Evanton hairdresser plans African epic
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A ROSS-SHIRE hairdresser is getting on her bike to ride 350km through east Africa in aid of women’s cancer charities.
Carol Bruce, who owns the Scizzors salon in Evanton, is undertaking the gruelling mountain bike challenge along with her sister Christine Bruce who lives in Tenerife.
Carol will be pedalling in heat of up to 30 degrees Celsius through tough terrain in Tanzania from October 9 to 16.
She is doing it for Women V Cancer which supports Breast Cancer Care, Ovarian Cancer Action and the Cervical Cancer Trust.
So far Carol has raised an impressive £5,000, after busting her £3,000 target some time ago. But she hopes to raise lots more for the great causes.
After flying to Nairobi, Carol will take a five-hour bus journey across the Kenyan border into Tanzania to start the cycle in the shadow of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain.
Along the way she will ride through three stunning national parks and experience the life and culture of the colourful Maasai tribe in their natural environment before the finish point at the Ngorongoro Crater.
But Carol told the North Star it was a spur of the moment decision to take part in the charity cycle.
"An email dropped into my mailbox from the company which runs the challenge, Action for Charity," explained Carol.
"I’ve no idea how they got my email address. But after reading it I thought, ‘I’m going to do that’.
"Then I phoned my sister in Tenerife and told her what I’d committed to. She thought I was joking but later that night she phoned me back and she said she would do it with me.
"I was quite happy to do it on my own but it will be a nice thing for us to do as sisters."
Both Carol and Christine have experience of cancer in their family. They lost their dad, Orcadian native David Bruce, to cancer 10 years ago.
Carol has been getting fit for the epic cycle since January and this weekend heads to the Cotswolds with Action for Charity to train for the event.
She will cycle for 40 miles each day, much of it hill work, in a major test of her fitness levels.
Carol has previously completed the 79-mile Great Glen Way, hiking and biking from Inverness to Fort William to raise cash for Invergordon Lifeboat.
But the east Africa challenge will be the most arduous she has undertaken.
"It’s been difficult to fit in training with working full-time," admitted Carol. "And the weather has been so poor – very different to what I’ll experience in east Africa. There’s just no way to prepare for that kind of heat in Scotland. It will be a dry heat so it won’t be quite so bad and I will try to be as fit as I can to help get me through it."
Carol raised £1,200 at a bag packing session in Morrison’s supermarket in Alness in May and has charity buckets in many shops where folk can donate. They include Lidl in Alness, Evanton Post Office, the Balconie Inn in Evanton and Raigmore Hospital. Staff at the Evanton Co-op raised £500 for Carol and are still collecting.
The most recent fundraiser was last weekend when the Evanton Flower Show donated proceeds to Carol’s campaign.
Carol also has her own Just Giving webpage where people can make donations. The address is: www.justgiving.com/Carol-Bruce.
