An Etape Caledonia cyclist had to get on his bike to be by his pregnant wife’s hospital bedside when she went into labour during the race.
Lewis Knox, of Burrelton, was met at the finish line in Pitlochry by frantic relatives who told him that Linsey’s waters had broken and she was about to give birth to the couple’s second daughter 50 miles away at Ninewells hospital in Dundee.
The 27-year-old, who runs an estate maintenance firm, had set off on the gruelling 81-mile route through Highland Perthshire six hours earlier.
Linsey, 27, who works in customer services at Scottish and Southern Energy, said: “I was at my mum and dad’s. I stayed there the night before because he was getting up early for a 6.38am start time.
“I started feeling something happening about 8am. My waters went about 10am and then things speeded up a lot. My mum phoned his mum and she went to the finish line to meet him. My mum then drove me to Ninewells.”
Lewis said: “When I crossed the finish line at 10.42am I saw my mum out of the corner of my eye. She was jumping up and down and waving. I went across and she told me my wife was in labour.
“I was just thinking: what are the chances of that? I just wanted to get sorted out and get to the hospital.”Gallery: Etape Caledonia cyclingExhausted after his four-hour cycle, Lewis had to get back on his bike and pedal through the crowds to his car, which was parked more than a mile away.
“My legs were starting to feel a bit jelly anyway so when that news came in it finished me off. Fortunately, I managed to find the energy to cycle to my car.”
Lewis arrived at Ninewells less than 40 minutes before second daughter Lucy was delivered but he had no idea how close his wife was to giving birth when he arrived.
He said: “I got there about midday. I didn’t know how far on the labour was or how quick it was coming.
“I parked the car and ran in. The adrenaline was flying at this point. A nurse took me through to Linsey’s room and she was very glad to see me. I gave her a hug and held her hand and I managed to calm down.”
Little Lucy was born at 12.38pm weighing seven pounds and four ounces.
Linsey said: “He got there just on time. I was relieved that he made it.”
Lewis added: “We’ve laughed about it and joked about it since. It was a hectic day.”