North Coast 500 women's cycle record smashed by 4 hours by Gullane's Caroline Livesey in 'insane experience'

The 47-year-old endurance cyclist described completed the 516-mile loop in 32 hours 22 minutes as a “truly insane experience”.

It significantly bettered the past record of 36 hours 39 minutes set by fellow Scot Christina Mackenzie in 2022, who took herself two hours off the previous best time.

Livesey left Inverness Castle at 4am on Tuesday, riding clockwise round the NC500 before returning to the Highland capital just after noon on Wednesday.

She averaged 16.7mph (27kph) over the route, which involved 33,000ft (10,000m) of ascent - the equivalent of more than ten Munros.

Livesey, from Gullane in East Lothian, hopes the feat will raise £50,000 for the charity she co-founded, Peak Education Nepal, which funds school places for disadvantaged children.

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Livesey said the lack of wind was a major factor in enabling her record time, but she rode through rain for 80 per cent of the time.

She told The Scotsman: “I’m absolutely delighted - really happy that it came together so well.

“We were very lucky to get a window when there was so little wind. It really makes a difference - if there’d been a 60mph headwind for the last 200km it would have made it a lot slower.

“So many things could have gone wrong, like a major puncture, mechanical problems, going off the road, or even getting lost.

“Some of the roads on the route were brilliant but others had a lot of potholes.”

Livesey said she had hoped to complete the NC500 in between 32 and 35 hours, setting the target by plotting sections of the route with similar elevation in Majorca, where she now lives.

She spent a total of about two hours en route stopping for a few minutes at a time, such as to change her gloves and jacket.

She said her favourite section of the route had been near Durness, near the north west tip of the mainland.

Livesey said: “I felt very much immersed in the landscape of the little coves and beaches there.”

However, the low point was on a section of the A9 near Dingwall.

She said: “It’s a busy road and some lorry drivers took risks and there was one that almost squashed me. Being on that road was just terrifying.”

Livesey paid tribute to her “most incredible crew” and vital funding from sponsors Titan Wealth.

The men’s record was held by Edinburgh-based round-the-world champion cyclist Mark Beaumont until it was beaten by an hour by Matt Downie in 27 hours 30 minutes three years ago.

Beaumont said Livesey’s achievement would be inspirational.

He said: “Caroline has planned and executed this record attempt to perfection.

“I am perhaps uniquely qualified to understand not just the strength, but the psychological depths and logistics complexity needed to break the NC500 record.

“I am sure it will inspire many other riders, and specifically many other women - my daughters were certainly inspired to follow Caroline's dot and see her triumph.”