Friends who met at Plymouth University in 1993 conquer North Coast 500 (NC500) for Marie Curie Cancer Care charity by starting and finishing in Nairn
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A joiner has completed a North Coast 500 cycle challenge to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Stuart Fox (46), from Millbank Street in Nairn, completed the route with friends he met at Plymouth University in 1993 – with one member even cycling the last stretch in just his swimming trunks.
The friends decided to take on the gruelling challenge as a tribute to team member James White’s mother who died of cancer earlier this year.
The cycle run began and ended outside Mr Fox’s house, taking a week to complete as the team covered 70 miles a day.
Mr Fox, whose wife Catherine is originally from Lethen, moved to Nairn four years ago.
“My friends are regular visitors to Nairn and they just love the Highlands,” he said.
“We regularly go hill walking and climbing and things just aligned after James’s mum’s passing and we decided to do the North Coast 500 for Marie Curie who were magnificent at providing nursing care for her.
“We had support on our way around from James’s father and my father-in-law carrying supplies and spares.
“We suffered four punctures and one total bike failure – luckily we had brought a spare.
“The ride was very hilly and quite challenging as most of us aren’t serious cyclists. One of our group, David Harris, cycled between Bristol and Nairn last year over a week so he was in charge of planning the route.
“We stayed in hotel and B&B accommodation and found the hospitality of the hotels fantastic, especially given the challenges they face with working around Covid-19 restrictions.”
James, who lives in Weston Super Mare, said his mother died of cancer just over two months ago.
“She was told she had cancer in the middle of April and just three weeks later she passed away peacefully at home,” he said. “Me and my family cared for her at home in the last two weeks and we were indebted to the support of the nurses at Marie Curie to help us care for her in the night when her pain was at its worst.
“They were incredible and it made us thankful we had them to help us.
“After she had passed away, me and my family wanted to do something to support Marie Curie and raise money for them.
“I was challenged to ride the last five miles in just a pair of speedos by someone and this helped raise an additional £500, which is why I finished the ride half naked!”
The team had set out to raise £5000 for the charity but raised nearly £10,000.
• Donations can still be made online here
