Update at 10th September: 

We finished the 3 Countries Challenge at 3.00pm on Friday 6th September  and for the record over the six days covered 586kms and climbed 42,385ft.  Every member of the squad felt challenged at one time or another.  Our last day in fact took us over two pretty demanding climbs, on the first of which we were closely followed by a cloud of vultures and on the second a solitary eagle kept his eye on us. Both magnificent birds are very important to the local eco-system.

It’s too early to have a full understanding of the effects an Endeavour such as this will have on the participants. Each was recruited some time ago and so has had weeks in which to prepare. Friendships will have been made, forged under conditions of shared hardship and so will endure. And each cyclist has been exposed to the unusual conditions of the high Pyrenees with their sheer mountains and quiet forests. It’s possible therefore that we may have touched the souls of those who came with us, and in so doing may have achieved a small measure of Rehabilitation through Adventure.

You have helped to create something quite special which would not have been possible without the practical support of our sponsors and the encouragement of all,

Thank you for supporting Canine Partners

Introduction to who we are and what we are planning:

65 Degrees North, a tiny veteran led organisation based in Swansea, works with Wounded, Injured of Sick Veterans and those who are still serving aiming to provide a degree of Rehabilitation through Adventure, and they have had consideraable success.  They follow everyone who has marched, climbed, cycled or sailed with them and it is clear that the preparation for an unusual challenge, followed by actual participation, does bring considerable benefits.

A number who 65 Degrees North have travelled with suffer from PTSD and other mental health issues and we have seen, at first hand, how an Assistance Dog can have a transformative effect on the person concerned, and many of those around them.  Indeed this was clearly demonstrated on board the Brixham Trawler, the Leader, this April, when one Assistance Dog not only worked with the man to which he is assigned, but had an incredible effect on several others sailing as part of the Veteran crew.

In early September 65 Degrees North will travel the high cols of the French, Spanish and Andorran Pyrenees with a party of 20 cyclists drawn from the ranks of the Wounded, Injured or Sick.  I will be with them as part of their support crew and would like to use this unusual event to raise much needed funds for Cannine Partners (www.caninepartners.org.uk), which is a brilliant organisation that does much good and which helps the Veteran community very directly.