The chief executive of Axa Wealth led a five strong team of cyclists in a 300 mile cycle journey across Europe to raise enough cash for a new ambulance and a midwife for a year for people living in a rural part of India.
The quintet raised £11,000 for the Solimed charity, which takes unwanted medical equipment in the UK, refreshes it, and ships it to a needy hospital abroad. The organisation trains the staff how to use the equipment.

The money could also help pay for some medical gear for the Community Health Centre in Khimsar, Rajasthan.

The Axa team comprised chief executive Mike Kellard, Simon Daunter, David Whiteman, Ian Colquhoun and Dave Deadman.

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This is the fifth year of the ‘Fat Boys cycle challenge’ and they have raised over £60,000 so far. The challenge consisted of cycling over 300 miles across France from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic coast in just 3 days.

They spent over 20 hours in the saddle.

Mr Kellard said: “The first day was probably the most challenging; definitely the most tiring. We were all up at 4.30am, but our flight, and therefore everything after, was delayed.

“We then had to drive 100 miles to the coast, all before the ride. We started riding at about 2pm and had 60 miles to complete, which turned out to be all uphill and in to 30mph headwinds, which wasn’t much fun. After that, the rest of the route seemed a bit easier.

“Finishing the ride was a mixture of exhaustion and elation, as well as relief that we could get off our sore rears! We found out on the final day that we’d reached our fundraising target which made it all worthwhile.”