Day 1 - John O'Groats - Dornoch

Day 1
John O'Groats -> Dornoch
81 Miles
1120m Ascent
4 Hours 15 Minutes

Our first day consisted of a 80 mile drive to John O'Groats from Dornoch. After a few photo opportunities we were officially on our way! It was a strange feeling to put all the organization and planning to good use, knowing that the next 10 days would be mostly be spent pedaling down the UK!


The first 15-20 miles went really quickly, before we knew it we were sampling the local pies and pasties in Wick. We knew it was going to get a lot harder in the coming miles, with no real town or shops to stop at for the next 40ish miles we stocked up on sugary drinks and set on our way. 

The hills we'd driven up/over/down during the car ride to John O'Groats seemed to pass really quickly in the car, they didn't seem to pass quite as quickly when we were cycling up them! After a brief stop at the top of a huge 10% hill the magnitude of the challenge really hit home! We refueled at next big town and breezed into Dornoch via Loch Fleet, stopping to take in the views and the Sea Lions that live there.


To keep ourselves amused and encouraged James and I have challenged ourselves to not be overtaken by other cyclists once during the trip. Today's totals are, Overtaken:11 Overtaken by others: 0. Good start! 

We've got a 9am start to Fort William tomorrow, 40 miles down the A9 then 60 miles all the way down the side of Loch Ness. We will keep our eyes peeled for Nessie!

Thanks again for all the donations!


Nathan + James