Update: 24/06/24

Hi Everyone

Firstly, I want to say a massive thank you to all our donors and supporters for this challenge.

I still can’t believe how much money was raised for Maggie’s Highlands, I was really concerned at the start that I wouldn’t make the target and knowing that we smashed it just blows me away, the generosity of people has been heartwarming.

Maggie’s Highlands is such an important charity, knowing that the money raised, goes towards helping other families in similar situations to ours, just means the world to me.

I want to personally thank the Maggie’s Highlands team for all their support, not just during my beautiful wife’s treatment but also their help in the lead up to and post, cycle event.

Making this event so public was a massive step out of my comfort zone, I’m not big on social media and generally a very private person however I knew that raising awareness about Maggie’s Highlands and about the help they have given me, meant just as much as raising some cash.

I can’t thank enough my amazing support team, I may not have completed the intended challenge however I know I wouldn’t have got as far as I did without them. Every time I put my hand up, they gave me encouragement and everything I needed.

My wife had always said that one of the biggest gifts she got going through her cancer treatment, was opening her eyes to the compassion and generosity of people around her - I truly felt a piece of this over the event.

I also want to say thank you to all the people that came out on the day and cheered me along on the roadside.

I saw loads of familiar faces but also strangers coming out to show support, with a kind wave from the pavement and wee toots of the horn as they went past in their cars. Each one gave me an extra watt of power as I went by.

Doing the NC500 is a hard cycle challenge when it’s set out over several days so I knew doing it in one go was going to be brutal and I wasn’t sure I could complete it. But I knew it needed to be difficult because cancer isn’t easy to deal with. It’s the great leveller and I wanted this challenge to feel a tiny bit like that.

In the lead up I was balancing training alongside work and probably not admitting the amount of internal stress we had as a family, with my wife then going for her cancer preventative surgery (in March) to remove her ovaries and tubes. She also had her annual breast cancer check on June 14th. As anyone who has been through cancer treatment knows, the lead in to any check is stressful (scan-xiety) as my wife calls it) and I think I needed a few more months to catch up on some training but the date means so much to us and I just didn’t want to delay.

So on the day we set off as planned at 5am in the morning, I’d adapted the NC500 to leave from our house and go past Maggie’s Highlands as I felt they were the focal point of the challenge.

We had support cars, people, trackers, drones, spare gear, lots of food, litres of water and daylight start, what more did I need. I was ready.

At the end of stage one I felt solid, although having had to battle an unexpected 18mph headwind, since Muir of Ord, I zoomed past my first break because my main focus was now getting the Bealach na Bà climb behind me, it’s the hardest climb in the UK, I was dreading it and of course the wind was swirling the whole way up, one minute it would be a headwind, the next a cross and my bike and me were getting pushed from one side of the road to the next. I have to say, despite all that, seeing all the cars/public road users, move aside for me and let me continue climbing, was an extra watt in the legs, that kept me pushing on.

The decent was such a high, think I hit 50mph so the climb was totally worth it.

We then cracked on with stage 2, having a second support vehicle at the bottom, had been such a good call, it meant that I could drop off all the warm gear from the cold decent and keep going, with a good pace.

We met the 100mile mark with cheers from our youngest support team members, who were so enthusiastic, I got such a buzz from hearing their cheers.

Going through Torridon to Kinlochewe, we met the finishing stages of a triathlon (mini Celtman) who all gave me a wee wave and a cheer as we passed.

On to Gairloch, I had a fun cross/headwind to fight with, once there, I was met with a welcoming party from my daughter, her partner, my parents and our dogs. Which gave me some extra watts in my legs. And after a wee bosie from my daughter and

change to some of the support crew, I was ready for stage 3 and the new mission, for where to get a coffee from, began.

Into stage 3, it felt like everything was syncing right, I got my coffee, got a wee tail wind and was meeting expected timings. However, I had forgotten how undulating the section between Gairloch and Ullapool was. One surprise bonus was the sun came out at Dundonnell after about 11hrs of on/off rain and cooler conditions, which helped raise my spirits and gave me a wee bit of energy.

Unfortunately short lived, as out of Dundonnell the headwind was back and additional wind chill to boot. I wrapped up in winter gear, which was a reminder of what a traditional highland summer can throw at you. For the non-locals, four season in one day is not uncommon, though at least today there had been no hail. This is also when my knee started to signal it wasn’t happy and I felt the weight of distance still to go.

I carried on to the Braemar junction and picked up a tailwind all the way to Ullapool, I relished in this reprieve and felt lifted and more positive for the road ahead.

We were changing over support people again so had a group stop in Ullapool, before the next set of climbs. The support team, all had a wee confab around me about food, apparently I wasn’t eating enough to keep me going, I just didn’t feel I needed as much food as planned and was already tired of eating and drinking. The guys managed to make me eat a couple of wraps and drink some fluids, then following stern words from the crew, I agreed to try eat more on route.

I knew getting food in was going to be hard, it’s on all the footage of other people’s attempts but I just didn’t comprehend how hard it would be - I thought I’d get hungry, I wasn’t at all.

Following a proper break, better food and a nice coffee, I set off with a bit of stiff knee but a nice wee tail wind. I started the climbs leading into section 4, at Achiltibuie turnoff and felt ok. It was now around 7/8pm so slightly behind the timings but I wasn’t concerned.

Progress from Elphin to Lochinver turnoff was amazing however the weather on the horizon set a gloomy outlook.

The head/cross wind hit, with lashes of freezing rain battering against me and a windchill of 3 degrees, I felt my energy being sapped. The mental fatigue set in. The cold winds were exasperating my knee pain. Each start of a new climb would make the pain scream at me, there was no relief on the descents because I knew the pain of the climb was waiting for me at the bottom. I just needed a bit of flat - but this was not the section for that.

I tried adding extra thick knee warmers for compression and warmth but it didn’t help.

The progress slowed and it was now into the darker hours.

I felt like I couldn’t regulate my body temperature, I was freezing on descents and sweating on the climbs, it was just a constant battle.

In my head I kept saying, I want to make it to Durness and then reevaluate the plan.

But as I was coming out of Scourie, I was met with a long 12% climb on cold wet roads.

It broke me, my knee locked and I had a jolt of immense pain. I had to get off the bike and walk - I never walk climbs but I wanted to keep going, I felt like I couldn’t give in. So I walked. One of my support team jumped out and walked with me. He was giving me words of encouragement but the more I walked up the climb the more I knew I couldn’t keep going. I needed to rest but I didn’t want to stop. I clipped back into the bike and started to ride down to our support van, I couldn’t feel my body, I didn’t feel connected to the bike, I wasn’t even sure I was clipped in right to my pedals so didn’t know if I would fall over when I got to the van. My body was telling me no.

We had a wee group confab at the van about health and safety, the weather was getting worse so it made sense to take a break. I was piled into the van, removed the wet gear and put into a sleeping bag to warm up and rest. I was so determined that I needed to do it in one go, I only wanted to sleep for a few hours. I was just hoping it would be enough to convince my exhausted body that we could keep going.

Two hours went by

The weather battered the van, squall after squall. It wasn’t moving on.

The guys woke me up and we had a wee chat about what to do next.

My knee was in agony, I was exhausted.

I hated to admit to myself, let alone anyone else that I couldn’t keep going and today was not my day.

I debated the options of sleeping for longer at the side of the road, but I just didn’t think it was fair on the crew. I had a bed they were in seats in cab/car. Plus, the weather was brutal, with no signs of relenting - it really lived up to its name, Hellfire Corner.

There was talk of driving onto Thurso and picking up the route there with some broken sleep and a fresh start but I was really concerned about cycling on the A9 during busy periods, feeling as fatigued as I did. I didn’t think it was safe and neither did the team.

It meant there was only one option, the one I had dreaded. To call it and go home.

I felt gutted, weepy but I knew deep down it was the right call. My body was finished, my mind wanted desperately to push through but I just knew my body couldn’t do it. I was cooked.

The drive home was long, I made myself stay awake to help watch for deer on the road, as I wanted to be useful. I was questioning my decision the whole way home, could I have gone on, was it the right call, have I let everyone down. Feeling like I’d failed.

It’s now Wednesday, I’ve slept (a lot) and I’ve had so many messages of support, understanding and kind words - including a call from Maggie’s Highlands to make sure I was ok and say thank you. It’s really helped me come to terms with failing completion.

I knew it was a massive challenge when I decided to do it and I didn’t know if I had the ability to complete it. But I just wanted to try and the road is still there.

Upon reflection, it wasn’t the 500 miles that was important. It was about raising money, raising awareness and helping people affected by cancer.

I feel truly blessed by all the support and donations that people have given and as much as I hate talking about how I feel, I just felt everyone, who supported me on this challenge would like to know what happened and I realise now how important talking about how you feel, helps process the challenges that you come across - which is what my wife said Maggie’s Highlands helped her do.

Love to you all

Bruce

Final shout out to;

My amazing road crew (Ade, Anna, Daniel, Emma, Euan, Mark, Matty, Oli, Ruth & Susan) I couldn’t have done any of it without you.

The guys from @thecyberhawk who got up at the crack of dawn to follow us round and take some amazing footage.

My road side supporters, whether you were known and loved or a random stranger.

Thank you to all those who offered support but we didn’t use.

Thank you to @maggies.highlands for everything you do!

A big thanks to the companies who donated something to the cause, whether it was stuff, time or cash, it was all appreciated

@Macgregorsindustrialsupplies

@theCyberhawk

@NorthernRecyclingsolutionsltd

And Campbell Plant, SignRight, Ithaca Energy, TRAC and Pat Munro Foundation

And of course, another big thank you to everyone that donated - you are the stars

On October 2018 my Wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at the age of 37.

The Maggies centre in Inverness became a place of hope, comfort and strength during my wife's treatment for her and me.

We used the centre to learn more about cancer and found the different workshops they run extremely helpful, giving us the tools to deal with the darkest of days.

My wife is now 4 years clear of cancer and still pops into the centre to see the awesome staff and attend support groups.

I intend on cycling the Northcoast 500 in one go on the 22nd of June 2024. This will be a hard challenge but with the lessons I've learned over the last 4 years, I'm motivated to overcome the physical and mental obstacles with the tools I learned from Maggies and my Wife.

Thank you for your support, and let's make a lasting impact on the lives of those affected by cancer.

Follow me on the day on

https://www.geotracks.co.uk/live/2449?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAabwL398RsUiSGp0QHTJl6ms7coRoggDeV2I3WTyQ2KW5vGHNgKbwyhbTFI_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw