ADVENTURER Mark Beaumont has unveiled a new video which charts his successful attempt to cycle the North Coast 500 earlier this summer.
Billed as Scotland's answer to Route 66, the 500-mile route starts at Inverness and takes in Wester Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, Easter Ross and the Black Isle.
The 32-year-old from Perthshire completed it in 37 hours, 56 minutes and 44 seconds after cycling the entire distance non-stop in August.
Beaumont covered an elevation gain of almost 35000ft (10462m) and burned a colossal 17848 calories.
He sustained four punctures and kept himself fuelled with a succession of peanut butter and jam sandwiches.
"When I was first approached to do it, the idea was to showcase the North Coast 500 as a tourist route," said Beaumont. "I had just come back from Africa and was in the shape of my life. I wanted to do an epic challenge in Scotland.
"I'm passionate about living and training in Scotland. To get people talking about this route, I suggested we do something which pushed me as an athlete, the kind of thing you say to your mates in the pub: 'Did you see that bloke?'
"My motivation was to put together a film that got people thinking and talking about Scotland – seeing it in a different way as opposed to some cliched picture postcard video."
North Coast 500 from North Coast 500 on Vimeo.
In May, Beaumont set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time cycling the 6700-miles through Africa from Cairo to Cape Town.
He posted a time of 41 days, 10 hours and 22 minutes, but that looks on the cusp on being beaten within the coming days.
A six-man team that includes Chris Froome's mentor David Kinjah and former top model Nicholas Bourne, who previously set a world record for running from Cairo to Cape Town, are currently undertaking their own attempt.
Beaumont's autobiographical book, Africa Solo, is due out in May. He also has plans in the pipeline for further cycling expeditions to be announced over the next two years.
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