Scottish ultra-cyclist Caroline Livesey smashed the fastest known time for the North Coast 500 this week, taking more than four hours off the record, verification pending.
At 4am on Tuesday morning, in the growing glow of a mid-summer Scottish dawn, Livesey set off from Inverness with a singular goal: to get back to the Highland city at the northern end of Loch Ness within 36 hours and 39 minutes, having cycled right around the top of Scotland along the NC500 touring route.
On Wednesday afternoon, after lunch, 32 sleepless hours and 21 minutes after she left, Livesey rolled back into Inverness and straight into the world record books, beating Christina Mackenzie’s time in the process (verification by Guinness World Records and the World Ultra Cycling Association pending).
(Image credit: Mark Livesey)
The men’s record for the NC500 was set in September 2023, when Matt Downie rode the route in 27 hours, 30 minutes exactly, beating Mark Beaumont’s previous record time by an hour.
Livesey competes at an elite level in both triathlon and gravel riding. She won the UCI Gravel World Series race in Thailand last year, when she also became the first athlete ever to win the Patagonman XTRI (known as the ‘world’s most extreme triathlon’) twice.
To set the NC500 record, the Scot rode her Orbea Ordu TT and Orbea Orca Aero virtually non-stop around the notoriously rugged route, which is actually 516 miles (830km) long, maintaining a minimum average speed of 23kph.
During her record-setting ride Livesey was supported by a dedicated team, including husband Mark, who kept her fuelled with food, supplied support and captured the adventure with photographs and video.
While preparing for and undertaking the record attempt, the Liveseys have been raining money to support education projects in Nepal.
(Image credit: Mark Livesey)
“She has prepared meticulously covering all bases from aero dynamics, to fuel consumption, then practiced it many times,” Mark told CW. “Although the weather was poor generally with plenty of rain during the first 12 to 18 hours, the wind was perfect, because there wasn’t a breath. It turned nasty at the end with very heavy rain, so the finish wasn’t a huge celebration… Caroline was jubilant, wide eyed and just so relieved the ride had finished.”
“Her nutrition was pretty good and well practiced, but during the latter 80km she needed rice pudding, mashed potatoes, and milkshakes. Finally at 40km to go, it was time for Coke. At the finish she just wanted to make sure her Gamin saved the ride for the official ratification, then to get warm and catch up with friends and family.
The NC500 is massively popular with road trippers who typically take well over a week to drive full distance, pausing to explore and enjoy the incredible coastal scenery, white sandy beaches, rugged mountains and remote fishing villages en route. Obviously there was no time for Livesey to do any of that, but Mark maintains she did enjoy it.
“This ride was obviously very difficult, but she took the time to enjoy the Highlands of Scotland, seeing so much wildlife in the process,” he told us. She chose this time year because there would only be 3.5 to 4 hour of night time, and this strategy worked perfectly.”
