And so it begins...(Union Station, Washington D.C. to Route 1, South of Mt Vernon Estate - 28 miles)

Thankfully the bikes were waiting for us at Union Station in Washington. A little less fortuitous was the fairly extensive damage each bike had sustained during the long trip from Heathrow. We found an excellent bike shop - Capitol Hill Bikes - where the beasts were treated to a (rather costly) spruce up.

The long delay meant that our first tentative pedals in the US were along the streets of the nation's first city during rush hour, but Washington is a really lovely place, and having passed the major landmarks we slowly made our way out of the city on the Mount Vernon bike route. This picturesque trail took us through old town Alexandria, and spirits were pretty high...

By 10pm, and the last of the light long gone, we were still about 10 miles from our intended destination, but fortunately we hit a great motel on US1, and after an enormous meaty pizza hit the hay for the first full day of cycling.

Leaving NY

After four hours sleep we hit the Subway at 7am for Penn Station to get the Amtrak to Washington DC. We had taken our bikes to Penn St the previous evening to get them on the 3am haulage train, which proved more than a little tricky.

Pattie Counting: An Idiot's Guide

One beef pattie corresponds to one Pattie Point added to the counter.

If more than 1lb of beef is consumed in any one burger, an additional 'bonus' PP is added to the counter.

Six sliders (finger burgers sold as bar snacks) equates to one pattie, and thus one PP. Sliders cannot be carried forward.

ANY pattie (including any slider ordered but not eaten) left unfininished will result in one negative PP.

Englishmen in New York

Having decided to have a good sleep out after the previous long day's travelling, Dan proceeded to crawl off his top bunk at ten to seven and parade around our small hostel room in his tiny pants declaring himself ready to 'get on.'

We had a hearty breakfast that more than impressed the Expedition Leader - I think he's finally found a people that understand his attitude to food portions - then headed Downtown on the Subway, first stop Penn Street Station to confirm the train to DC, then a leisurely stroll through NY.

The Expedition Leader was worried that his small child's handkerchief of a towel might not provide adequate coverage of his crown jewels on the campsites, so spent a good forty minutes in an outdoor sports shop comparing the thread count:size:compactibility ratios of the replacements on offer. He ended up with an exact replica of his own towel.

More food, a few beers and a few more blocks on foot, we were both pretty exhausted, and hit the sack again resolving to have a lie-in in the morning...

Arrival in the US of A (New York)

After a lengthy sitting in Terminal 3's O'Neil's having arriving at Heathrow a precautious five hours early we took-off on time and were underway (1600 GMT). Two puzzler crosswords, a lesson from Joe in the on board mini-golf computer game and an epic travel-scrabble battle later we were circling JFK airport (due to bad weather) eager to land.

After a turbulent descent and Joe's running commentary ("that's unusual. I thought the landing-gear was lowered at 9000feet on an AirBus") we were finally on the ground (8ish NY time/0100GMT). Through the finger printing, face recognition test and charming interview ("only you boy's on your bycycling journey? you like girl's boy?") unfortunately the bikes looked pretty battered from the journey. Tired, hungry and keen to get stuck our first American Hamburgers we decided to leave all bike worries until the morning.

2400NY time we were tucked up in our bunk-beds content with the generous patties of meat we'd just demolished and ready for some kip.

Off to explore today and access any damage to the kit. Pictures will hopefully follow shortly.

St Philip's Chambers generous support

Many thanks to St Philip's Chambers in Birmingham for their generous donation and support. As an award winning multi-disciplinary set of 171 barristers, widely recognised as one of the most innovative and forward-looking chambers in the UK, we greatly appreciate their kind donation and look forward to celebrating our return with them in September.

Team Member's Contribution

As the self-styled 'expedition leader' says, lift off is now fast approaching, and the preparations are far from complete... it's a funny mixture of emotions: excitement at the adventure that lies before us and dread at having to spend the next three months sleeping under tarpaulin with a sweaty fat lad. Dan's regular 'weight updates' over the preceding months have kept me amused - as well he knows, only 'large' people celebrate losing fractions of pounds - but my big-boned companion keeps his spirits high (they are known for being jolly, of course) by bellowing sprightly renditions of 'Les Mis' classics down the phone during his daily commute with staggering gusto. Such aural treats became less frequent towards the end of his period of employment, as Dan took to the streets of London on 'The Beast' to do some much needed training. For my own part, training has been steady if not spectacular. Above is a photo of me taking my first tentative pedals on any bike in close to a decade, and whilst the miles since then have improved my cycling proficiency, there is still a long way to go. Like Dan, the journey to work seemed to provide the perfect opportunity to build the fitness, and for several weeks I took to the toe-paths of Birmingham's canals twice daily... My distaste for early mornings curbed the enthusiasm after a few days, and a gaggle of rather vicious looking geese on the grass verge put the final nail in the coffin of my cycling commute, but I have been circling Bartley Green reservoir regularly since then, and the odometer fitted to my bike is now displaying a much healthier number. Thank you to everyone for your kind donations so far - I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the support, and I know that Hannah is delighted with the response. Please keep reading the blog, any words of encouragement along the way will be gratefully received.

The time has come...almost

Three days to go and the reality of the trip is beginning to hit home. 101 things to do, packing, re-packing, bike dismantling, probably some kind of route planning as well.

This time next week we'll be underway and hopefully we'll be able to pack the blog with breath-taking photography, updates of our progress and hilarious anecdotes from the adventure (apologies in advance for the inevitable over use of words like "amazing").

Thanks to all who've supported the journey so far. Both of us and Hannah really appreciate the support and encouragement. We hope you enjoy following our journey, we'll do our very best to earn your generous sponsorship and look forward to seeing you on our return.

Note to self

A valuable lesson learn't the hard way. Don't cycle all day in the sun without suncream and if you do probably don't wear a vest.