and Cromarty and Beauly Firths too!
Elizabeth has been cycling as an adult since she bought a bike in 1976 and she decided to participate the Borders22 activity in June 2022.
She chose Galloway which is a southwestern region in Scotland as the stage for her challenge. The overall route is 313 miles from Kirkubright through Dumfries, Leadhills, Girvan, Sandhead, Mull of Galloway, and Wigtown and she cycled around 30 – 50 miles each day.
Before starting the journey, she said “Hoping for light winds and clear weather…..but looks like it will be more typical with showers and wind!”. As she expected, sometimes she had horrendous winds and a heavy hailstorm. But she could also enjoy her journey finding lots of wildflowers with the sun helping her. Especially on the day she reached Mull of Galloway, she reflected the day was “glorious day for cycling”. She also described “lighthouse at Mull of Galloway a spectacular situation, grass studded with spring squill and purple milk vetch”.
On her way, she came across Joseph Thomson Maasai Trust based in Penfold which supports girls’ education amongst the Maasai in Kenya. After completing the circuit, she found that her journey was clocking up 17,401 feet of climbing and it is just 1,000 feet short of Mount Elbrus!
She reflected on this cycle ride and said:
“My cycle journey was challenging but I was determined to complete my undertaking. The girls that MMF support will also have faced challenges with determination to secure their education. I hope that they too can achieve their goals.”
Elizabeth also cycled circuits of the Cromarty and Beauly Firths – 52 and 28 miles respectively.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for your contribution and sharing your story.