I Thought I'd Never Ride Again. Then I Did 516 Miles Around Scotland

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I Thought I'd Never Ride Again. Then I Did 516 Miles Around Scotland
(How I finally rode the NC500 — and what made it possible.)

Written by Dave F.

Published on February 17, 2026

I'm writing this the day after we got home. The panniers are still in the hallway. The bike's still filthy. And I still can't quite believe we did it.

516 miles around the North Coast 500. Five days of single-track roads, sea lochs, mountain passes, and pubs I'll never remember the names of.

If you'd told me six months ago I'd be writing this, I'd have laughed at you. Or probably just gone quiet. Because six months ago, I'd accepted that my riding days were done.

Here's the bit I don't love talking about.

Two years ago, I came back from a day ride — nothing major, maybe 120 miles — and I couldn't straighten up when I got off the bike. My lower back had been grumbling for months, but that day it properly went. Shooting pain down my left leg. Couldn't sit, couldn't stand, couldn't sleep without waking up in knots.

Basically: the riding position had done me in. Years of leaning forward, absorbing every bump and rut through my lower spine. I was told to rest. I rested. The physio gave me stretches. I stretched. It got a bit better. But every time I got back on the bike — even for 20 minutes — the pain came back worse than before.

So I stopped riding.

Just like that. After 34 years. The bike sat in the garage under a cover, and I tried not to think about it.

Helen — my wife — she knew what it was doing to me. Riding wasn't just something I did. It was who I was. Every weekend. Every holiday. Every time I needed to clear my head. Without it, I was just... flat.

I tried everything. And I mean everything.

The first thing the physio suggested was a generic back support. The kind you'd find in Boots. Thick, rigid, designed for people who lift boxes in a warehouse. It did absolutely nothing on the bike. The riding position puts load in a completely different place to standing or lifting — you're leaning forward, your core is absorbing vibration, and the belt just rode up and bunched under my jacket.

Useless.

Then someone on a forum said to try a kidney belt. The old-school motorcycling kind. Leather, wide, looks like something from the 1970s. It was better — at least it stayed in place — but it was so stiff I could barely move. And after an hour, the compression actually made things worse. My muscles weren't doing any work because the belt was doing it all, and when I took it off, my back felt weaker than before.

What I tried before — and why none of it worked

✕Pharmacy back support — designed for standing/lifting, rode up under the jacket, no vibration dampening, felt like wearing a corset

✕Kidney belt — stayed in place but too rigid, restricted movement for shoulder checks, muscles weaken because the belt does all the work

✕Gym/weightlifting belt — way too bulky under a motorcycle jacket, designed for vertical compression not forward lean, actually pushed into my ribs

✕Physio exercises alone — helped off the bike but didn't address the root cause: the sustained load of the riding position itself

The problem — and it took me an embarrassingly long time to work this out — was that none of these things were designed for riding. They were designed for other activities and repurposed for motorcycling. And the riding position is genuinely unique. You're leaning forward at 20–30 degrees. Your arms are extended. Your lower back is the bridge between your upper body and the pegs. Every bump, every vibration, every mile goes through your lumbar spine. Nothing designed for standing upright or lifting weights is going to address that.

I found the thing that changed everything the way most riders find things — late at night, deep on the internet, reading about someone else's problems.

A bloke had posted about his back pain on a touring forum. Same story as mine. Same failed solutions. But he'd found something called MotoSupport, made by a UK company called MOTOCUSH. He said it was purpose-built for the motorcycle riding position. Not repurposed. Not adapted. Built from scratch for the specific demands of sitting on a bike.

I nearly scrolled past it. I'd been burned too many times. But something about the way he described it caught me — he said it didn't feel like wearing a brace. It felt like his back just... worked properly again.

So I looked it up.

MotoSupport™

Purpose-built lumbar support for the motorcycle riding position.

The thing that made me actually pay attention was the engineering. It uses memory alloy stays — thin metal supports that flex and return to shape with your movement instead of locking you in place like a kidney belt.

They're positioned specifically for the forward-lean angle of riding, so they support your lumbar spine in the position it's actually in on the bike, not the position it's in when you're standing at a checkout.

It's slim enough to sit under a textile or leather jacket without bunching. It doesn't restrict your movement for lifesavers or cornering. And because the stays flex rather than brace, your muscles still do their job — the support just stops them from overloading.

It's not a medical device. It's not a gym accessory. It's a piece of motorcycle kit, designed by riders, for the specific problem that the riding position creates.

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I'll be honest — I ordered it expecting to be disappointed. The 90-day guarantee meant I could send it back, so I figured I had nothing to lose.

First ride was 30 minutes around the local lanes. Just to see.

I got home and stood in the kitchen for about a minute, waiting for the pain. It didn't come. My back felt tired — the way it should after a ride — but not damaged. Not that deep, grinding ache I'd learned to dread.

A week later, I did a full day. About 140 miles. Got off the bike, stretched, and felt... normal. Like my back used to feel after a ride ten years ago.

That's when I booked the NC500.

Helen thought I was mad. "You've been on the bike twice and now you want to do five days around Scotland?" Fair point. But I knew. I could feel it. Something was different this time.

We set off from Inverness on a Tuesday morning. Cold, overcast, perfectly Scottish. The bike was loaded — panniers, tank bag, enough layers to survive anything the Highlands threw at us.

By John o'Groats, I'd forgotten I was wearing the MotoSupport. That's not a figure of speech — I genuinely forgot it was there. It just felt like part of me. The stays flexed with every lean and shift, the belt stayed put under my jacket, and my back felt solid. Not rigid. Solid.

The north coast was something else. Single-track roads with passing places. Turquoise water that looked like it belonged in the Caribbean, except it was about four degrees and there was a sheep standing in the middle of the road. I pulled over about fifteen times just to stare at it all.

Day three. Durness. We'd done maybe 90 miles of twisting coastal road and stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the Atlantic. Helen was taking photos. And I just... lost it.

Not in a dramatic way. I just stood there looking at the sea, and it hit me all at once — the two years of thinking this was over, the frustration, the days I'd walked past the garage and felt physically sick, and now I was here. On my bike. With my wife. In one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. And my back didn't hurt.

Helen didn't say anything. She just put her hand on my shoulder and let me have the moment. She's good like that.

We came down through Applecross — the Bealach na Bà pass, which is one of those roads you see on motorcycle YouTube channels and think "one day." Hairpin switchbacks down a mountainside with the sea and Skye stretched out below you. I was giggling in my helmet like a child.

We got back to Inverness on Saturday afternoon. Helen kissed my cheek and said, "You're back." She didn't mean from the trip.

I'm not writing this because anyone asked me to. I'm writing it because two years ago, I was the bloke on the forum, scrolling at midnight, looking for something — anything — that might let me ride again. And I wish someone had written this for me.

If your back is stopping you from riding, or if every ride ends with you wondering whether it's going to be your last, try MotoSupport. I can't promise it'll fix everything. I'm not a doctor. But I can tell you what it did for me: it gave me back the one thing I thought I'd lost for good.

They do a 90-day guarantee — "Ride It or Return It." So if it doesn't work for you, send it back. No drama. Free UK shipping both ways.

But I don't think you'll send it back.

Built for RidersWho Live for
the Long Road — Not Just the Daily Ride

Stops lower-back pain
from hours in the saddle
on long tours
Keeps your spine supported
through sweeping bends
and high-speed stretches
Reduces stiffness and fatigue
during full-day
400+ mile rides
Engineered for endurance — from
weekend blasts to
cross-country adventures

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Significant lower back relief to maintain your control, comfort, and confidence on every ride.

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