I recommend a scone...

Sorry it has taken such a while to get my first blog up, however its literally the first big city weve reached so far and that means no internet cafes.  Anyway, the trip is going really well, although its ridiculously hard going it is still hugely thrilling.  Every other cyclist we have talked to said we are doing it the hardest way by going down the country because the wind constantly moves up the country slowing us down.  A few days ago it even got so strong that we had to peddle hard just to get down hill.  The weather has definately not been in our favour as we have managed to pretty much have at least one element causing us huge hassle each day.  We are hoping that the further down the country we get, the better the weather and once we hit England we are hoping all goes alot smoother. 
  Scotland is an amazing place...if you are in a car, but cycling really isnt the greatest way to experience its fantastic scenery.  Don't get me wrong, i do love the glorious surroundings but when you are trying to cycle up a 13% incline and you have 22mph headwinds and freezing, pouring rain you don't really enjoy the view as much once you finally reach the top.  We have seen some fantastic things though, including : The edge of the country, huge mountains and hills, fantastic lakes and lochs, quaint little villages with loads of charm and of course the wicked wildlife (wild seals and puffins).
  We are hoping to reach england in about a weeks time, and then from there it should take us another 2 weeks to get close to our final destination being Lands End.  We have reworked our route after realising how difficult it really is to cycle everywhere, to a more direct route so we arn't going to see the whole country but we shall get a large taste of it.  We have cycled around 160miles so far and have had two rest days, so in 5 days its quite an achievement for us. 
  The trip so far has been greatly challenging, but at least we can both know that the worst is behind us now and can look forward to a much easier ride down the west of England.  I shall try to blog next time i reach a large city or town, so until then I thank you for reading and shall see you soon.

Joe x