Peter, the penny farthing and the Men's Tour of Great Britain

Peter and I were delighted to be involved in both days of the Lloyds Men's Tour of Britain and so I must extend a huge thank you to East Suffolk Council and Mid Suffolk District Council and for our chum in Adult Safeguarding (he knows who he is) for making this happen. I also would like to thank British Cycling and The Tour of Britain for being so accommodating.

Peter and I cycled to Southwold for Day One, with Peter resplendent on his penny farthing. We were pleasantly surprised to see our friend, Mark, in Southwold and it turned out that Mark also made an excellent impromptu photographer.

I wish I could convey the thrill of cycling along the finish route in Southwold and then being invited onto the podium and introduced to the crowd. But I can't. Not much of a writer, really, am I? It was an amazing opportunity to be interviewed whilst on the podium and to share some of the work we do (and for me to promote our books again!)

Day two in Stowmarket was a slightly different experience because the weather affected the original plans to lead the ride out. Nonetheless, we were extremely well looked after by the team at Mid-Suffolk (Imogen, Livvy, Bee plus others) who, not only arranged for the bikes to be transported to Stowmarket and then returned, but who supported us for the day. This included given us access into the Regal cinema where it was quieter for our BBC Radio Suffolk interview (thanks Johnnie and Sarah!) and where we enjoyed a Danish pastry expertly snaffled from the VIP area. There were enough people left in the crowd to cheer Peter on as we cycled a short distance from the start and there were plenty of stalls in the activation centre to keep us entertained and also for Peter to demonstrate how to mount and dismount the penny farthing.

Congratulations to all involved; it must have taken a tremendous amount of planning and work and it was an honour to be a part of the event.