Day 14 brought my LEJOG journey to an end. Some stats: 1,009 miles, 59,000 feet of climbing, 70 hours in the saddle, 339,000 revolutions of the pedals, average speed 14.4 mph. New friends made: 20. Cups of instant coffee: maybe 50. Bites of haggis: 3 (that was enough). “Wee drams” of whiskey: 6. Pints of Guinness: Who’s counting?

The final 82 miles (3,720 feet of climbing) were aided by dry weather and a mighty tailwind propelling us east to John O’ Groats. At times, the wind was so intense that if I sat upright in the seat, it was strong enough to push me up a slight grade without my needing to pedal.

At the morning briefing, our guide Russ advised us to take it easy for this last ride, so the stronger and less strong riders would all ride the last stretch to John O’ Groats as a group. We headed north from the Crask Inn toward the north coast of Scotland and enjoyed a largely downhill ride along a country lane for 29 miles, to the first Brew Stop. Then we hit the coast, with a glorious view of the rugged terrain and blue sea, turned east, and immediately encountered a series of climbs, not too steep but serious enough to put some ache in the legs.

At the second Brew Stop, we could see our destination, a curved hook of land jutting north into the Atlantic, just 20 miles away. Larry and I took off. My adrenaline gave me an extra boost and he dropped. Soon my roommate Jim passed me and I was happy to grab his wheel and enjoy the final 12 miles whizzing along at 22 mph or more, pulled by Jim’s slipstream and pushed by a most welcome wind. It was glorious. So much for Russ’s advice to take it easy, although Jim and I did stop for photos.

We soon arrived at the famous John O’ Groats signpost, matching the Land’s End signpost that started us off 14 days earlier. Larry arrived and we took the obligatory photos as the other riders rolled in, then we all retraced our steps (rerolled our wheels?) half a mile to our hotel to rehydrate with a brew.

Meanwhile, we got word that Andy (“Wack”) was just a few miles behind us, and we all headed out to escort him to the finish. As remarkable as our journey was, riding 1,000 miles on bicycles, what Wack achieved is beyond comprehension: From Land’s End to John O’ Groats in a quad vehicle controlled by his chin, his head being the only part of his injured body that he can move.