Day 0: Train to Penzance

Just got back to the Youth Hostel after some pub food and a walk around Penzance harbour.

The five hour train journey from London was impressive: you don't need an anorak to see why its worth taking at least once. On several ocassions the track lies right next to the sea and a glance out of the window makes you think you're on a boat rather than a train. The scenery was stricking and as a sign of things to come, very hilly.

Good weather here; in fact from a rainy London it was sunny just beyond Reading. Not sure how long it'll last but choosing the wettest summer since 1927 [I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere, limited internet access means no diligent fact checking on, er, Wikipedia] means I'll probably get wet at some point.

Had an excellent send off from College today, a somewhat slower version of the Tour de France's Grand Depart. Thanks to Zoe, Ben, Tim, Pete, Iain, Simon, Andy, Adele and Matty for seeing me off. The balloons are still attached to my bike. Let's see if they make it up to Titagel.

I'm going to do my best to blog my way to John o'Groats as well as cycle there, with updates every evening provided I can on to the interweb. So check back to see how I'm getting on.

Total distance today was 17.5km, which included riding into College, on to the station and then finally up to the hostel.