A motorcyclist who challenged himself to complete the NC500 twice in 24 hours has smashed his fundraising target.
George Maciver has become one of the first people to complete the 1,030 mile circuit in one day.
The 58-year-old took just over 23 hours to complete the challenge, raising £1,500 for the Highland Hospice.
Mr Maciver – who is no stranger to fundraising – admitted that it was a challenge right from the start, with “nightmare” traffic on the first lap.
‘I just thought, I’m never going to do this’
He said: “I had reservations after the first trip. I went up via John O’Groats first and then down to the west coast but I should have done it the other way about because the traffic I hit was just a nightmare. Obviously with the tourists and things, it was half a mile then stop, then another half a mile then stop again. It was pretty horrendous.
“It took the full 12 hours to do the first trip so by the time I got back to Inverness and had a quick coffee and a sandwich and the boys checked the bike over, I just thought, ‘I’m never going to do this.’
“Going back up later on, the roads were very quiet.”
The second trip consisted of short stops for fuel and refreshments in the hope of still meeting his 24 hour target.
The challenge was carefully planned ahead of time, with Mr Maciver taking particular consideration of other road users and the various speed limits along the route.
The 58-year-old biker said tiredness was never a cause for concern.
However, he believes attempting to complete the route in a car would have presented a different set of challenges.
“You do get tired,” he added.
“A lot of people will assume that you can’t do that for 24 hours. Its different if you are sitting in a car with the windows closed, the heating and the radio.
“On the bike, the winds hitting you all the time, your getting buffeted about. It was quite tiring but I never once felt I can’t go on because I was falling asleep. I did sleep the next day for 16 hours solid.”
Mr Maciver set out to raise £750 for the charity in memory of his brother Shane and best friend Alan Mackenzie, known to many as Pancake, who died from cancer.
However, he managed to double that, much to his delight.
‘To double the target is just amazing’
“It means an awful lot to me because I know where its going,” he said. “It is not helping my family but its helping a lot of other people out there. The hospice needs money to keep going so it does mean an awful lot. To double the target is just amazing.
“A lot of people out there, who I have never met before, have donated. Its always a nice feeling. It’s really good.
“A huge thank you to North Coast Customs and to everybody that’s donated, whether its friends, family or random bikers and for sending kind messages.”
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