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The group at John o' Groats.

A WOMAN with a life-threatening rare autoimmune condition has ridden more than 500 miles on a motorbike through the Highlands to raise money for charity.

Ann Forsyth and fellow members of South Loch Ness Motorcycle Clubbraved the freezing temperatures in aidScleroderma and Raynaud’s UK (SRUK).

Ms Forsyth helped plan the 500-mile journey which generated more than £1000.

The 59-year-old has systemic scleroderma – a rare autoimmune condition that affects everything from the skin to organs – and Raynaud’s phenomenon, which affects blood circulation, causing some areas of the body to feel numb in response to temperature changes.

Although both conditions make cold temperatures and long trips uncomfortable, she tackled the challenge head on with every heated appliance she could get her hands on.

The group of 10 tackled the route on shed-built or 125cc motorbikes worth no more than £300. Starting at Tesco Ness-side in Inverness, they spent four days on the road.

Ms Forsyth said: “It’s a nightmare staying warm with Raynaud’s and scleroderma but I still go on my bike as much as possible because I love it.

“The club deserve all the credit and I’m so grateful for all their help helping me on and off the bike and the support we all gave each other.

“We carried each other through together, even though we were all soaked and absolutely frozen.”

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In total, 10 bikes and two vehicles took part in the epic journey from Inverness, through John o’ Groats, Durness and down one of the highest roads of Scotland, the Bealach na Ba, before they returned to their hometown of Inverness.

The group faced several challenges, including several broken down bikes and a trailer toppling over.

Applecross campsite generously donated three charity sleeping pods for one night of their trip and the Halladale Inn provided reduced rates and encouraged visitors to donate to an SRUK collection box. Park House B&B in Lochinver also provided reduced rates for the group’s rooms and stored one of the broken down bikes.

Raynaud’s phenomenon affects approximately 10 million people and there are roughly 19,000 diagnosed cases of scleroderma in the UK.

Ms Forsyth added: “I hope people will find out more about both conditions and that it might encourage people with Raynaud’s to get it checked to see if it’s connected to underlying scleroderma.

“I'd also like to get more people to listen to the work SRUK are doing by visiting their website www.sruk.co.uk

“It was an amazing journey and I want to say a big thank you to all the people who helped make it possible and donated rooms and food for us on the way.”

Click here to donate.