Thurso firefighters in 100-mile bike ride to help charities
A TEAM of Thurso firefighters completed a 100-mile cycling tour of Caithness within nine hours – after calling in at all the county's fire stations along the way.
Their sponsored challenge took them along the north coast to John O'Groats, via a detour to Dunnet Head, then down to Wick, Lybster and Dunbeath before coming back by the Causewaymire. They went through Halkirk and over Hill of Forss before returning to Thurso, taking the total distance over 100 miles.
Saturday's event was in aid of the Fire Fighters Charity and Caithness Mental Health Support Group, with the proceeds to be split evenly between the two causes.
After a cloudy start it turned out to be a day of warm sunshine – which made the trip all the more testing as the miles went by.
The cyclists had been training hard for five or six weeks ahead of the challenge. Two of them used a tandem for parts of the journey.
They set off at 9am and were welcomed at John O'Groats, Wick, Lybster and Dunbeath fire stations, spending about half an hour at each. They got back to Thurso shortly before 6pm.
Firefighter Craig Anderson, who also works as a full-time firefighter at Dounreay, helped plan the event.
"When we started off it was kind of overcast and misty," he said. "As we cycled in to John O'Groats, and certainly from Wick onwards, it was warming up – and by the Causewaymire it was absolutely roasting."
Craig (32) said the hardest part was the series of climbs from Dunbeath up to the Causewaymire turn-off. "In the heat it was definitely tough for the distance it was," he said.
"It was a long day. We were over six hours on the bikes, but the closer we were getting to the end the spirits started lifting again. We were getting plenty of support out on the roads and people beeping their horns. It was really a big help on the day."
The cyclists have smashed the original £600 target on their online JustGiving page. They are on course to reach £2000 and the final figure will be known by the end of the week.
They were keen to raise money for the Fire Fighters Charity – a cause close to their hearts – as well as for local mental health services after seeing the impact of Covid-19 on people's mental health.
Craig explained: "We've seen locally and nationally that people are struggling with their mental health as a result of Covid-19 and the lockdown.
"People on their own may have struggled and we know people here are reliant on local mental health services. We're aware it can be hard and wanted to do something to help."
Those taking part on Saturday were crew commander Kevin Oag and firefighters Craig Anderson, Gavin Manson, David Bain, Brian Davidson, Mark Budge, Kara Simpson, Karl Drummond and Iain Elder.
There were two support vehicles – a fire van driven by firefighter Albert McIvor, and a minibus from Dunnett’s Transport driven by Hamish Coghill.
Drinks and snacks were donated by the Tesco stores in Thurso and Wick, while the cyclists were also grateful for bacon rolls courtesy of the Seaview Hotel at John O'Groats.