Well we did it! I don’t remember much about Friday’s spins. I do know I went to Napier and finished almost everything I needed to, then rushed to the evening spin.

Waking up on Saturday morning was hard – I’d already woken at 2:30 and got back to sleep an hour or so later. I recall grinding my way through James’ 90-minute madness, only just able to turn the pedals in at times. Elly seemed on form – compared to her, and the other spinners, I was nothing. I rushed out of the studio at the end of the class and burst into tears. I can’t explain why. I just know that I felt worthless.

The arrival of old friends made a large difference – Ian had come to spin with us for our final session while Jane would encourage us. They are lovely – we couldn’t ask for better friends. Andy’s Saturday shake-up spin was intense. I’d somehow found a burst of enthusiasm and energy to attack and run as Andy and the music wanted. Andy also found a way to include the Chemical Brothers’ Faster remix (link is to the 1994 ToTP performance). I bellowed to the refrain so damn easy to cave in – man kills everything while putting everything I had into the pedals. I think the finale was a Pink Floyd remix but I can’t really recall – by then I was exhausted and dripping with sweat.

So we’ve done it – 16 spin classes, 15 hours and 40 minutes in a week. That’s over 2 hours of pedalling mayhem a day. Not bad for a couple in or approaching their 6th decade, with dodgy knees, internal issues, and other complaints. To top it all, as of just now we have raised £1540 for Mercy Corps – that’s just under £100 per hour of spin, and is very pleasing. Huge thank-yous to all who sponsored us, Andy, Jeannie, Luke, James, Barry, Collette and all at LifesCycle – it’s been a privilege.