Widowed Misterton dad completes 600 mile cycle challenge in aid of children's bereavement centre

Ric completed the challenge on his Peloton and helped raise £1,115 for the Children’s Bereavement Centre.

Ric said: “The countries I hit were Australia, China, Mexico, Argentina, India, Germany, my birthplace, Italy, Switzerland, Iceland, Holland, Barcelona, France, Slovenia, California, and Scotland, before finishing in England.

“It was a huge challenge. I knew this was a huge mountain to climb, but as I’ve shown throughout the grief after my wife’s death, we need to be engrossed in the present day and just take that first step.

"I’m extremely proud of my achievement.”

The challenge was tough with Ric having to wake up in the early hours of the morning so he could complete 20 miles before Hugo got up for school as well as health challenges including needing cold water therapy.

Ric documented his journey on his Instagram account, @richardhart786, sharing his start-to-finish journey from zero to 600 miles.

Since his wife Jade passed away shortly after giving birth to Hugo, Ric has used writing to help overcome his grief and his latest book, Growth through Grief, comes out this summer.

Ric has also published five children’s bereavement books, which form the ‘Hugo and Daddy’s’ series. Hugo and Daddy’s School Adventures, was published last September as Hugo started school.