Congratulations to Mark Beaumont for setting the Solo, Male, (18-49) Standard bike circumnavigation record for the historic Scottish NC500 course – on Sept 24-25, 2022
Mark covered the 516 miles in 28 hours 35 minutes for an average speed of 18.05 mph – blazing fast! Also with an incredible 32,000 feet of climbing!
He eclipsed Robbie Mitchell’s record of 29 hours 5 mins by a full 30 minutes!
Here are the official way Points for the NC 500:
| # | Way point | est mileage | est cumm |
| Start-1 | Inverness Flora MacDonald Statue | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Beauly | 11 | 11 |
| 3 | Muir of Ord | 2 | 13 |
| 4 | Contin | 10 | 23 |
| 5 | Garve | 8 | 31 |
| 6 | Achnasheen | 17 | 48 |
| 7 | Lochcarron | 28 | 76 |
| 8 | Applecross | 38 | 114 |
| 9 | Kinlochewe | 41 | 155 |
| 10 | Gairloch | 19 | 174 |
| 11 | Ullapool | 54 | 228 |
| 12 | Ledmore | 16 | 244 |
| 13 | Lochinver | 18 | 262 |
| 14 | Drumbeg | 13 | 275 |
| 15 | Kylesku | 9 | 284 |
| 16 | Laxford Bridge | 15 | 299 |
| 17 | Durness | 17 | 316 |
| 18 | Tongue | 28 | 344 |
| 19 | Thurso | 42 | 386 |
| 20 | John O Groats | 18 | 404 |
| 21 | Dingwall | 107 | 511 |
| 22 | Muir of Ord | 5 | 516 |
| 23 | Beauly | 2 | 518 |
| End-24 | Inverness Flora MacDonald Statue | 11 | 529 |
Here is Mark’s story:
Scottish long-distance rider Mark Beaumont has broken the North Coast 500, setting a sub-29-hour time. This is not a first for Beaumont, as he was the first rider to set a time back in 2015, where he set the inaugural record just under 38hrs. The route starts and finishes at Inverness Castle and on this occasion, Mark cycled the route in a clockwise direction through Applecross, Ullapool, Dunrobin Castle, John ‘o’ Groats, then following the east coast back too Inverness.
Mark exploited an intense year of training and preparation for Race Across America (RAAM). Although this year’s RAAM didn’t go to plan, Mark was under no illusion how difficult it would be to take the previous record holder’s time, set by Robbie Mitchell last year. Mark was keen to explain to everyone that it was not a ‘slam dunk’, explaining that Mitchell’s time was a very solid record.
Supported by a team of seven crew, following a dedicated performance plan to ensure he received the planned intake of 110 grams of carbohydrate an hour. Crew members sprinted ahead to prepare food stuff, like egg and sausage wraps, and boil hot water to try and alternate the monotonous carb drinks. We also had team members monitoring the wind and progress to ensure Mark was going as quick as he could on the bike.
Mark’s choice of bike was an Argon 18 E-119 (Tri+ bike), fitted with a full (Hunt) disc rear wheel. Wearing a NoPinz custom made skin suit, bearing the NC500 logos, trip socks and aero helmet helped with shaving off the 30 minutes from Robbie Mitchell’s time. On finishing the ride, Mark explained this was one of the most difficult rides he has ever untaken.
Maintaining quite an aggressive position, with an aero helmet takes its toll on the body resulting in a very sore neck. During the night, Mark eased this pain by swopping to a road helmet in a hope to take the pressure of the neck muscles. However, as his performance started to dip from the increase in wind down the east coast, he made the brave decision to replace the aero helmet and remove some additional layers of clothing sooner than he would have liked!!
Alongside the performance team, Mark was joined by filmmakers from Global Cycling Network (GCN+) channel where viewers will be able to see the full event unfold later this year.