TWO brothers separated by a distance of 200 miles cycled from one's home to the other in an adventure lasting nearly 14 hours.

Lewis, 27, and Alex McAulay, who were born and bred in Fairlie, decided it would be a fun challenge to carry out the challenge, with Lewis living in Largs and his brother in Aberdeen

They headed off together from the local area at 4am as the sun was rising in the west and completed their mission at 9.30pm, just in time to see the sun set on the east coast.

Alex explained: "We had wanted to do with the cycle during the summer solstice when there was the most amount of sunshine hours but the Covid-19 situation put paid to that, so this was the next available time for both of us.

"It was a stunning cycle on the coast up to Greenock and then across to Balloch and all the way over the Clyde and then up towards the north east coast. We stopped for some food breaks but that was all." The brothers mostly did quiet B roads and cycle paths as part of their route north following the national cycle route .

Alex, 30, said: "We were both pretty tired afterwards!

"Lewis's family drove up while we were cycling so everyone was there at the finish. It didn't really feel that we had covered 205 miles.

"It was just something completely bonkers that we had always wanted to do.

"It is amazing how much you take Scotland for granted and pedalling across we saw some really nice countryside and scenery.

"I really liked the cycle out from Auchterarder towards Gleneagles - some of that was stunning."

The intrepid duo encountered some unusual obstacles - including having to navigate their way through a cycle path at Balloch which had been invaded by cows.

Lewis works with his father Malcolm in a local plumbing company, and Alex works for The Wood Group in Aberdeen as a project manager.

Now the brothers are eyeing their next challenge.

Alex said: "Plans for the next big cycle are already being drawn up. We are thinking of tackling something in Iceland as there is so much daylight and riding time."

Lewis, who is a former tennis singles champion at Largs and West Kilbride, is certainly no stranger to cycling expeditions having completed a mammoth 1,500 mile cycle between Norway and France in 2017.

Emulating his hero Mark Beaumont in a solo cycle challenge, Lewis’s cross continent journey started at Oslo Airport, taking in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, before heading over to Germany by ferry.

It was then onwards to the Netherlands and Belgium, before finishing off in France at Le Mans.