We haven’t begun yet, but I thought I’d best try out my blogging skills on my iPad before we go.

Many of you know this began in January, when I arrived home and announced to long suffering husband that I had decided what I wanted to do for my 60th birthday. Visible relief on his part, as he didn’t have any clues. Then I announced that I wanted to cycle from Land’s End to John O’ Groats, the iconic journey from one end of the UK to the other.

Rather hesitantly he asked if he was meant to come as well, and when I replied affirmatively, there was a noticeable concern in his voice as he asked when this was happening.

Because of a long break at Easter from RDA, I decided it had to be then, and within days, he had the route and all of our hotels and B&Bs booked.

Training began, in the cold. What I had thought was long to drive became a short everyday training route. As we got more serious, distances took on a whole other meaning and as Peter recently pointed out, it has given us the opportunity to explore our (very hilly) and beautiful countryside.

We have been training as best we can; it is incredibly time consuming, and mentally consuming as well. I don’t know if we have done enough. Hills are still hard to cycle up, but what used to seem hard is a bit easier and I now know what is really hard. And I am still tired at the end, but at least I get to the end.

I have bought loads of energy bars, Mars bars, Milky Ways, and Mini Eggs, as well as peanut butter. And I have started to lay out the few clothes I am taking. We hope to get our belongings transferred, but occasionally may need to carry them, so are going very light. Food is more of a priority than clothes, except of course what we are wearing for cycling, which is light layers and high vis.

We leave from Paddington Station on April 2, arriving in Penzance. We then cycle to Land’s End, rather unfortunately doing the same in reverse the next day.

Thanks to everyone who has been encouraging and more confident than I am, including my two children. And especially to Kate, whose father,Dick Poole, broke the record for cycling an End to End in less than 48 hours, in 1965, fifty years ago.