The last weekend of August saw me join some 850+ cyclists in tackling the 2 day cycling marathon that is ‘Ride the North’. For those that don’t know much about this event, it’s an annual, superbly organised 2 day cycle event starting from Inverness and ending (this year) in Stonehaven, via a first day stopover in Elgin. The cycle route stats alone make for some impressive or daunting reading! Total distance covered 177 miles, coupled with a total ascent of around 12,000 ft (3,658 m) – that’s the equivalent of cycling up Ben Nevis nearly 3 times or Box Hill 16 times!

Day 1

An early cloudy but dry Friday morning start in Inverness greeted the massed. Cyclists were set off in bands of 20+ at timed intervals and with a call to the start line. I duly commenced my 2 day epic at 08:22 hrs.

A slight rain shower went largely unnoticed and thankfully the weather improved and sunny skies remained throughout most of the route to Elgin. Some of the later climbs were long and arduous, notably Garbole which topped out at nearly 1,600 ft and some 5 miles long!

The welcome sight of Elgin and the Glen Moray distillery getting ever closer spurred me on to the finish of day 1. A complimentary ‘wee dram’ or two at the end of day one was the perfect pick-me-up!

 Day 2

A windy but sunny morning in Elgin and a repeat of the day before saw me getting ready to set off at 08:22 from the distillery. The main ‘highlight’ of the morning was to be the infamous climb up the Cabrach, a long winding stretch with a couple of steep testing pitches. There were many who got off and walked but glad to report that I managed to puff and pant my way up. In fact I didn’t walk any of the ascents!

Climbs and head winds combined to make it a long and tortuous slog to Torphins, but with a decent descent and a nice little pit I began the final section knowing that in a couple of hours or so it would all be over in Stonehaven. The finish line came into view on the sea front where masses of spectators greeted us enthusiastically as we crossed the finish line wearing the widest smiles possible.

I’d done it!! – 177 miles ridden over 2 days across Scotland’s North East scenic and testing hilly countryside in mercifully great weather conditions, a great challenging event and incredibly well organised. I thoroughly recommend it!