FRSB chief executive Alistair McLean is cycling from Land's End to John O’Groats. In the second instalment of his blog chronicling his odyssey, McLean is humbled by generosity and exhausted by hills.

Yesterday

When I agreed to do this blog, I must confess that I did wonder if I really would have enough to blog about. Anyway today was full of many events worth a mention. As for today’s ride, it was a real leg-breaker.  I am lying on the floor in my room with my feet in the air having just had an ice-cold bath. Ouch! The bath is to help muscle recovery and the legs up the wall are to well help muscle recovery.  

Why? Well we rode for 95 miles, first time ever for most of us but more significantly, we were riding for six hours climbing 7,700 feet which was a killer. It’s like cycling quarter the way up Everest on a bike in one day. None of us had ever climbed that much before.

But along the way we had a lot of fun. We stopped in Torrington where they were having a May Day festival with the main street closed; there was a maypole, lots of kids having fun and a wonderful Cornish band parading. Didn't realise that Maypole dancing is a pagan fertility festival but I think I'll leave that topic there. It was however quite something to see, reminding us all that most regions in the country have such diverse culture, tradition and history.
Probably the most touching thing was when we stopped in a small town called Holdsworthy.

We grabbed a coffee and a huge piece of cake and had a chat with some locals. When we had finished an elderly lady kindly donated £2 to us. Quite something and very humbling! Real generosity!!

This morning

For the uninitiated, Land's End to John O'Groats is known as LE JOG. Looking at us all this morning and the feeling from yesterday is that it is more like LE SJOG!

About to race off and try and get a bike repaired - my bike. More later.