This post concludes the commentary for 2025. Only 51 weeks until next year's HT550.

It has been a pleasure and an honour to have been able to do the commentary on this year's race. 

I think that this year will go down as an epic in the annals of the race. All riders deserve a huge amount of respect for managing the extremely difficult weather conditions this year. However, no one can say they weren't warned as the HT550 website states "*But, be warned, the weather in Scotland can change on a whim, and you may [...] find yourself getting besieged by cold lashing rain and high winds.*"

That's it for this year

Awesome: Becky Beale has just finished at about 22.20 on Sunday night. Well done Becky. 

That means there are no more riders out on the course.

Sunday night (2)

Lindsay Warrack’s dot is bouncing! After starting from Fort Augustus this morning, Lyndsay crossed the finish line at about 19.30. A great ride Lyndsay.  

Emily's dot has not updated for a while but she has just uploaded her ride to Strava so she must have crossed the finish line at around 20.30 The batteries in her tracker must have given up the ghost. 

Becky’s dot is a bit further back. All we can do is keep hitting ‘Refresh Rider Locations’ and hope for an update. At the current rate of progess, if she is still riding then she should cross the finish line about 21.30 tonight. 


Sunday night 

Anne De Smet did indeed finish at around 23.00. She was photographed on the finish line by Stefan Maertens.  Well done Anne.
![Anne De Smet](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/w49r7ERMb0CvzusyUvAyP/2806ea7ab0b993983d66f60e980fee17/Anne_De_Smet.jpeg)

Lyndsay Warrack starting riding from Fort Augustus at about 06.00 this morning and is in Fort William at the moment. I’ve been refreshing Trackleaders to see if her spot stops at the McDonalds.

Emily Scott and Becky Beale look as though they started from Tomich at around 04.30 and are on the Caledonian Canal . 

Things are looking good for a finish later this afternoon / evening. Stay strong Team Bothy Crew 


Sunday morning

Here is Ramon from his finish earlier this evening. He is wearing a jacket that was loaned to him after he lost his (somewhere in Fisherfield I think).
![Ramon](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2Cu2x0jdjz6KhaPKVn1KSE/030105676963c1d0b1300d096ff3266a/Ramon.jpeg)

Chris Johnstone finished about 20.30. Well done Chris. In every photo of you, you have a big smile on your face: it is super to see someone clearly enjoying the ride.

Anne De Smet will be crossing the line as I post this. For a finish at around 23.00. Super ride Anne: congratulations.

That leaves the Team Bothy Crew out on the route. Lyndsay Warrack’s dot has stopped in Fort Augustus while Emily and Becky look like they have stopped for the night in Tomich.  I expect all three to finish tomorrow. 


Saturday night

Leila Husain finished at around 12.30. Well done Leila a super ride. (Check out the degree of colour coordination)
![Leila Husain](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5yXIFWZe4Y8my41d7Iv2M6/dd83e72eb5ea77b45a666e624be77c56/Leila_Husain.jpeg)

Ramon Diaz Colomer has just crossed the line at about 18.00. Muy Fuerte Ramon. 

Chris Johnstone is closing in on the finish. He is about to tick off the sting in the tail and then he will have the climb up from the Bridge of Orchy.

Anne De Smet is also zeroing in on the finish. She is currently working her way down the Devil’s Staircase. At this point in the ride, the finish can feel very close but, at the same time, agonisingly far away. I’m sure her partner Stefan Maertens will be on the finish line to welcome her in later this evening. 

Team Bothy Crew have been making solid progress today. They have completed the last big section of hike-a-bike up Kintail (not to say there won’t be more pushing but nothing that is particularly major). It appears as though Lyndsay Warrack has a little more power in her legs than the other two as her dot has been consistently in front of Emily and Becky’s all day.  An overnight in Fort Augustus followed by a finish on Sunday seems a plausible schedule for the three of them. 

Here are the three of them earlier in the race. (L-R Emily, Lyndsay, Becky)
![Emily, Lyndsay and Becky](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5dKdlL0Zz9nOlb7zhAg7f4/fe83834338153e0be50c428b1c6e2def/Emily__Lyndsay_and_Becky.jpeg)

Here is Emily at Loch Long. 
![Emily](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2I7HfLjYX0ODWVjKTgpzXi/f68ce459dfc6c55b30940e729308be5c/Emily.jpeg)


Saturday evening - More finishers 

Nick Cooper finished around midnight last night to secure a solid sub seven day finish. A super effort. Well done Nick

Leila Husain is another rider that made a visit to McDonalds in Fort William. After eating she rode until about 01.00 before stopping in Kinlochleven. That was a big day on the bike. Leila should finish today; probably a few hours over seven days.

Ramon and Chris also rode until about 01.00. Their dots are slightly off route at the moment. They are showing the at the Glen Nevis hostel. It will be a short detour back to pick up the route in the morning and they should cross the finish line later today. 

Anne De Smet’s dot stayed in the Fort Augustus area and she started moving again at about 06.00. She should finish later this afternoon all being well. 

Lyndsay, Becky and Emma carried on to the Tea House bothy. This is quite small so it was probably a bit of squeeze for them in there. I’ve had an update about their experience at the river crossing near Shenavall. When they got to the river, the flow was too strong (it was even creating waves as it entered the loch) and it was impossible to cross without bikes never mind with them. 
They had hatched a plan to backtrack and skip part of the route if necessary. Thankfully they had lots of food with them and the river level dropped enough for them to cross. Apparently spirits are high and they are working well as a team. I’m going to refer to them as Team Bothy Crew from now on. 
Two photos forwarded via Lucie (Emma's sister) show just how deep it still was when they finally managed to cross. ![River crossing deep](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1dk0AP6Mms4pMENKiVExNT/3a8a980b3e8c476054887afac7c435de/River_crossing_deep.jpg)![River crossing deep 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7w1AEMuuz9KbqwsJ8cBbt6/c8d12ef62719d4a3042cf36911b7c4d7/River_crossing_deep_2.jpg)

Saturday morning

There is still a lot of action out on the route. 

Since the evening update, Daniel Jessee, Liz Carrington and Jack Howker have both finished. Well done to all three: really strong rides. Liz rounds out the women’s podium, Daniel had the will power to rejoin the route on the Northern Loop and Jack got a top 10 on a Strava segment. Great stuff.
![Liz Carrington](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/h1DAyzHLOOm0moStnxShn/936484d8ac725478a152c5ab5e323e78/Liz_Carrington.jpeg)Liz Carrington.
![Daniel Jessee](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7M5ppGIM1VgozfDfHDmaJG/765204ee8bfbbec6bfb10df98f539121/Daniel_Jessee.jpeg)Daniel Jessee
(both photos by Alan Goldsmith)

Nick Cooper is at the Bridge of Orchy and should finish in the next hour or two. 

All other trackers are still active. Riders are clearly keen to make the most of daylight and to get as near to the finish as possible. Leila is climbing out of Fort William – it would be a superb effort if she rides all the way to the finish. 

Ramon and Chris are riding along the Caledonian Canal while Anne is about the descend into Fort Augustus. Sadly, I think that she will find everywhere closed at this time of night. 

The dots of Lyndsay, Emily and Becky are also still on the move. They are about to drop down to Strathcarron. They have done a big ride today which has included some of the toughest sections of the whole route. Great progress. 

Yet again, there is plenty to look out for come the morning. 


Friday night

Around 14.00 today, Melina Boening crossed the line after an epic 30 hour ride. Despite this huge effort, which earned her second place on the women’s podium, she still looked fresh faced with a huge grin on her face when Alan met her at the finish. 
![Melina](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/9cjozUdLwbS9YeAvdmZuC/b6c9f39ed123088254154a0ce7232fb7/Melina.jpeg)

About 16.15 Benedikt Stratmann finished. Well done Benedikt. A great ride.
![Benedikt](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4npaRMa4x7OREn7pVQqwH4/ad84b5f3f9542965602e606422f43419/Benedikt.jpeg)

On the home straight is Daniel Jessee, Liz Carrington, Jack Howker and Nick Cooper. They should comfortably finish tonight. 

Leila Husain either had an extra bowl of porridge this morning or she has a train to catch tomorrow as she has put in a superb ride today. She has ridden away from her riding companions and is on the Caledonian Canal. She is in that zone where it would be a huge effort to get to the end without stopping but, as I’ve mentioned before, the thought of not having to get back on the bike again can be a huge motivator. 

Chris Johnstone and Ramon Diaz Colomer are on General Wade’s military road and will drop into Fort Augustus in time for supper. They were spotted by Loch Long by a dotwatcher, Jim. Great to see them both still smiling. 
![Ramon and Chris](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6253LmM1NLwh88OA8hgbBX/9ee051bfddda4a13dce05268fa1c05b8/Ramon_and_Chris.jpeg)

I wondered at the start of the day if Anne De Smet might have caught Chris, Ramon and Leila. However, it hasn’t happened, she has tracked their progress all day. Her dot is greyed out on the track before Tomich which makes me think that she might be having dinner in the pub there.

Emily, Becky and Lyndsay have completed the Fisherfield section. I’m sure they will be hugely relieved to have that ticked off. It isn’t the end of the hike-a-bike but it is certainly the most challenging. They spent an hour or so in Poolewe this afternoon, I would guess they were eating for most of that. They currently on the Tollie path. 


Friday evening

Lyndsay Warrack, Emily Scott and Becky Beale are all safely across the river after spending 2 nights at Shenavall bothy. 

I held my breath as I repeatedly hit 'refresh' and watched each dot land in the middle of the river before finally reaching the other side. The sequence of screenshots below shows their progress.

Well done them for being so patient and good luck to them for the crossing of Fisherfield. 

![Mid crossing](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3Ym569gP0K2X70ODScWIr7/871c3f3d61c0ba1a43508999db804c26/Mid_crossing.png)![Mid crossing 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2bTCxoZKcO09HEAVqT7HI/4c09cab46376a0507e8735907233c991/Mid_crossing_2.png)![Mid crossing 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6Gj8tBewkJ4gepRTmSWhMF/c4a675b0b5f08735d35d3c6d953604af/Mid_crossing_3.png)![safely across](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7rXlXOJiPDJhY9nw317ZdU/a002efef5e544b0270da7df73712dcdb/safely_across.png)

Safely across

Mike Toyn

Kerry MacPhee

Alex McCormack

A gem of the European bikepacking calendar, attracting riders from across the world. The HT550 promises another year of hike-a-bike, unpredictable weather, and river crossings.


Highland Trail 550 2025 Tracking and Commentary

A gem of the European bikepacking calendar, attracting riders from across the world. The HT550 promises another year of hike-a-bike, unpredictable weather, and river crossings.

DotWatcher.cc

Highland Trail 550 2025

Distance — Elevation

Terrain

Website

Last Year's Male Winner

Last Year's Female Winner

Covered By:

Leaderboard

Events Feed