A POLICE officer is gearing up to take on a 100-mile cycle ride for a hospice which helped care for his mother before she died.

Pc Mike Lee, 37, of Heybridge, will represent Farleigh Hospice at this year’s Prudential Ride in London, starting on August 3 and ending the following day.

Five years ago, Mike’s mum, Barbara was told she had the early stages of heart failure, which sadly progressed rapidly.

Over the two weeks before her death, hospice nurses came into his home to care for his mother and support his dad, David.

Mike, who is based in Colchester, said: “It was such a shock. We hadn’t expected it, but Farleigh was there and they helped us through a very difficult time in our lives.”

He has taken part in every Farleigh Cycle for Life since 2014, and its Santa Fun Run and Maldon Bubble Rush.

This weekend’s route will see Colchester based officer Mike and hundreds of others ride from Stratford to near Guildford in Surrey, before returning through Weybridge, Hampton Court and Twickenham, and finishing close to the Embankment in central London.

Having never cycled such a distance, Mike started training at the beginning of this year.

His training begun in early January, however due to the cold weather, he could not start building up the miles until March.

He said: “Every week I do a 40 to 50-mile bike ride. I stick to the country lanes, cycling to Colchester near to Mersea and sometimes going out to Finchingfield. I keep to the back roads, where there is less traffic. As a police officer I have to be fit and healthy, so I train most days, either going to the gym, cycling or running. I always eat healthily but I have added energy gels and hydration tablets to my diet.

“Over the past month I have cycled about 560 miles and last weekend I did my first 100-mile bike ride.”