A cycling group from Aberdeen is set to tackle a 220 mile cycle from Inverness to Campbelltown to raise money for charity.
John Halliday, 39, and the ‘Cyclepaths’ are taking on the journey to raise money for two charities close to John’s heart - Bield and Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland.
John says: “It’s not easy to find time to train as we all have young families. But we go out and cycle on the roads of the North East as often as possible.
“We’ve done a few cycles like this before in the past such as Inverness to John O’groats and from Aberdeen to Mallaig.
“However, we are still apprehensive for this cycle ahead of us. We are all getting a bit older and don’t recover as quickly as we used to! But we’re still extremely excited to see another part of Scotland which we haven’t covered before.
“We are collecting donations through a Virgin Money Giving page, the support we’ve already received has just been incredible with over £1,000 raised so far!”
The charities were chosen in memory of John’s aunt, Yvonne, and Stuart Birnie, a close friend of the group, who passed away after suffering from an arterial embolism.
Yvonne was a tenant at Bield’s St Andrews Court development in Broxburn for eight years. John wanted to raise money for the housing development to say thanks for the care she had received during her time there.
The ‘Cyclepaths’ are a team of five cyclists and a driver who will work together to complete the four day cycle. The group have been training hard in preparation for the upcoming challenge.
Kevin Rowe, Bield fundraiser, says: “We are incredibly grateful that John and the ‘Cyclepaths’ have chosen to raise money for us.
“Yvonne was a much valued member of our community and will be sorely missed.”
“We have already decided to use some of the money raised to get a wooden bench in the garden with a memorial plaque.”
