85-year-old woman cycled for over 1,500 km to cope with grief after losing 3 kids

Mavis Paterson, 85, lost all three of her adult children within four years of each other -- Sandy in 2012, Katie in 2013, and Bob in 2016. It's to deal with the grief and in their memory that “Granny Mave," as she is better known, took up cycling in May.

By October, the Scotland resident cycled for more than 1,500 km, tracing the outline of the country.

“If I didn’t have my bicycle, and this is terrible to say, I don’t think I would want to live,” she told CNN Sport. “To lose your complete family, it’s just unbelievable. My daughter once said, because one of her friends had died, and she said: ‘Oh mum, imagine losing a child.’ I said: ‘I know. I couldn’t imagine it.’ All mine have gone.”

For Paterson, cycling was a way to find solace and a way for her to cope with the unimaginable loss. Every day for a month, she would get up early and cycle tracing Scotland's circumference braving through its undulating landscape and unpredictable weather. Paterson would cover about 80 km each day, the publication reported.

Another thing that kept her going was a charity that she supports. The journey across the country also helped the grandmother raise funds for British-based charity Macmillan Cancer Support.