AN ASTLEY man has ridden his bike every day for 148 days to raise funds for the hospice which cared for his wife.

Andy Racle, 64, rode around 2,200 miles on consecutive days between March 21 and August 15 for Wigan and Leigh Hospice and only stopped riding because he went on holiday. His efforts saw dad-of-three Andy raise £1,343 in memory of wife Debra who passed away from cancer aged 52 in August 2011.

Andy, said: “I have been cycling for seven years and have done the hospice’s Manchester to Blackpool Bike Ride twice. The plan was to do it again this year but of course because of Covid it got cancelled.

Leigh Journal:

Andy with wife Debra

“I started doing some training just before lockdown came in then carried on and I got to about 30 or 40 rides when I realised I hadn’t missed a single day so I wanted to get to 50 and then 100 consecutive days. I would have liked to have got to 150 but I went on holiday on August 15, but I did manage to at least get one last early morning ride in that day.”

He said: “Debra came to the hospice as a day service patient for a long time, she loved it, then went onto the Inpatient Unit in the last two weeks. They were so very good to my wife.

“They were so very caring and as her passing approached we knew what was going to happen. They very kindly let us stay overnight and always sorted us out with tea and coffee. It’s a very welcoming and caring place.”

Andy and Debra were married for almost 35 years and had two sons and a daughter together.

Since starting cycling in 2013, Andy has lost four stone and raised more than £4,000 for the hospice.