Crossing the line

Day Seven: Bedale to Newcastle

Last Updated: July 14, 2012 5:08pm

Julian (L) and Rob pictured with Dylan at St James' Park

Rob and Julian stand with their cycling team

Rob and Julian stand with their cycling team

Sky Sports News presenters Rob Wotton and Julian Waters cycled 400 miles in a week to raise funds for Rett Syndrome Research Trust UK.

The dynamic duo left St James Park, Exeter on Sunday, July 8 and reached St James' Park, Newcastle the following Saturday.

Read below for Rob's views on the final stage of the ride, and why he now wants to swap his lycra for a sunbed in the Caribbean...

We have arrived at St James' Park and brought an end to our epic journey.

Dylan, who has just turned three, is up here with her mum, dad and grandparents, and Julian and I have had a lovely slice of her birthday cake, which re-energised us nicely for a lap of honour around Newcastle's hallowed stadium.

We have met many big sporting stars this week, including Paul Lambert, Rory Delap and Lee Briers, but when we got to the North East we were greeted by Sky Sports News reporter David Craig - and in these parts they don't come much bigger than him!

Even though I am pleased that we have been able to complete this challenge, the most important thing has been to raise the profile of - and money for - the Rett Syndrome Trust, which ensures that girls like Dylan get the best help they can.

I don't know the exact figure raised yet but I have been told that it is well over £5,000. That news and Dylan's smiling face was a lovely way for this week-long ride to finish.

Swerve

Today's ride was not without incident, though. We left Bedale around 10am and then went up through Darlington - the scene of our first and only crash. We were going across a level crossing when Julian rode into our ride leader Gav after one of his wheels got caught in the track.

It could have been really nasty but they are both good cyclists and were able to protect themselves. I was just behind and nearly ran over Gav's head but, luckily, was able to swerve out of the way just in time.

Yesterday we encountered relentless rain but today was dry and cool - perfect riding conditions. That was handy because we had a long distance to do and managed to go the fastest we have all week.

I have discovered the hard way that I'm not a cyclist so for my next challenge I think I'm going to do a sponsored sunbathe, preferably in the Caribbean. All I know is it certainly won't be in England...

I'm back on Sky Sports News next week and I think I'm going to need one of those donut-shaped cushions on my chair, otherwise sitting down could be quite painful!

To support Rob and Julian please visit www.justgiving.com/cyclefordylan. If you have a couple of minutes to spare, please visit www.curefordylan.com for more information on Dylan and Rett Syndrome

For more details on the route they took please visit: Lovevelo.co.uk