We woke at 04:00 and after washing consumed our breakfast of coffee, baked beans, maccaroni cheese and tuna, fantastic combination and helps to kick start the day. The kit packed we were finally ready to depart at 06:00.

We rode around for a little while until Mark was happy we had passed the official start line, but once we were off we were off.

We followed the western road from John O’Groats to Dunnet Head, the pace was good considering we hadn’t completed any training days together and we racked off mileage in good time. The roads themselves were of excellent quality considering the batterings they receive, smooth and consistent, nothing like the uneven dug up banded offerings I’m used to down south. The route north to Dunnet Head was very scenic, hilly and very misty. We arrived in good time and enjoyed what little we could see. We remarked that we could have been anywhere for the shot but it felt good to have achieved our first milestone.

The next stage took us west through Thurso, Scrabster, Dounreay and Strathy where we enjoyed a dead end situation requiring a minor reverse manoeuvre. We stopped for water and enjoyed the hilly landscape.

The following stage took us through Bettyhill, renamed by me to Mount Carb this eight mile stretch of mountain range seemed to go on forever, many false peaks and seemingly very few downward stretchs. Feeling a little energy deprived I urgently scoffed one whole packet of shortbread, Rachel’s present, but the lesson was learn’t and I kept my intake regulated from then on in, little and often was much better than my training methodology.

After stopping for food and coffee we approached the Kyle of Tongue and the route south through the highlands. This for me was simply magnificant and my kind of place, I’ve been here many times before but each time it takes my breath away, the previous hilly landscape is replaced with a more open mountainous and cavenous landscape, indipersed with lochs and forest. We then followed Loch Loyal to Altnaharra and Strath Bagastie for a long and slow ascent and descent through woodland and open heathland.

We passed Dalchork and arrived at Lairg where we stopped for replenishment. The cafe was next to a campsite we sourced for that night, the hostess fueled us with food and advised us on local history, places to see and go, and chatted to us about the next stage of the journey. This gave us a massive boost and made us realise we could actually achieve our next target Dingwall. Although it was getting on for time the next distance was really achievable, light remains long into the evening and we were feeling good. So egged on by our new friend we set off for Martin’s.

We passed the Falls of Shin through Inveran, Bonar Bridge and Ardgay where we diverted up Struie Hill to Aultnamain and Achandunie. This stage was quite windy and we dropped the pace slightly before passing a beautiful waterfall on the River Alness, this was followed by a lovely long downward stretch which took us out towards Dingwall. The three mile stretch from Evanton lead to another three, and another three to the best reception you could ever wish for, Martin’s family.

A scrumptious dinner later we were lubricated and firmly bedded for an evening of relaxation.

Distance cycled 150 miles.

Time 11 hours 40 minutes.

Heart rate average 146 beats per minute.

Calorie expenditure 10,224.

Fat percentage of energy during exercise 40%.

The day started full of anticipation, a cocktail of nerve’s and anxiety mean’t the day couldn’t be ‘the normal’.

I finished work early and completed my final kit checks. I had added a few extra’s to the kit list that week and changed a few more, and I’m glad I had as they were to prove extremely useful later. The kit list squared I had repacked my kit for the third time before finally sitting back to relax with a large brew.

The balance was perfect, an even distribution of weight front to rear and side to side, the pack training had proven itself and the now the bike was ready to roll.

With all in order at work and home my mind was focussed on the task at hand, I said my goodbye’s and made my way to the station for the journey to Euston, with bike rack in tow! An on time service mean’t I arrived a head of schedule and so I enjoyed a longer gentle walk through the city to the terminal.

I received a phone call at 18:30 from Mark stating that David had suffered a puncture on the way home from work, and may be slightly delayed, I described my location and waited for their arrival. At 20:45 they arrived and we made our way to platform 15 for the sleeper to Inverness.

We had prebooked and reserved three of the six bike spaces on the train, but this didn’t seem to make any difference as following our immediate loading, several others arrived requiring additional non existent space. Evading that issue we located our seats and stowed our kit in the baggage rails, we too were ready to roll.

The train left on time and we had a comfortable journey to Inverness, the seats reclined slightly and plenty of sleep was gained. We were one coach away from the buffet car and enjoyed several refreshments that evening and the following morning.