Cyclist sets off on a ride across England to raise funds for animal rescue charity

Richard Fisher, a member of AI Global Media, has embarked on a 1,200km bike ride across England for Linjoy Wildlife Sanctuary and Rescue – Midlands.

AI Global Media, a global magazine publisher based in Burton, provides its employees with the opportunity to spend a day away from the office to volunteer for a charity of their own choice in a bid to give back to the community.

The ride has raised £2048 so far, helping the charity’s ongoing missions to rescue and care for the animals in need.

Richard said: “I got swept up in the hype that I’m seeing online from people doing long distance exercise challenges, like Russ Cook. (the Hardest Geezer), the fella that ran the length of Africa. While I knew I couldn’t quite make it that far, I knew I could put my body through a cycle across England, after all its only 1,200km.”

Richard, who had once brought a pigeon to the sanctuary all the way from Leeds to aid his broken wing, continued: “Even now, I can’t believe I did it. It’s amazing to know that I can push my body and mind to complete extreme tasks as it was definitely more mentally challenging than physically.

“At the risk of sounding like a melt, I’ve always felt like a bit of a loser. I can’t express that enough. For example, I lost my charity MMA fight, and I remember saying to my girlfriend Linsey that ‘maybe people like me aren’t meant to win stuff like this’, that maybe I’m always meant to be second place because I don’t deserve it.

“So, to complete this really helped make me feel whole and erase that feeling a bit. Although I’m not sure it will ever go, I do use it as a driving force, so maybe it needs to stick around.”