6500 miles, £4200, 101 Posts, and the odd puncture.

I am incredibly fortunate. OK, so I make the time for it when others would or should be sleeping and it's hard work at times, but as I write my 101st blog post and look back and forward at the last 18 months of being involved with the TCR, I have enjoyed some of the most amazing hours in the saddle and raised a good deal of money for charity in the process.

Here's to the next 5000 miles and with your help, a decent contribution to the work of the Alzheimer's Society and the work they do with sufferers and families of people with dementia.

Yesterday evening, having opted out of cycling in the rain in the morning, I left for work at about 15:30. I had spent time ironing out the problems with the GPS and mapping, (or so I thought), the bike had been serviced, it wasn't raining and I was confident of putting in 75 mile son the way to work.

Things never work out as you planned. Every ride under these circumstances becomes a good training ground for the TCR itself. Resilience in the face of adversity.

By the time I had reached Yaxham, less than 20 miles in, it was obvious that the GPS download of my planned route wasn't working afterall. I can't fathom it out. It just stopped plotting the route and started to send me from whence I came. Importantly this confirms the importance of having some kind of paper/map backup option and  I will start to source a set of European maps as soon as I can.

The 15 knot headwind was going to put paid to 75 miles, but it was a good workout none-the-less and I at least could look forward to a return leg in the morning.

In the end I clocked 54 miles.

www.justgiving.com/john-bakewell4alzheimers/