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As Tom has mentioned we managed to complete the gruelling challenge in 9 days arriving at Lake Como at lunchtime on Sunday to a few well deserved beers. Updates were few and far between towards the end as we found ourselves without wifi in the Swiss Alps. On day7 we cycled from Thun to Gletsch whilst climbing from 400m to 2200m along the Grimselpass, this was our first test of serious mountain climbing and the whole group really struggled to come to terms with the steep 34km climb in temperatures exceeding 35 degrees. We could only laugh at the fact that it took us 4 hours to climb and a mere 15 minutes to descend down into Gletsch. Day 8 we had our hardest climb and after a poor nights sleep camping (due to ben's dismal work on the guy ropes) and serious winds our tent was almost blown into the river. We then had a minimal breakfast of a croissant and a swig of water as resources were scarce. Following this awful preparation we had the delights of the Furkapasse which involved climbing from Gletsch 1600m to Belvedere 2450m, we managed this in a rather quick 1 hour 10 minutes on steep winding roads. The presence of our newfound team mascot "the Dahu" lightened the mood and spurred us on to the top. We then descended into Andermatt ski resort for a more substantial breakfast before we approached our final mountain pass, the Gotthard pass which took us into Swiss-Italy. It was bloody tough and seemed to go on for hours. After a gruelling second climb in 30 plus degree heat we had a pleasant descent through Airolo and headed for Bellinzona where we spent our final night in youth hostel santa maria (which Brian loved). The group was keen for an early start on day 9 as the finish line was in sight. Simply 60km to Menaggio. This was made slightly more tricky by coming across an unexpected final climb of Monteceneri but nonetheless the group tackled it well and ascended at a slow but steady pace early in the morning before the searing heat arrived. Finally we had a stunning cycle along Lake Lugano to take us across the border into Italy. It's worth adding that there was a near fatality at the end as Harry's brakes failed him on the penultimate hairpin and sent him hurtling across the road and into the wrong lane. Fortunately there was no car driving past and he continued unscathed. One final push and we arrived in Menaggio in time for lunch and sharing the yellow jersey. We have plenty of photos to put up and will work on constructing a video that we'll post here in due course. We would like to say a huge thank you to Brian our support car driver, the trip would not have been possible without him. The director of navigation and energy kept the team moral high and ensured we weren't heading in the wrong direction for too long. Thank you for the donations thus far helping us to raise this impressive total and for following our rather disjointed blog. Hopefully with one last push we can make it to our goal of £2500. Many thanks Ben Harry and Freddie