Ten Years Ago Today

As I mentioned a few posts back, in 2010 I did a solo ride from Land's End to John O'Groats.
Although I was doing the ride alone I had a lot of support which I'll explain as this recap progresses.
I had intended to do the ride in 2009 but after some initial planning it never really got off the ground. I was determined that 2010 was make or break, I wasn't getting any younger and reasoned that if I didn't do it now I never would.
After a lot of planning my training only got under way at the end of March with a 5 mile bimble. As I live in the Pennines I had a lot of hills to train on and my fitness developed quite nicely. Having previously only cycled a couple of miles to work and back I didn't really know what I was capable of doing on a daily basis, eventually settling on 75 miles a day as doable and booking YHA accommodation based loosely on that distance.
By early July I was doing hilly 40+ miles with relative ease and decided that I was ready.
My brother drove me down today and we stayed at Penzance YHA. I was surprised at how luxurious it was! My 1960's experience was of much more spartan establishments. After an early night we planned on an early start tomorrow.
I was excited but extremely nervous as well. No going back now!