John O Groats to Lands End

The Charities we are supporting...

The Charities we are supporting...
http://www.bestchances.org.uk/
We have decided to cycle the length of the country from John O Groats to Lands End in aid of two charities that are very close to our hearts. Both charities have a similar goal to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people albeit it in very different areas of the world. The Zambia IDEALS project is dedicated to empowering young people who are living in poverty using sport as a basis and educating communities about the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS. This work is carried out in one of the most socially and economically deprived areas of the world namely Lusaka, Zambia. Best Chances is a UK based charity which works in some of the most deprived areas of the country and aims to offer young people the best chances in life by breaking down financial barriers which prevent them from fulfilling their dreams. Both of these charities are currently carrying out tremendous work and have been involved in transforming the lives of many, young, deprived individuals. This work is obviously very dependent on funding and it is for this reason that we both felt we should do our bit by trying to raise some funds to allow this fantastic work to continue.

Tuesday, 22 June 2010

Thurso to Wick via John O' Groats COMPLETE!!

Sorry to be so cliché but what a day of two halves!! We woke up in Thurso to bright sunshine and blue skies. We stopped off at the local Lidl to top up with snacks and lucozade before embarking on a beautiful 25 mile ride to John O' Groats. The scenery was breathtaking and it was pretty surreal to think we were cycling along the top of the country!!

We arrived in John O'Groats after a couple of hours on the bikes, we had our photo taken with the sign. Apparently you have to pay for the privilege, which seems to be a bit of a scam!!

We spent a couple of hours in John O'Groats taking photos, signing the end to end book and having some lunch in a cafe by the sea.

Beckys dad had informed us that we should be pretty excited about the coastal route that we had planned for the afternoon, however this excitement was short lived!! The weather turned and we spend the afternoon ride to wick in the middle of a cloud, into a strong cold head wind!! This route was pretty up and down and proved to be fairly tough going due to conditions! We arrived in wick just after 1630 after a total daily mileage of 45 and about 5 hours on the bike!

We took a stroll into Wick and again neglected the scottish cuisine in favour of a chicken korma!!

Early night planned watching the football before a tough day tomorrow!

Highlights of the day:
1. Our first sampling of hagis at breakfast
2. The amazing scenery at the north of scotland
3. Beeps of support from passing motorists
4. Passing a couple who were doing the challenge the opposite direction, they only had 10 miles left!!
5. Being on first name terms with the john o groats photographer after 20 seconds
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