Jim’s hitting the road again for star’s charity

A charity cyclist used to going the extra mile has taken on his latest challenge.

Jim Bertram, who was brought up in Newmains, has raised more than £200,000 for various charities down the years.

And the 53-year-old is now back in training to raise cash for former Kilmarnock and Rangers striker Kris Boyd’s charity foundation, which aims to provide support to people struggling with mental health in the West of Scotland.

Jim said: “During the lockdown I was able to do 30 miles per day on the bike and had been working on my speed which means I’ve been increasing my power on the bike.

“I had thought I would be stepping back from these types of challenges but I’ve got to know Kris so I thought I would get involved.

“My nephew Jude has aspirations of being a reporter and broadcaster and he got in touch with Kris to see if he would come on his podcast and he agreed.

“He was brilliant and got involved and given the aims of his charity especially around this time when mental health is so important I decided to go for it.”

The challenge will see Jim and the team aim to travel 415 miles in just four days starting in the Midlands where Jim is now based and ending on the final day with a journey from Ibrox Stadium to Rugby Park in Kilmarnock where Boyd was a prolific goalscorer for both clubs.

Jim added: “The plan is to do it next summer to give all the guys a chance to properly train for it because it is going to be quite a challenge.

“Kris is planning to do the final leg with us so that will be great.

“Fingers crossed we can raise a lot of money because it’s a great cause and Kris is doing a great job in raising the profile of positive mental health.”