So after months of planning, nearly two weeks of cycling, a BBQ, a visit to Brooks, broken bikes, fixed bikes, newspaper interviews, polo and a huge amount of money raised we were finally closing in on Berlin.
We were just 70 miles from the German capital on the morning of the 15th and we woke up to beautiful sunshine breaking through the trees. It had stayed dry all night, and better still we could see that the ferry was running. We hopped aboard, paid our two Euros and then cycled the 5km into the town of Havelberg. As we had eaten all our food the night before, we stopped to grab a pastry and a coffee each. After this we found some bathrooms to wash our faces and brush our teeth.
Jess was in a lot of pain after the mosquitoes in the woods, in fact we were all bitten quite a bit. Andy was also in some pain, but that was because Matt had persuaded him to put deep heat in his shorts!
We rode for about 20 miles before the total mileage count reached the illusive 900 miles. We congratulated each other, and pulled in for a celebratory beer. We still had 50 miles to go though. So we jumped back on the bikes and set off again. We all had our jerseys on again today, it being the final day.
We past through the village of Friesack, then stopped for lunch in Nauen. 10 miles, and one more river later and we were in outer Berlin. Dyfan stopped to buy a pair of jeans and trainers (as he cleverly save weight by not bringing any) and we set off again.
The road into Berlin was a great cycle path passing under the motorway a few times before cutting through some nice rural landscapes. With about 10 miles to go until our destination we met with the traffic again (although still on a separate path)
It was rolling hills all the way into the city, but it was all enjoyable. We were shaking hands and hugging on the bikes, it nearly got teary too! We stopped to use the Garmin once we were near the centre. Then Jess got another puncture! We sat by the road fixing her tube and chatting to a guy from Bradford.
Just five more miles and we were at Matt's flat. It was a great feeling to be putting the bikes down and taking off the panniers and racks. We got showered and changed, then Matt took us out to get dinner and some celebratory beers! We had made it. 980 miles, 5 punctures, 1 snapped stem, 3 crashes, 1 broken rack, wet shoes, early mornings, cobbles and tired legs...
...It was all worth it!
Total miles: 71.2
Time in the saddle: 5h 16m
Total time: 10h 6m
Thanks for reading the story. A post will be up soon about our time in Berlin too.
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