I was riding round Scotland anyway, but on hearing of Ennis's loss of 3 toes as a result of borderline diabetes, I thought I would make an appeal to friends to raise some money to help cure this rather nasty condition, since I have a finger in the pie too.

With my trusty cycling companion Brian [78 and recovering from bowel cancer last year] we are making it over from  Ratagan to Applecross, and in the process passing over what many call the best climb on a bike, the famous Bealach na Bà, as Wiki says 'a winding, single track road through the mountains of the Applecross peninsula, in Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands. The historic mountain pass was built in 1822 and is engineered similarly to roads through the great mountain passes in the Alps, with very tight hairpin bends that switch back and forth up the hillside and gradients that approach 20%. It boasts the steepest ascent of any road climb in the UK, rising from sea level at Applecross to 626 metres (2,054 ft), and is the third highest road in Scotland.

The name is Scottish Gaelic for Pass of the Cattle, as it was historically used as a drovers' road.' We won't be supported, are carrying everything for a 2 week trip from Fort William to the Orkneys and then down to Inverness.

So, you give me some money, guess in an email to me how long the 6.1 mile ascent will take, and I will buy a bottle of whiskey from Spean Bridge for the person to get the closest and carry it round with me for the 600 or so miles of the trip, from near Fort William to the Orkneys and down to Inverness.

I'm off on the 4th of June, and all support welcome.