Final stage - Vikings cycle home

Well - we've done it, or most of it anyway. The important thing is that we've made it to the finish in one piece. We're a little wet, a bit cold and somewhat windswept but give us some time to warm up, grab a beer and get to the after race bar-b-q and we'll soon be talking about next year's race.

After a 2hr 30min fjord cruise todays's stage started with a rather simple 10km stretch, then BOOM BOOM!!.

We should pause for a minute to ask our dear readers a question. How many of you have even seen a 19% road capable of taking racing bikes and running for 1.5km? Not so many I guess. Even fewer have attemted to cycle up such an incline. Our tip for the day - keep it that way, don't do it, it's not good for you!

The killer climb behind us we then had a short descent before the final climb of the tour - 800m up to the top of the pass overlooking our race start and finish point, Vik. The weather Gods weren't too kind to us, throwing together some wind, rain, hail and chilly conditions, but we made it up all the same.

We'll close off the adventure with a summary posting tomorrow when we get home, but in the meantime we must say congratulations to EVERYONE who cycled this year's Viking Tour. Whether you competed for honours at the head of the pack or struggled against your own personal demons down the rankings, you're a hero, if a little crazy too!