Update on JHH #5: HE DID IT!!

It's all uphill from here: John described the trail from Bishop's Falls to Grand Falls as some of the worst. It was all uphill and at this point, his stomach could not tolerate what he was putting in it.

He made it! Posing here at the finish line in my parent's lush back garden.

​Update 5: 1321hrs NLT

He's finished!!!

John finished earlier today in GFW at 10:36AM which brings his final total to 43 hours 10 minutes over a rocky and brutal 451.3km. Elevation was 5,041m which sounds like it took its toll, particularly in the final 100km. His Wahoo (bike computer) has him scaling Everest about twice, so the elevation is taken from the Ride With GPS app.

He's up and chatting now, replenishing fluids and had a grand breakfast followed by a bath with epsom salts.

Some notes after chatting with him:

- He says it's the hardest thing he's done, harder than multi-day mountain biking events, and harder than 24-hour racing. Despite that, people were really friendly and he is excited to see bits of Newfoundland that he's never seen before. A highlight was coming into Gambo.

- It's hard to find food and water if you're doing it continuously and trying not to stop. There are few places right on the trail.

- He describes the trail simply as 'unrelenting gravel' and 'never ending climbs.'

- He started to doubt himself this morning because he went from feeling really strong even up until last night when he cruised into Gander at 25kph and stopped for a couple of cups of coffee and some pastries.

- He still felt good when he left Gander, but the final 100km were the worst. He started to feel really sick and was worried that he had poisoned himself with insect repellant (which apparently didn't work anyway). He also hallucinated about some houses which weren't there, so it was good that the ride ended when it did!

- He uploaded his data to Strava in two entries because his Wahoo computer has been acting up and he was worried his ride might be lost.

Part 1: 
Distance = 208.46km
Moving Time = 12:03

Part 2: 
Distance = 242.84km
Moving Time = 16:01

Total time including stops (of which there were few) = 43 hours 10 minutes

​So proud of John! What an effort!!