An intrepid mother and daughter have reached the final stage of their gruelling 5,000-mile cycle ride through seven time zones.
Tess and Francesca Monteith embarked on an epic journey from the mountains of Sichuan in China to the heart of mainland Europe.
The four-month challenge has so far made £4,000 for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA), based at Perth Airport.
The pair aim to reach their final destination Venice by the end of the month and are due to return to their home town of Blairgowrie the next week.
Their journey, based on the ancient trade route known as the silk road, has taken them through desert storms in China, blizzards in Kyrgyzstan and thunderstorms on the Black Sea coast.
Finding overnight accommodation along the way also proved tricky. The duo slept in a yurt in Karakalpakstan, an artist’s garret in Tbilisi, a thorny thicket on the side of a Georgian mountain and a beach in Turkey.
They even enjoyed the hospitality of emergency services: pitching a tent in a police bandstand in Azerbaijan, staying at a fire station in Turkey and spending the night in an Uzbek hospital after Tess was bitten by a dog.
The 52-year-old said: “We have been royally entertained by so many people who have helped us on their way and humbled by how often it is the poorest people who rush out proffering everything in hospitality.”
On the first leg of the journey, the language barrier proved not to be problem, as Francesca is fluent in Chinese. However, they had to learn basic pleasantries in about six languages and pick up a smattering of Russian and Uzbek.
Keen artist Tess said she had taken out her paintbox to record their journey at every opportunity. Francesca, 26, added: “It has been an inspirational trip and, although jolly tough at times, I’m always motivated to keep pedalling.”
The pair are in the Balkans and hope to reach Venice on June 30. Visit www.justgiving.com/Teresa-Monteith to make a donation.