The Gazette's Lauren Hockney is part of a team of riders taking part in an epic seven-day 800km ride from Birmingham to Germany, raising money for leukaemia research. Read Lauren's daily updates from their incredible journey. You can support the team at www.justgiving.com/lauren-hockney1 or text Bpos01 £5 to 70070

After a hearty cooked breakfast on Sunday morning, we set off (to the Grandstand theme tune) on our way down from Northamptonshire to Haverhill, in Suffolk.

The weather couldn't have been kinder to us, it was a beautiful morning with the sun on our backs.

Thankfully the tow paths were well and truly behind us so we could cycle at a decent pace and before we knew it we were coming up to our first stop to meet the support team who have been brilliant at having plenty of sandwiches and other foods ready for much needed refuelling!

It was when we were all commenting on how we were "flying along" that we turned down a farm track and then ended up in a field! There was no way we could cycle through it so we carried/pushed our bikes around the perimeter for a good 400m or so before we gave up and decided Google maps had obviously taken us off course!

We went back to where we came from and had our lunch in Easton before reviewing our route and getting back on track.

The second section of the day two route was stunning. It took us through Cambridgeshire and into Suffolk so we passed through St Ives (where many a selfie was taken!) and then along a truly excellent cycle path which runs alongside the guided bus/tram line to Cambridge where we saw a regatta in progress on the river.

The banks were packed with people watching as the sun beamed down on us, fellow cyclists, families and others just enjoying a stroll and an ice cream - an idyllic Sunday afternoon.

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But there was no time to dwell on the picture perfect scenes before us, we were all focused on reaching Haverhill, and before it got dark!

After our second stop just outside Cambridge we had a mere 13 miles to cover to complete day two, but it was up hill!

After being in the saddle for a good six hours by this point and with well over 50 miles in our legs, it did feel tough. The hills weren't particularly huge, but they seemed to drag on so it took a lot out of us all, but it's times like that when you need to remember the reasons behind the challenge and somehow you manage to dig deep enough to push that bit harder.

Just two miles from Haverhill Andy got a puncture, the first of the journey so far, but thankfully Matt was on hand to sort it out at the roadside and got us all back on our way to the finishing line!

It was great to get there, it was also a relief for John and I as we were lucky enough to be able to come home to Colchester and Wickham Bishops to have a final sleep in our own beds before heading back to Haverhill for day three.

Today, we will cycle from Haverhill to Harwich where we're due to get the ferry and begin our journey from Holland to Germany.