Little goes large as Highland rugby mainstay plots cycling adventure
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HIGHLAND rugby stalwart Craig Little will put his body through an altogether different kind of punishment next week.
Little will attempt to cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats, albeit taking a more scenic route – 150 miles more scenic.
Accompanied by good friend Bruce McIntyre, who he met playing rugby in Edinburgh, Little will set off from Trevescan at Lands End a week tomorrow, journeying up to Dumfries in Scotland in the space of a week.
Then, the pair will head out on to the islands on the west coast, cycling across Arran, Barra and the Outer Hebrides, before returning to the mainland and completing the journey across the north coast.
A total of £200, of their £2000 target, has already been raised for the MS Therapy Centre in Inverness, where Little’s wife Leigh-Ann is the centre manager. His father Andy, chair of Highland Rugby Club, will act as support driver for the pair, carrying mechanical equipment needed to repair the bikes, while his mother Val will meet up with them at Ardrossan to cycle across the islands.
Little confesses that most people think he is mad for taking on the 1000-mile challenge, but for him, it is fulfilling a life-long ambition.
“As part of my job I help people plan for these long rides, so I’m always looking at maps and wondering where I could go,” he said. “I’ve gone coast-to-coast across Scotland, from Aberdeen to Ardnamurchan, so I fancied something a bit more challenging.
“The A9 and A82 aren’t great roads to cycle and the islands are just beautiful. My wife thinks I’m a bit mental but I’ve seen the great work that they do, so I felt it was important to give a smaller charity like that a boost. They’re bringing the minibus up for the last day to carry the bikes back.”
The MS Therapy Centre relies on donations to keep providing support and therapies to people living with MS and other long-term illnesses.
Various other friends across the country will join them along the way for different parts of the route. They aim to cycle around 80 miles a day and arrive in John O’Groats on June 4.
Little, who works as an events and operations manager for Wilderness Scotland in Aviemore, is grateful for the sponsorship received from Highland but accepts it will be difficult for members of the club to join them.
“There’s a few that are keen to join in but because of the route we’re doing, it’s a bit difficult,” he added.
Little is not the first to attempt a two-wheel challenge: fellow Highland regulars Morris Dillon and Tam Magowan cycled the North Coast 500 last year for Highland Hospice.
Regular updates will be posted on the BruceandCraigLEJOG Facebook page and to donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/LittlesLejog.
