The long journey north is now over. We arrived at John O'Groats at around 7pm and are now in the hotel bar to prepare for the challenge ahead.

We spent the day driving, searching for somewhere to buy a cycle-type water bottle to replace the one I forgot and dropping off a box of energy bars and drinks at one of our hotels to replenish our supplies later in the week.

Our teething troubles also include Wazza suffering with a virus.

He is experiencing cold sweats, he appears to also be delerious and keeps going an about borrowing a kilt and recreating scenes from Highlander.

I am taking Ibuprofen for a pulled muscle in my side while John, who is driving the truck back to Stourbridge and does not understand cycle without the word motor in front of it, seems alarmingly chirpy.

The air ambulance in the photo is not however for either me or Wazza, it was at an incident we came across at a campsite north of Loch Lomand.

I must thank Liz the receptionist in last night's hotel who donated a fiver to our charity while checking us in.

I am not one for omens but the only delay on our drive up here was getting stuck behind a coachload of German tourists in a bus run by a company called Reck.

We start cycling tomorrow.