So today marks our journey's end, a mere 42 miles was left on our path to Hamelin and it was evident when we all woke up that in spite of our weary bones and aching muscles, our spirit and adrenalin would carry us there.

Charlie and Ash were up early to get the support car booked in at the garage to be repaired, thankfully the problem wasn't too tricky to solve and they were soon back on the road. Being a typical girl with no interest in mechanics I switched off when the diagnosis was revealed, an electrical problem maybe?? But all that mattered was it was fixed, it was going to get our brilliant support crew to Hamelin and would then get half of the team back to Holland to travel home on the ferry on Saturday.

We swiftly made our way through the German countryside, complete with a few cheeky hills which Danielle really enjoyed - errrrr maybe not!! - and before we knew it we were stopping for our last lunch break. When we set off after filling our faces with a load of carbs and jelly sweets we only had about 13 miles or so left to go. Having started our journey six days before with a mammoth 500 miles ahead of us, it almost didn't feel real we were about to reach our goal and final destination!

Sights of the first street signs with Hameln (the German spelling doesn't have the 'i') were met with whoops and cheers and my heart started to race the closer we got to the town. Jonjo and John took to the front of the pack and rightly so, this was a journey they had first talked about around two years ago, and now here they were making it a reality. I was bursting with pride as we approached the welcome sign to Hamelin - and of course we stopped for the obligatory selfie!!

We were due to meet Charlie and Ash at the famous Pied Piper statue, in true Hero of Hamelin team style we managed to take a wrong turn and do a few laps of the main town square before we got there but who cares, we'd made it! To hear the cheers as we approached them and enjoy the moments that followed was just amazing. There were hugs, a few tears and a general sense of total joy that we had reached the end of our challenge, in one piece and still with smiles on our faces.

One shopkeeper spotted the commotion, heard the noise and saw all the photos being taken and inquisitively looked us up on Google. He read all about our story and what we'd done and brought a Hamelin rat out for us all, sounds a bit odd, but as you can see from the photo it's actually a fitting souvenir and I'll always hold that little memento dear to my heart because it already holds so many good memories of an amazing week.

Gazette:

Then came the champagne, and of course a nice cold glass of German beer - oh my didn't that taste good!! Our minds then switched to the very special reason we had cycled to Hamelin, the moment Jonjo was going to meet his donor, Andreas, was creeping ever closer. He had gone back to our motor home to collect a few things, including his Germany football top, and as he walked past our table on the cobbled street towards the man who saved his life, I could see he was choked and what I saw next is a sight which will stay with me forever. Seeing the pair of them hug each other as the town buzzed around them, Jonjo wiping away tears as the moment overwhelmed him, was what brought huge tears to my own eyes, the emotion of our whole journey finally swept over me.

I had only met Jonjo once before we started the ride, but I was over the moon as I knew how much this meant to him and how long he had waited for this moment so I cried with joy for him, I cried out of pride for what we had achieved and I also cried with sadness as I remembered John's son Tim who sadly died before he could have his own transplant. I saw the pain on John's face too, but also the joy he felt for Jonjo, having lived through such a tragedy and knowing the ins and outs of all the treatment and processes involved in being treated and finding a donor, he could truly relate to what this all meant and that's why he and Jonjo share such a special bond.

Once we all dried our eyes and pulled ourselves together, our evening was a celebration, both of our achievements but also for Andreas. His attitude to being a donor, Jonjo's life saver and the reason why he is still here today, was remarkable, he was so at ease with him and did not seem fazed by us all being there to meet him and his girlfriend, who was also lovely. He was 18 when representatives of the German registry went to his school and in his own words he said "why wouldn't you do it?" it was an easy process and for him it was a simple case of helping someone else in need. Jonjo first wrote to him after his transplant, but due to certain rules in Germany he was not allowed to reply for seven years! He could only make contact if Jonjo got in touch again, which he did. If he hadn't though, we may not have done the ride and I wouldn't be writing this blog! We were all shocked to learn this, but thankful fate has worked out the way it did.

Even though all of Jonjo's family were tested when he was ill, no one was a match, his brother and sister were a match for each other, but not for him. Yet Andreas was, despite there being no genetics or family links to tie them, they are and were blood brothers - totally incredible and what more can I add than that? This was an amazing day to be a part of.