Rachel's Ride the North Event Sep 2012
Created by Nigel Bruce
4th July 2012
This event has closed
Story
I'm taking part in Ride the North, which is a 2-day cycle over 164 miles. Date: 21-22 September 2012. Cycle Route: Day 1: Inverness-Elgin Route: Inverness-Elgin Distance: 81 miles Beginning in the Highland capital of Inverness, the route heads out of the city to Loch Ness, passing over Drumossie Muir to pass Cawdor Castle on the way to the historic Dallas Dhu distillery at Forres. After Forres the route heads towards Pluscarden Abbey before finishing in the Royal Burgh of Elgin in the historic county of Moray. Day 2: Elgin-Aberdeen Route: Elgin - Aberdeen Distance: 82 miles. The route passes through the heart of Speyside and Scotland's Malt Whisky Country. The route will include Dufftown, the Cabrach and Donside, with a considerable amount of climbing along the way. The finish in the city of Aberdeen will conclude a epic cycle between the two great cities of North Scotland. Please give generously to this charitable organisation which saves lives at sea. ALL the money will go directly to the RNLI and Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. Update 27 Sep 2012 Day 1 85miles What felt like a wind chill of -10 wouldn’t let up for the first 40miles. I rocked up in my RNLI running vest and shorts...people actually laughed at me and said they thought I was very brave. I shrugged them off with a PMA and replied with “we will warm up once we start cycling” lol I must of looked like a complete novice. THEN the rain came...and boy did it rain. Me and a friend were spooning under a tree for warmth at one section, I even let her put her hands in my armpits for extra warmth...we must have looked ridiculous. It warmed slightly after the lunch stop and we made really good time on that section however the rain had left wet roads/fords and puddles everywhere...my poor feet were drenched and felt like I was cycling with rocks attached to my ankles. Throughout all of this I kept a smile on my face and organisers commented on my cheeriness in the bleakest parts of the day. People were dropping like flies it was a brutal course and a lot of people had massively underestimated this. I think putting in all those weeks of training had paid off as I pulled into the distillery for a cheeky dram...18year old something or other..was rather tasty. Day 2 69miles Woke up feeling positive and ready to take on some major hills, the sun was shining and it felt good, despite the fact I had on 8 layers just in case of a repeat of day 1. I made really good time up till the lunch stop in Rhynie crossing the Aberdeenshire sign was a high point to think I had travelled that far on a push bike was a pretty awesome feeling. After lunch was the dreaded hill climb, it was notorious people kept mentioning how awful it really was throughout the whole of lunch. As we started the incline I heard my friend shriek bee I had two on my back and am terrified of bees more so than the hill that stood before me. We managed to get the bees off (I ran back and forth over the hill while my friend who is also terrified of bees threw her water bottle at me!!) We really had no dignity the entire trip. My friend fell off her bike twice up the hill it was that steep in places! Getting to the top of that hill was an amazing feeling and the views were spectacular. This was it we were only 30 miles from the finish line....I cycled my heart out on the final stretch. The last refreshment stop had left without us and had been cycling on fumes for the last 25miles, my friend who I was with started to cry it took a lot of convincing to get her back on the bike. As we were leaving castle fraser I heard a horrible cracking sound my friend behind me screamed. Her gears had snapped...I mean actually snapped in half. I got off my bike and walked towards her and she had the small gear section of her bike in her hand completely detached from the bike. I called the organisers who said to wait for a mechanic on the road side to see if it could be repaired. We were 13 miles from the finish point. The organisers said it was safest for me to get on the van too, as I would have been in the dark and i had no lights or reflective clothing....I started to cry and didn’t really stop until 9pm that night. It broke my heart not to get to finish. I couldn’t really see the positive until Monday, but I cycled an awesome 152miles, that is the biggest challenge I have ever done. I just hope despite the mechanical failures on the home stretch that I did David/Concept/RNLI proud! Rachel CrouchUpdates
Recent Donations
11 years ago
Mr Sandy Craigmile
Well done Rachel, you are nearly at £ 1,000 now that's an aceivement in itself never mind the cycling.
£30.00
11 years ago
Miss Rachel Crouch
Sponsorship money from the Bervie/Gourdon crew. Vicki, Chris, Debbie, Jamie, Logan, Brian and Betty.
11 years ago
Mr darran munro
Am i late to the party? Wow rach thats fricken amazing! Crazy effort! x