Distance: 55 miles

 Average speed: 12.4 mph 

Moving time: 4 h 20

Door to door: 6 hours

WE MADE IT!!!!!

 

At the time of writing, we are sat around a swimming pool, cold lager in hand, pinching ourselves that it is all over – we actually cycled the length of South America, in the time limit we set ourselves and have raised such an incredible amount of money for charity. Words cannot really do justice of how we are feeling right now, and perhaps it is easier to first describe our final few hours on the bike after nearly four and a half months of riding a bike every day.

 

Already yesterday’s events seem a million miles away and it is as if we have stepped through a door into another world, so contrasting are the two timeframes separated by 24 hours. We woke early, hoping to get to Cartagena for 3 o’clock where Roo’s Parents and his girlfriend Claire awaited us. The early morning sun greeted us for one last time, and we couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces with the excitement growing with each pedal. No saddle sores or mosquito bites could dampen our mood, nor could the sheer exhaustion we had been battling with for the last few months. Speakers on loud it was full speed ahead to Cartagena!!! Despite the heat, it was the perfect day in Colombia, as the usual village pit stops provided us with delicious fuel and the locals beeped and waved as we sped on by. Realising this would be our last time, we stopped in a petrol station on the edge of Cartagena to savour one last ice cream and reflect on how many times we’ve taken refuge in petrol stations over the trip and all the fond and crappy memories we have of them. Continuing on, we arrived on the outskirts of the city, both beaming and trying our best to savour every moment and our final few pedal strokes as the buildings became more and more built up. With just half a mile to go, we glimpsed the old town of Cartagena de Indias standing tall in front of the shining Caribbean Sea. A magical sight we will never forget and one that surpassed all our wildest imaginations over the past four months.

 

Taking a few moments to compose ourselves we then headed through the old town city walls and followed the signs towards Plaza San Diego, still struggling to believe this was all real. We followed a street for a few minutes, slowly peddling past ancient and brightly coloured houses, amazed at how still and quiet everything seemed. Suddenly the silence was pierced by the cheers and waves of a huge crowd of people to our left as we entered the plaza. Having both just expected a cold beer and a few hugs we were completely shocked, wondering if this reception was even for us, before spotting Roo’s parents in the middle of the crowd. Following the road up and around into the square the other way we crossed under a chequered finishing line and fell, disbelieving, into the arms of Billy, Stephen and Claire. The hour that followed already feels like a hazy dream as we were hugged and congratulated by hundreds of people, popped a bottle of champagne each on a handmade podium and danced to the tunes of a traditional band. Words really can’t do our Cartagenan welcoming party justice, it simply blew us away and was the perfect way to finish something that has been so immense from start to finish. We highly recommend watching the video on our website homepage that captures the afternoon better than we ever could.  

 

Eventually the crowd of people dispersed (we later found out that Roo’s mum had simply gone around the hotel asking people to come out and then the crowd grew from there as tourists and locals came to see what all the fuss was about), and we parked our bikes for the final time before sitting on the sea wall, arm in arm reflecting on what the hell had just happened and all that we had achieved. The chance to be clean and to wear different clothes then became too much and we spent the rest of the day enjoying all the luxuries we have missed for so long, followed by an obscene amount of food and a few drinks later on. The perfect day and one we will never forget.

 

We now have a final few days together to relax in Cartagena before Jim leaves for an Elton John concert and Roo stays on for another week. Already not sharing a room with each other for the first time in 128 days feels strange enough but when we eventually say goodbye it will probably sink in that this is all over.

 

Throughout the past four and a half months the prospect of finally putting our feet up and sharing a celebratory beer has always been enough to motivate us during those trickier moments when we’ve really just wanted to throw the towel and stop for the day. It is however with a heavy heart that we sign off our journey log one last time and come to terms with the realisation that this is all really over. Our long journey North has been the best four months of our lives and despite the hardships, there have been far more highs and so many days when we have felt like the luckiest people alive. From travelling the mind-blowingly beautiful Caraterra Austral, traversing the Andes for the first time, cycling across the world’s largest salt flats, reaching new highs in Peru, seeing Volcanoes in Ecuador and meeting some of the kindest people in the world in Colombia we have always felt extremely privileged to be on this journey, a trip of a lifetime, which has been made even more special by the fact we have raised so much money for our chosen charities. That was always the primary aim of this journey and thank you so much to those of you who donated and were there with us the whole way. The tangible difference the money will make is huge and to have something so positive come out of this trip means the world to both of us.

 

For those of you who are eager to hear more, we are in the process of putting together all of our badly filmed footage with the help of one of our good friends in the hope that some kind of film can be put together. On top of that, we are hoping to hold one big talk in early 2019. Thank you for being with us this whole time and you will hear from us soon!