Former European Solo 24-hour Mountain Bike age-group champion Adrian Beale has added two more national titles to his impressive two-wheel CV.

Last weekend he braved sub-zero conditions and sleep deprivation to conquer one of Britain’s toughest cycling events.

Around 160 solo riders powered through the depths of the Scottish Highlands mid-winter to complete the notorious Strathpuffer 24-hour challenge at Contin Forest, north-west of Inverness.

The race began at 10am on Saturday with a Le Mans-type start, with cyclists aiming to complete as many laps of a 12.5-kilometre course as possible within 24 hours.

Held within the confines of Torrachilty Forest, the Strathpuffer (a play-on-words with the nearby town of Strathpeffer) involves 17 hours of darkness.

The 2026 edition went well for the 62-year-old Foxdale man who won the 60-64 year age category British championship by a margin of almost 14 minutes on the same lap count of 14 as Rich Cutsforth of the Wilson’s Wheels Race Team.

Beale, supported by Douglas bicycle shop Bikestyle and Matrix Engineering (creasingmatrix.com) of Balthane, also became the overall national single-speed champion. He was one of 10 single-speed riders in the open age class.

He completed an impressive 14 laps of the course, finishing an amazing 19th place overall out of 169 in the solo class. Beale admitted the conditions were horrendous at times, but overall he was happy with his performance.

Hundreds more took part in the pairs and four-rider team events.

Ellan Vannin Cycling Club is organising a Parishes Sportive on Sunday, March 8 in memory of Stuart and Jean Slack.

There will be a choice of two routes – the full 83-mile route or the 66-mile Medio course, both starting and finishing at Bikestyle in Douglas.

Online entry via the British Cycling website, as follows: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/328328/The-Parishes-Sportive-