Congratulations to Matthew Downie for setting the new Solo, Male, (18-49) Standard bike CW circumnavigation record for the historic Scottish NC500 course – on Sept 27-28, 2023
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cx5k8uWM_t0/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
| Waypoint # | 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 |
Record attempt – NC500
Name of rider – Matthew Downie
Start date – 27th September 2023 0900
Start location – Inverness castle
Conditions – High winds, heavy rain, yellow wind warnings on met office.
Reason for record attempt – My mate Harry suggested that I attempted the record after seeing Mark Beaumont achieve the record last year.
What equipment was used? – S-works Venge with Enve 7.8 wheels, Orbea Ordu with Enve disc, Speeco custom TT extensions.
What did you eat and drink? – I ate a combination of Styrkr bars, SIS energy gels, sweets and filled wraps. I also drank coke, Fanta, Styrkr carb mix and water.
What was the hardest part? – The last 96km my knee injury really flared up and it almost became impossible to pedal. After swapping back to my road bike I was able to push through and keep my legs pedalling.
Did anything unusual happen? – I was descending down a twisty road when I came across a herd of sheep in the middle of the road. I tried slowing down as much as possible and just managed to squeeze past them.
Exact finishing location – Inverness castle
Exact finishing time – 1230