A record-breaking Stirling cyclist has hit the roads again for a second gruelling effort across the north of Scotland.
Christina Mackenzie, who is a member of Stirling Bike Club, made history last July when she completed the 839-mile cross-country journey from Land’s End to John o’Groats in 51 hours, five minutes and 27 seconds.
However, after that massive achievement, the Cambusbarron cyclist decided to put another record in her sights - aiming to become the fastest woman in history to cycle the scenic North Coast 500 route.
The 516-mile journey would see Christina tackle wild weather and some of the remotest landscape in Scotland, while also raising money for a charitable cause close to her heart.
The prolific pedaller even defied superstition as she began at 5am on Friday 13th, completing the journey on Saturday afternoon to set a new provisional record time of 36 hours, 39 minutes and seven seconds.
Christina said: “After doing Land’s End to John o’Groats, I was looking for the next thing to do and I knew about the North Coast 500 and because it was a more local course, the logistics were a little bit easier.
“It’s a very scenic route as well, although I knew I wasn’t going to be looking at the scenery much as there was about 10,000 metres of climbing in the route so I realised it was going to be tough.
“We knew there were going to be challenges with the weather on the North Coast and went in with the mentality of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best and it was lovely and dry at the start, but from hour two it was just brutal.
“The headwinds and the rain made it completely miserable at points and the hardest thing was just staying on the bike in parts because the wind was blowing you from side to side and there also wasn’t much visibility on these steep hills.”
However, for Christina, there was more than just personal pride and accolades keeping her moving, with the help of her dedicated support team and an army of supporters who have raised £3,212 for Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland.
“It became a bit of a mental game because I was hating every moment of it but I knew I couldn’t stop”, Christina added.
“So many people had given up their time to help me or donated to the charity and I knew that I couldn’t let my training go to waste.
“The charity was recommended to me by a friend last year and knowing that their counsellors are voluntary, I thought I could raise some money as well as some awareness for someone in my position and unsure of where to turn.
“It was just relief when I finished to be able to be in one piece without falling off; to come into Inverness with a couple of hours to spare and I got such a lovely reception with so many people coming out.”
To donate in support of Christina’s latest record, you can go to justgiving.com/fundraising/christinamackenzienc500.
