Fife teen youngest cyclist to take on Lands End to John O'Groats challenge

Rosabel Kilgour, Boarhills will take part in the largest Land's End to John O Groats cycle to raise money for community projects in Nepal. At 18-years-old she si the yougnest rider to take part in the cycle.

Rosabel Kilgour, who, at 18 years old, is the youngest member of the Ride Across Britain, is raising money for Raleigh International before going out to Nepal to work on community projects for five weeks as part of her gap year.

“I have only started cycling recently,” she said. “So it is going to be a tough challenge but fingers and toes are crossed that I manage to complete it!”

Rosabel will be in good St Andrews company, with keen cyclist and community councillor Chris Wallard among the group, who is raising money for Alzeheimer’s Research UK.

“I have never done a big cycling thing like this before and would love to have as much support as possible,” said the Boarhills teenager. But it is all in the name of getting to Nepal where Rosabel is passionate about supporting the recovery of communities following the earthquakes that devastated many rural towns. She said: “I am really looking forward to going to Nepal and hopefully having a positive impact on communities. I will be involved in helping to build systems to transport fresh water, as well as taking part in a trek to see how the charity is supporting the environment.”

Rosabel will join the cycle from Penrith to John O’Groats, covering 443 miles in four days.

Now in its seventh year, Deloitte Ride Across Britain is widely recognised as the UK’s top long distance cycling event and it takes cyclists of all levels of fitness and ability through some of the country’s most breathtaking landscapes, of which the Scotland leg offers some of the most spectacular.

The full ride, which Chris Wallard will start tomorrow (Saturday), will take the cyclists across 969 miles over nine days, where they will climb around 15,000 metres, almost twice the height of Everest and Rosabel will join the cycle at Penrith on September 15.

The riders camp overnight under canvas before hitting the tarmac again.

Julian Mack, the founder of Threshold Sports, which organises the race, said: “Scotland offers the four most spectacular days of the ride as we go through some of the most remote and beautiful parts of the UK. There are rugged mountains, deserted coastlines and some of the quietest roads you will ever find.”