Miles cycled: c400
Hours in saddle: c50
Flapjacks consumed: None
Bakewell tarts, chocolate brownies, cake slices, sundry pastries: >20
Ales: <4 (yes, really)
Painkillers: 36
Punctures: 1
Tactical dismounts: >15
Involuntary dismounts: 0
Funds raised to date: GBP6,000 (link to fundraising page here)

What can I tell you about this trip? The worst day – Tuesday – brought hail storms, thunder and lightning, a puncture and a 12-mile detour. The best day was, unsurprisingly, the last, when the sun illuminated my arrival at the finish line. Lots of high points – beautiful views, occasional warmth, the kindness of strangers (even though their directions were normally atrocious), quality baking, and great lodgings – and a few lows, such as a wheel spoke exploding under the combined weight of my panniers and me (I think my Lycra-clad arse looked like nothing so much as two badly-packed sacks of coal). I also rediscovered the joy of wearing the same shirt, socks, gloves and vest for six days in a row without anyone nagging, although you tend to get sent to an outside table if you visit a café, regardless of the weather.

I can also deal a major blow to the notion that all women are multi-taskers: I encountered a traitor to the sisterhood in Caldbeck in the Lake District, who was unable to handle two customers at once, preferring instead to serve sequentially, meaning that I would have to wait for her to serve, take the money, wipe down the table and do the washing-up before she got round to me. I was frustrated, but also secretly pleased: sisters, there is still work to do!

Physically, the engine – legs and butt – performed incredibly well. Other parts have yet to recover. My hands are painful, and I’ve lost the feeling in the tips of three fingers. Saddle sores – need you ask? I’m covered in midge bites and various scrapes from where the bike attacked me, and the most generous description of my complexion is ‘weathered’.

Yet, whilst I am comprehensively knackered, I am also remarkably chipper. I did it. I was out in the fresh air every day, I had nothing else to do, and most things went much better than expected. My bike was heroic, doing stuff for me that it really hadn’t been designed to do. And, of course, the main purpose was to raise a huge amount of money for my chosen charity, which I did. As of tonight, that is very close to £6,000. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so generously to this cause – and, if you haven't yet, there is still time to do so (click above for the link). In the grand scheme of things, a few pains in the sit muscles and a couple of swallowed bugs are a price well worth paying to raise such a fantastic sum of money.