“Tough challenge is something I will never forget” says police officer

A police officer has completed an epic 825-mile off-road cycle ride to raise money for COPS.

DI Jim Fincham, who admitted he is “not a cyclist”, recently finished the Great North Trail Ride, which runs from the Pennines to the northern tip of mainland Scotland.

Jim, a Suffolk Police officer who’s currently seconded to Bedfordshire, was cycling it self-supported, carrying his camping kit himself.

He admitted the ride was a lot tougher than he expected.

“Brutal is one word that sums it up,” he said. “I was looking for a challenge and this was it – It was incredibly difficult.

“The hardest part was not being able to actually cycle – we had times where we were having to push our bikes for four or five hours up hills and through rivers.”

Jim said a colleague who recently retired was looking for a challenge too, so he persuaded him to do it as well.

Although it was far from just a challenge.

Both men had to contend with serious injuries ranging from cuts and bumps to Jim having his tooth knocked out after a nasty crash.

They also had a number of things go wrong with their bikes.

“We never set a time to complete it,” he said. “We had a rough plan to try and do it in 21 days and we did it in 17 days. When we got near the end, we went a bit mad and just went for it riding all through the night.

“When we finished it was an astonishingly emotional moment, a great sense of relief.

“One thing that was lovely was seeing the kindness of strangers. We had so much help from so many people and without that help we wouldn’t have been able to finish. The whole experience was incredibly humbling and something I will never forget.”

Jim has raised more than £2,200 for COPS.

He said: “COPS is such a worthwhile charity. Unfortunately, I’ve lost colleagues… so I know first-hand the amazing work they do.”

People can still donate via Jim’s fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jim-fincham