A new record for adventurer Mark
East Perthshire adventurer Mark Beaumont looks to have added another record to his already lengthy CV.
The 39 year-old, who grew up in Bridge of Cally, recently cycled Scotland’s famous North Coast 500 route in 28 hours and 35 minutes.
The time – which is subject to verification from the World Ultra Cycling Association – beat the previous benchmark of 29 hours, five minutes and 42 seconds, set by Scotland’s Robbie Mitchell in 2021, by a narrow margin.
Having set the first recorded time for the route of 37 hours, 56 minutes, 44 seconds in 2015, Mark and his GCN+ support team launched a dramatic bid to retake the record from Robbie on Saturday morning from Inverness Castle.
He rode his Argon 18 E-119 Tri+ bike across the finish line just ahead of gale-force winds and rain forecast for Sunday, taking just 16 minutes off the bike to rest across the whole record attempt.
The daring bid was filmed by GCN+ for an exclusive documentary, set to be released later this year.
Despite powering up more than 10,000 metres – or some 32,000 feet – of unrelenting climbs – in tough weather conditions, Mark held an average speed of 29.3kph (18.2mph).
Now based in Edinburgh, Mark holds Guinness World Records for cycling around the world in 78 days, 14 hours, 40 minutes in 2017, and from Cairo to Cape Town in 42 days in 2015.
He said: “It was even harder to break Robbie’s record than I thought it would be.
“Even when weather is in your favour, there are no ‘free miles’ on the North Cost 500.
“My best memories from the last 28 hours and the days and weeks prior to the attempt have involved the incredible support team, and having my wife Nicci along for the ride for the first time was special.”
Mark continued: “I hope this film inspires people to explore the north of Scotland – but I wouldn’t recommend anyone trying it nonstop! ”
The North Coast 500 is a 516-mile scenic route, starting and ending at Inverness Castle.
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