Thousands of people will pedal power their way through Perthshire this week.
The Highland Perthshire Cycling Festival is underway, ahead of the annual Etape Caledonia at the weekend.
The roster includes races, guided rides, bike-focused family fun days and a film night as Highland Perthshire seeks to cement its position as the UK’s premier cycling destination.
The mass participation closed-roads Etape alone, which has attracted 5,000 riders this year, is worth more than £1 million to the local economy.
Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland said: “Scotland is the perfect stage for events and once again the Highland Perthshire Cycling Festival has created a programme that will appeal to cyclists of all ages and abilities.
“The festival continues to grow, and there are a number of exciting new elements for 2013, which will attract visitors to the event.
“This year is the year of natural Scotland, and the stunning setting of the festival certainly adds to its appeal.”
The festival kickstarted with the inaugural Highland Perthshire Enduro on Saturday with almost 150 mountain bike riders taking to 50 kilometres of off-road trails around Dunkeld.
Another new addition to this year’s programme is The Film Night at the recently-opened Birks Cinema in Aberfeldy.
On Friday, Pitlochry High School will stage its own Mini-Etape road cycling event for the fifth year, ahead of the main race which is not part of the festival two days later.
Winding through 81 miles of stunning Highland Perthshire scenery, the Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Caledonia is seen as one of the most gruelling events on the cycling calendar.
For one man, it will be used as a training test. Simon Atkinson, from Worthing in West Sussex, aims to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest cycle across Europe and will get into gear on Sunday.
Simon wants to beat by 11 days the current record of 39 days to complete the cross border route of around 4000 miles, taking in ten countries.
He said: “It’s a really tough physical challenge that lies ahead of me and I’m taking every opportunity to train that I can to ensure I’m in peak condition for the trip.”