The curtain has closed, we made it. 2750 km, 22, 550 vertical metres (2.5 times the height of Everest), four countries later we have returned to Benson, England.

The last 45 km or so we were joined by our friend John, who guided us home. His wife Val was waiting, camera in hand, champagne on offer.

I was teary. Happy, sad, thankful blurring together. To achieve this just 12 months after open heart surgery is truly incredible. Only Tony and my cardiac team really know and understand how hard that journey has been.

Big thanks to that team. Tony for having faith and patience with me as I recovered, supporting that process so that we could continue doing what we love doing.

To Val and John for hosting us and being our daily check in that we had arrived okay each destination. The love and hugs from Val and John are appreciated beyond words, love you guys!❣️

To Alan and Sue for hosting our two nights in Wales and seeing your local area, it was great renewing our friendship and sharing the way we did.

To Alison, Catherine, Graeme, Chris and Marion for taking time to catch up with us, thereby enriching our holiday. Kind thanks.

To family including Hannah and Kay for the regular updates and words of support and encouragement.

To the over 3,000 viewers of my blog, those that commented on Facebook or WordPress, thank you.

We have a full day today and do not leave London until later tomorrow. It will be a long few days, about 54 hours from waking up tomorrow to bed on Sunday night at home.

So, we did ride yesterday, about 85 km. Here are some photos.

We left our hosts in Thames Ditton after a great two nights staying on the island.

We rode maybe 20 plus kmh on the Thames pathway, predominantly dirt/gravel, sealed around the locks. We rode past many locks,

Our first port of call was Windsor Farm Shop, adjacent to the castle, owned and operated by the Royal Estate at Windsor.

To get there we took the road to Old Windsor, passing by Runnymede, the site being where King John ( brother of Richard the Lionheart, son of Eleanor of Aquitaine) was compelled to sign the Magna Carta.

In 2001 the the Duke of Edinburgh conceived the idea of selling produce from the Royal Estates and the shop opened later that year.

The Royal Farm at Windsor operates as a mixed farm including 200 jersey cows, Sussex beef herd, 149 breeding cows, 1500 hens, 1,000 acres of arable land, 2,000 acres of grassland mainly used to feed the livestock.

I noticed plants for sale that had been propagated by the estate, with a sign saying, from our garden to yours (ours is just over the wall).

As we left, this is one of the rear entrances to the castle grounds. I have always liked the gatekeeper cottage here.

Roundabout award for the day goes to the triple crowns, with Windsor Castle just behind.

The Long Walk to Windsor.

On the outskirts of Windsor along the Thames is this old plane.

We knew we would find John in the next 10 km as we had passed messages when we left the farm shop. Here he is, having just turned to join us.

As a trio we moved onto the town of Twyford, where John knew of a cycle cafe. Velolife is a great cafe with bike shop at the rear.

We followed John from here, and went home his preferred way through the Chilterns (1,700 sq km area of outstanding natural beauty).

In Stoke Row (a village) is the Maharajahs Well. In the mid 1800’s a little boy was beaten by his mother for drinking the last of the water in their house during a drought. The story was shared with the Maharajah of Benares who decided to fund the sinking of a well in the village of Stoke Row.

At last we were nearing Benson and our epic journey was coming to a close as we followed our dear friend John home.

We have started thinking about what is next. We like goals and having something to look forward to and keep our fitness levels up. After 28 days riding we are quite fit and strong and it does goes backwards a bit when you return and not keeping up the same level of activity.

We have been riding 6-8 hours a day for 28 days. Head home and it’s back to our desk based jobs, but I still manage 3 hours a day fitness activity as I prioritise it!

Thanks for joining us in this journey. Over 3,000 views so far. Kind thanks 😊❣️