Schoolgirl gears up for 250-mile cycle in memory of grandad

A 13-year-old girl is gearing up for an epic cycle in honour of her grandad who died from cancer during lockdown.

Isla Easto will pedal almost 250 miles from Ardnamurchan Point in the Highlands to Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire in the four-day coast-to-coast ride.

The teenager has already surpassed her £4000 goal for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of Kenneth Easto, 78, who died of lymphoma at the end of March.

Challenge: The teen will cycle coast-to-coast.

Isla, from Newtonmore in the Highlands, said: “I wanted to do something to honour my grandad’s memory and to thank Macmillan Cancer Support for all the help they gave him and my family at a very difficult time.

“I’m doing this for my grandad, but also for anyone who’s life has been affected by cancer.”

The teenager, who leaves on Wednesday, will be accompanied on the challenge by her dad, Paul, who is a keen triathlete.

Mum Susie and younger brother Euan will be spurring them on in the support vehicle.

Support: Isla will be joined on the ride by her dad, Paul.

The teen said: “The first day we are cycling Ardnamurchan Point to Fort William.

“The second day is from Fort William to Newtonmore, my home village, and then the third day will be to Ballater, probably the most strenuous part of the challenge because a lot of it is uphill.

“Our last day is the Saturday, and we’ll finish up cycling the stretch from Ballater to Cruden Bay.

“I’ve never done this route before so I’m quite excited about that, I’ve been doing a bit of training for it.

“I have done 100km rides before but never consistently so that’s going to be tough, but I am really looking forward to it.”

Angela McCormack, Macmillan’s area fundraising manager in Scotland, said the charity is behind the teen “all the way”.

She added: “What a fantastic challenge and what an inspiration Isla is.

“It’s a lovely thing to do to honour her grandad’s memory. Thank you so much, Isla, for raising money for us during a time when we most need it.

“All of us at Macmillan have our fingers crossed the sun will come out across the Highlands for your challenge.”