An Abrupt End to the United Kingdom Adventure.

Last night we received word that my 94 year old father who has been ailing for some time is “actively dying” according to the people that are giving him hospice care. He is unresponsive and won’t open his eyes.

This morning we made the decision to leave the bike trip and return to the U.S. as soon as possible. It would be too difficult to soldier on with him in this condition. If we don’t quit the trip today we might have to tomorrow or the next day. Why go on under the circumstances?

The tour leaders were more than accommodating. It so happened that the planned route today went to Inverness. There, there is an airport where we could fly to London. We were able to book a flight and the tour guide took us in the support van to the airport. The flight went to Gatwick so we got a bus to Heathrow airport and booked a room at a nearby hotel. We were able to get a flight out of Heathrow to JFK tomorrow morning.

It’s tough to leave a trip like this. We had John O’Groat’s in sight. However, you have to do what you have to do.

We hope that before too long we can come back and complete the journey.