A Scottish musician who found himself in a “very dark place” battling alcoholism and depression credits cycling with saving his life.
Now Mark Bruce, a former guitarist with internationally acclaimed band Elephant Sessions, is close to completing an breath-takingly tough hill climbing challenge for charity.
The 34-year-old from Glasgow has so far ridden his bike the height of Mount Everest in a single, non-stop outing every month of 2024.
He is also barely recognisable after shedding more than six stones in weight and he reckons he is “the fittest and strongest I’ve ever been in my life”.
A descent to alcoholism
But just a few years ago, things looked very different for Mark, who is originally from Tain in the Highlands.
He says: “I came really close to losing my life.”
He continues: “I’d decided to leave Elephant Sessions after 10 years of many cool times, playing all over the world with good friends and fellow musicians.
“I’d become very tired with all the touring and when the Covid pandemic came it hit our band – and many performers like us – very hard.
“In 2022, I ended up back at home with my parents in the Highlands with no plan of what to do next and I really fell to pieces.
“Alcohol and the wrong food choices had become bad habits while touring but then I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into a dark place with the drink. I couldn’t see a future and I became suicidal.”
A cry for help
Scared for his life, Mark knew he needed to ask for help – and he was fortunate to gain speedy access to a mental health support service.
He explains: “In a way, I am lucky because I have hemophilia. It’s a disorder where my blood doesn’t clot in the normal way. I was born with it and I have learned to cope with it.
“But bleeding disorders can be traumatic for many people and so I have the ability to call on a clinical psychology team. I became very, very upset one day and that’s when I was offered psychological help.”
It was a crucial turning point for Mark. He says: “I decided I needed to try to find a way to live. I knew I had to get sober and while I had failed to give up many times before, this time, in September 2022, I did stop drinking.
“I took one day at a time because it was the only way I could handle it.”
A new cycling avenue
At the same time, Mark started to ride his bike for exercise. He says: “I had been given an old bike by someone during lockdown and at that point it was just a means of transport.
“I’d never been a keen cyclist, however I made a promise to myself to cycle one day each week after quitting the drink.”
As the months went by, Mark lost weight and and he discovered a joy in cycling.
He says: “This didn’t happen overnight and I was still fighting the desire for alcohol but the more I rode my bike, the more I wanted to.
“Then I wanted to get better at cycling and I began training, riding more miles and making healthier eating choices.”
A new career and a charity challenge
With a renewed focus and zest for life, Mark also made a career change. After gaining a PG Certificate in Education at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, he is now a secondary school music teacher.
Mark says: “I moved to Glasgow, started a new career and continued to ride my bike. I had a newer and better bicycle as well.
“It was then that I happened to see a video on-line of a cyclist ‘Everesting’. I thought it seemed such an unachievable challenge but the idea got into my head and I wondered if I could do one myself.
“I don’t know when I thought of doing a year of Everesting but once I had the idea I couldn’t let it go.”
Having set the target, Mark also chose a charity, Tiny Changes, as a fund-raiser.
Tiny Changes is a Scottish youth mental health charity that was set up in memory of Scott Hutchison, the singer and founding member of the band Frightened Rabbit. Aged 36 and after years with depression, he died by suicide.
Mark says: “I clearly remember the shocking death of Scott and so the charity resonated with me.
“I almost lost my life to depression and I see, through my teaching, the need for young people to have good mental health support.
“This past year has been tough but in a very different way to before. The Everesting is extremely hard physically and the demands of teaching make it hard to fit in a Everesting challenge each month.
“I am now very fatigued but I have just two more Everests to climb before the end of 2024 and I am determined to finish and to raise as much for Tiny Changes as I can.
“I am scared to think back and to consider how different things could have been, so instead I just feel very fortunate and keep looking forwards and riding my bike.”
A very tall challenge: Everesting
Everesting is a simple concept at heart – although incredibly demanding to achieve.
Cyclists pick any hill, anywhere in the world and ride repeats of it in a single activity until they have climbed the height of the world’s tallest mountain at 29,028ft (8848m).
The idea was invented by Australian Andy van Bergen, who completed his first challenge on Mount Buller in Victoria in February 2014.
A month later, the first UK hill, Edgehill, in Warwickshire, was conquered by cyclist Pierre Guern. In June 2014, the first Scottish Everesting took place on the Crow Road, Lennoxtown, near Glasgow.
Every month of 2024, Mark has Everested on different hills and twice on his at-home turbo trainer.
His times for the Everests have been between 13 hours 16 minutes and 17 hours 31 minutes and he has ridden a distance of the shortest at 139km to the longest at 272km.
The number of “reps” on the road have been between 42 and 69 and the gradients have averaged at 8.8% with the “easiest” at 6.8% and the steepest of 13.4%.
The toughest ride has been on The Lecht, Aberdeenshire, where the average of 1.4% included sections of 20% gradient.
Meanwhile, Coulport hill on the Rosneath Peninsula with an average 7.8% gradient, has been Mark’s favourite.
He has gone from 16st 9lbs at his heaviest to a current weight of 10st 5lbs.
His final Everesting will take place at the Sir Chris Hoy Veledrome in Glasgow on December 15. Mark says: “It is a very special place to complete my final ride of the challenge, this time on a turbo trainer set to reach the height of the tallest mountain in the world. I hope people will come to cheer me on.”
You can keep track of Mark’s rides at: Everesting and on Instagram @adozeneverests
To support the fundraiser for Tiny Changes.
- This article appeared in The Sunday Post newspaper.