half of the critical match.

We are now going to be VERY early! so we drop into a pub about 3 miles from Hornsea. They haven't got a TV so we don't feel guilty and are sat outside. Trev has a bath in the gents and scrapes off the dust and dirt of the day. Kairen telephones to check on our progress and I foolishly let her realise we are in a pub...oh dear! Threats to remove parts of my anatomy that I'm very fond of... we all have to shout 'we are not in a pub' but she doesn't believe me.

We arrive in the outskirts of Hornsea and are overtaken by our welcoming group, so we slow down.

The cheers of the crowd as we cycle in are very welcoming as is the champagne and the engraved medals. Our group are about the only people around due to the match having gone to extra time.

A quick change in the public loos and we load the bikes on the cars listening on the radio to England loose on penalties.

A great fish and chip supper at Sullivan's is now the tradition and we can now relax.

Derek wins the BMW Trophy for the 'most inappropriate chocolate stop' and Kairen has a surprise trophy - The Minty Lard Arse Award, which Trevor wins for his great contribution in booking all the accommodation and arranging the transport.

342 miles and 6 long days, lots of laughs, some pain and a great feeling of satisfaction.

Where now for 2007?

Ray & Rob's hosts	Mustering for the start of the last day

Trev's going some!	Coffee stop
We've nearly made it!	Derek at the top of a climb out of Scarborough
Lunch is on the hoof courtesy of Terry	Rob's second puncture of the day
We bumped into this character!	The last ice cream stop
'we're not in the pub' (see diary)	The pub
We've made it!
Trev doing interviews at the finish	Weren't we here last year?
The team	Trev gets a kiss from a fan
The end of ride report	What's he up to?
The Lard Arse Award	...and the lard arse winner!
Dear Diary... Today is the last day! We meet our host's wife today, a formidable Greek lady who does seem to be more outgoing but worthy of Mrs Negative. We are thrown out of the dining room for daring to enter five minutes before the schedule for breakfast! We all meet at Terry's hotel and he is concerned that he has such a lot of drinking water left. We set off realising that whilst this is the last day it is probably the longest. We find the cycle path just south of Whitby. This is the old Whitby to Scarborough railway line. The surface is good but being ash is very dusty. The heat is building by 10.00 and we are thankful of our water bottles. The views of Robin Hood Bay are spectacular and we are going well but the miles aren't clicking away as fast as I would like. We've decided to save time today and have lunch on the hoof. Terry is raiding a supermarket for butties and we plan to meet him at Hunmanby. Rob has a puncture just after Scarborough and the timing is all going to pot. We have to meet Terry in Cayton to refill our empty water bottles. It's very hot and the dust from the cycle track combined with the heat has dried us out. We make the lunch meet and enjoy the sandwiches and fruit Terry has filled the boot with. As we take another fill of water he's now worried that he'll run out...what a difference a few hours make. Rob has another puncture and we fix it outside a farmhouse. It's quite windy and we are unlikely to make the time of our rendezvous with the welcoming party at Hornsea. We didn't notice it immediately but the wind has dropped and we arrive in Bridlington just as the England vs. Italy match is starting. It's deserted, 'someone's gassed Bridlington!'. The roads are very quite and we make up time rapidly. We are now going to be early! A quick phone call to Kairen and she reluctantly agrees to leave early and miss the second half of the critical match. We are now going to be VERY early! so we drop into a pub about 3 miles from Hornsea. They haven't got a TV so we don't feel guilty and are sat outside. Trev has a bath in the gents and scrapes off the dust and dirt of the day. Kairen telephones to check on our progress and I foolishly let her realise we are in a pub...oh dear! Threats to remove parts of my anatomy that I'm very fond of... we all have to shout 'we are not in a pub' but she doesn't believe me. We arrive in the outskirts of Hornsea and are overtaken by our welcoming group, so we slow down. The cheers of the crowd as we cycle in are very welcoming as is the champagne and the engraved medals. Our group are about the only people around due to the match having gone to extra time. A quick change in the public loos and we load the bikes on the cars listening on the radio to England loose on penalties. A great fish and chip supper at Sullivan's is now the tradition and we can now relax. Derek wins the BMW Trophy for the 'most inappropriate chocolate stop' and Kairen has a surprise trophy - The Minty Lard Arse Award, which Trevor wins for his great contribution in booking all the accommodation and arranging the transport. 342 miles and 6 long days, lots of laughs, some pain and a great feeling of satisfaction. Where now for 2007?