A Forres cycle shop owner is revving up for a fundraising challenge to ‘give something back’ to the nurses who cared for his mum before she died.
Kevin Riddoch, who runs The Bike Bothy on Forres High Street will travel the epic NC500 on a 30-year-old moped to raise money for cancer charity Macmillan next month.
“I lost my mum to cancer in the winter just past. Macmillan Cancer Care was really helpful. They came round to the house every few days to check how she was and I just want to give something back to them.”
Kevin is well used to two wheels, however, he thinks that doing the circuit on the 1991 Tomos Bullet will add an element of fun to the trip, even though he will have to get off the 50kg machine and push it up some of the steepest Highland roads.
He thinks the 1991 50cc moped with a top speed of 35mph (30mph with a full tank of fuel!) will be possibly harder than doing it on a pushbike.
“Any other bike wouldn’t really be a challenge. A bicycle would be difficult, but when I saw this I just thought it would make the journey more interesting.
“I’ll probably have to push it up some of the big hills, but it’s just so much fun, and it puts a smile on your face,” he said.
Kevin expects to complete the circuit in five days, averaging 100 miles a day. The moped requires an oil change every 300 miles, so he’ll be doing that en route.
He will have the support of his dad, who will be following behind with fuel, food and a toolkit!
He bought the moped locally on Facebook Marketplace. The seller had just ridden it to Skye and back… also for charity.
Kevin sets off on the 25 August and hopes to return on 29 August which would have been his mum’s birthday.
Starting at Inverness, he will head west and do the trip clockwise, making his first overnight stop at Applecross, after the tortuous Bealach na Ba.
Kevin’s GoFundMe page has already raised £700 towards his £2000 target and donations can be made using the link below.