Balloan FC coach will pedal the miles to Portugal – mostly from the comfort of his own living room
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All going well, HGV driver John MacKinnon will be getting nowhere fast in the coming weeks – with Portugal his eventual destination.
The Balloan FC football coach has launched energetically into a gruelling fundraiser for the boys’ club and Dementia UK.
Rather than cross borders and break Covid rules, though, the 45-year-old from Drakies is using a spin bike to batter out the 1829 miles (2943.6km) distance from Inverness to Castelo De Vide near the Spanish border.
While his is a virtual journey, he could eventually accompany some of Balloan’s 150-plus young players on the trip for real in July if Covid-19 restrictions are eased in time to attend an international football contest.
So far, Mr MacKinnon, originally from South Uist, has clocked up over 720 miles in the first 18 days, the virtual equivalent of ploughing deep into France.
Cash raised will be split evenly between the club and Dementia UK in memory of his late father Angus John, who passed away two years ago. Ideally, he would hit his mileage target by March 11, his dad’s birthday, but Mr MacKinnon – having never previously pedalled no more than eight miles – stressed: “I’m not likely to break any world records!
“I’m a family man, so I’m not setting a definite time limit. It’s a case of when I can fit it in, but it is going well and I’m trying to hammer out a lot of miles at the weekend.
“It can be pretty boring, but I’ve taken the spin bike in from the garage so I can watch the football and take my mind off the pedalling. Once the snow clears, I hope to do some miles outside.
“It is a way for me to get a wee bit fitter. I bought the bike to do Etape Loch Ness a couple of years ago, but ended up with sciatica.”
Balloan FC is lauded for the quality of its coaching and mentoring, and the club believes trips like Castelo De Vide bring rewards beyond football as a life-learning experience for the youngsters
Mr MacKinnon stressed: “We spoke about doing something like this with the kids, but obviously during the pandemic a lot of activities have stopped.
“Last year was meant to be my first trip before it was postponed, but it is just a fantastic experience for these young people to get away with their pals for a week without parents nagging them!
“Last time over there, Balloan were the only UK club among 64 teams. How many kids that age get a chance to play against foreign opposition such as Uruguayans, French and Spanish – it is like a world cup to those boys.
“We don’t know yet if it will happen, but it will be a once-in-a lifetime experience if it comes off.”
Anyone wishing to contribute to John's fundraiser can do so here
