ACT construction director Scott Weir is aiming to “Everest” by mountain bike during the month of March. Everesting is the pursuit of cycling the total elevation of the world’s tallest mountain (29,030ft).
The total ascent for Scott in weeks one and two was 13,810ft, which left him a little shy of the half way mark.
Scott started week three feeling a lot more positive about his likelihood of completing the challenge. He managed four bike rides and discovered some new places to mountain bike “for extra motivation,” he reports.
Lennox Forest night ride.
On Thursday night, Scott headed out for a night ride with a friend. He said: “It made all the difference to have someone cycling with me for motivational purposes. We managed a decent bit of climbing covering 31 miles and climbing 2,419ft.”
Busy Glentress.
Scott left his children with his mum on Saturday so he could go for a longer bike ride. He rode at Glentress, the popular mountain biking centre near Peebles, for a few hours.
He said: “The weather was rotten but I managed a couple of laps of the blue trail. I love it because it’s really flowy and it always puts a smile on my face.
“I covered 20 miles and climbed 2,366ft. Glentress was busy that day and it was great to see so many people enjoying their mountain bikes.”
Glentress ride.
Scott went out again the following day with a friend. He said: “We went to the Carron Valley, fairly close to my home, and did three laps of the all the trails. I admit my legs ached and I felt pretty tired because of my exertions over the previous few days but I kept going and managed to climb 1,923ft.
Great views at Carron Valley.
“The Carron Valley is also good fun, especially the Runway, which is a great starter trail for riders who want to learn to jump. It has some lovely views, too.”
Carron Valley ride – and ascent.
Scott’s fourth ride of the week was on the Tuesday. He said: “I didn’t have much time so I headed up to my old favourite, Lennox Forest, for a couple of climbs. We had heavy snow that morning which was a bit unexpected. It was also very cold. I did another 1,151ft of climbing in the limited time I had.”
Scott’s fourth Everesting ride of the week.
Scott’s total for the week is his best yet at 7,859ft taking the grand total so far to 21,669ft.
He said: “I am very pleased because I have about 10 days left in which to climb 7,361ft so I am feeling quite confident of Everesting. It has been a lot of hard work so far but my fitness has definitely improved.”
See Scott’s Everesting challenge week 1
See Scott’s Everesting challenge week 2
Do check back on this blog to find out whether Scott completes his Everesting challenge on March 31.
