Abroad in Japan

It’s finally over.

All great stories need a fitting ending and yesterday we got ours.

Half a month spent furiously peddling over 1,000km across Japan’s mountain ranges and megacities, with an astonishing $1 million raised for the Immune Deficiency Foundation, culminating with hundreds of amazing folks cheering us on across the finish line at Tokyo Tower.

The journey wasn’t easy; my back and leg muscles are stuffed. And I won’t forget the feeling of my heart almost exploding while ascending 1,200m at the base of Mount Fuji.

There were some genuinely terrifying moments in tunnels, pedalling frantically whilst sandwiched between a concrete wall and a ten ton truck. Falling off the bike on to a stone pavement covered my already shattered legs in cuts and bruises.

Yet through it all, I always felt a part of something bigger than myself.

Cycling alongside the seemingly unstoppable Connor and knowing that every step of the way, people around the world were cheering us from this bloody incredible community was genuinely the greatest motivator of all.

Without Pete firing us up the second week, the struggle would have been a nightmare. Ian saved our bikes more times than I can count and Paul was there to capture every moment and raise our spirits every morning along the way.

Without the fantastic team of Nabiru, Kei and Eula off camera, the logistics would have been hell.

And without our brilliant guests, Garnt, Felix and Natsuki, the endless cycling would’ve descended into monotony.

It was a team effort in every sense, though make no mistake, Connor absolutely earned this victory. The journey was already no easy task, but to undertake it all while simultaneously entertaining 25,000 viewers everyday with a shoulder mounted camera is borderline insanity. The man is practically a Welsh Terminator.

I’m immensely grateful to him for convincing me to do this once again and to see it through from start to finish.

We’ll be working tirelessly to edit the full edited Cyclethon 3 episode for Abroad in Japan in the coming weeks. Can’t wait to share it with you all! (The drone shots are astonishing - well done Paul).

Until then, as always a huge thanks for your support guys - it’s my birthday this week and it seems I’ve already had the greatest birthday present of all.

(Well, unless of course, someone plans to gift me a barrel of Camembert of course😉).

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