The last day of riding and last full day here in Myanmar! where has that week gone? time flies when you are having fun doesn’t it?

In my MYANMAR CYCLE TOUR – DAY 6: MYINGYAN – MANDALAY we completed our biggest day in the saddle, today is just a half-day of riding around Mandalay to see a few sights and hopefully finish up at lunch.

With a later start time today the team took the opportunity to have a lie-in, the first one of our trip.

I decided to get up at 6am and head out for a run before the heat got too much. That being said, even at 6am on a misty morning it was still 28’c and “feels like” 39’c with 90% humidity.

It was quite creepy heading out in the mist, it was still and quiet out there.

I went to run around what looked like a palace with a big wall and moat around it. There were already a lot of Chineese people out running, cycling and exercising around here.

To run one lap around the sqaure palace wall was 6 miles, in the end, a lot further than I thought and more than I was planning on running but it was nice to get out for a run whilst here. The heat and humidity made it harder going than the 8:45 min/mile pace suggests and I had to ring my shirt out when I got back to the hotel.

The view of the sun rising  through the mist on the moat was pretty special and something I was glad I got to see.

I was back at the hotel for 7am, showered off and eating breakfast by 8. I took the opportunity to pack all my stuff away in my bag to save time later on. The less I have to do tonight, the more time I have in the pool.

After breakfast we took the bus 40mins south to the Taung Tha Man Lake where there is the longest Teak bridge in the world called u-bien bridge.

It was nice to head out and have a walk along the bridge, it would have been cool to ride the bike over there and get some great photos, but it was far to busy for that.

Although, it looked like someone had taken their bike onto the bridge and gave up waiting to get through the crowds.

After spending 15 mins walking around the bridge we went off on the bikes for the last time. The first 15km was riding in single file through the city following our guide. For the most part, this 15km was pretty boring, the pace was slow and very stop/start with traffic and the group getting broken up.

We did cross over a big steel bridge which was pretty impressive and gave good views out over the river.

At 15km we stopped for water and waited for the group to close up. From here on it was a straight road for 10km to the feed station and then a further 10km before regrouping for the last 1km.

The 10km to the feed station was a nice road, some ups and downs but it was fast and flowing. I didn’t want to push it too hard so I just followed behind Laura. My thought this week has been to get to the feed stations in the top group then I am not out in the sun as long and gave have first dibs on the food, although I always made sure that I only had one or two of the cakes/biscuits to leave enough for those still to come in.

The next 10km to the final meetup spot was pretty much more of the same. Fast flowing ups and downs, nothing major. I left the feed station 5 mins after everyone else after picking up a puncher when rolling out to the road, great timing eh?

Being so far behind I thought I may as well have one last push. It’s only 10km so it will be a short fast blast. It turned out a lot of people were struggling with the hills on this stretch, the combination of 5 days riding and the heat / humidity had taken its toll.

I was flying through and loving it. Having clocked up over 4,500 miles of riding this year I was in good shape still and able to push hard and managed to get all the way back up to the front of the pack with Sean & Mark.

We arrived at the meeting point quite some distance ahead of everyone else so we went to have a look around the river and found some local kids having a kick about, they passed the ball to us so we could join in. The universal language of football. It was a special moment playing with the locals in such a lovely setting. A fitting end to our ride.

The last 1km was off-road, I stuck at the very back doing some wheel spins and jumps. Just generally messing around on the bike before I had to hand it back in.

We went past this half built pagoda which had huge cracks in from a massive 7.8 earthqauke a number of years ago.

We finished up the trip in front of this stunning white pagoda. Another new addition to the 2019 ride.

I made sure that I was the last one to cross the finish line, letting the others have their moment.

I was just doing this ride for fun but the majority of the group were riding for a cause close to their hearts so I didn’t want to get in the way of other peoples emotions on what has been a truly amazing ride.

It was a special end to the trip. congratulating everyone on their achievements. Not everyone was fast or confident or comfortable but everyone gave the best they could and got over that finish line. Something I really admire in the human race is that determination to keep going and pushing beyond our limits. I saw plenty of examples of this on each of the five days riding. Some absolutely amazing achievments by the team this week. I felt so proud to have been a part of their journies.

We had lunch just in front of the pagoda before having a look around the local markets.

Then we were taken back to Mandalay by boat and bused back to the hotel where we had a few hours to enjoy the rooftop pool and watch the sunset one last time.

The pool was amazing and the view out over the city watching the sun setting in the distance was magical. A fitting end to the day and to our time here in Myanmar.

We all got our medals. This was my third cycle challenge with Global Adventure Challenges after riding the 2016 DEATH VALLEY CYCLE CHALLENGE and the 2017 ARIZONA TO LAS VEGAS CYCLE CHALLENGE. Each time I do a challenge with GAC the medals keep getting better, I was really impressed with the medal from this ride and it will take pride of place in my office alongside my various marathon and Ironman medals.

After that, we went out for a celebratorary meal and a few drinks into the early hours. Rolling into bed at 2:30am with the alarm set for 5:45am to start the journey home. It was a good job I was forward thinking enough to pack all my stuff this morning to save time tomorrow.

So that’s day 5 of the cycling done with.19.08 miles and 584ft of climbing.

A total of 196 miles, 6,909ft of climbing in 15hrs 36mins (although I did miss around 8km forgetting to unpause the Garmin)