LEICESTER'S Kyle Howarth is doing his bit for charity this weekend.
The 26 year-old, who will line-up for his first campaign with the Watling JCB Lions at the Paul Chapman and Sons Arena next season, will be cycling 156-miles on Saturday (December 5) in support of the Speedway Riders’ Benevolent Fund.
Howarth says he is as physically and mentally prepared as he can be – despite a few last-minute changes to the route.
“Initially, I was cycling from Swindon’s Abbey Stadium, near where I live, to Belle Vue’s National Speedway Stadium, near where I was born,” Howarth said.
“Unfortunately, due to the latest lockdown and tier system, I have had to change my plans slightly.
“I’ll now be doing my cycle around Wiltshire – three, 52-mile round loops to make up the overall distance.
“We’ve been training hard for three months with a target date in mind and I want to get it done now.
“It’s been a crazy year for the whole world and I’ve had a lot of time to think.
“It’s been tough for Speedway too and because there haven’t been many meetings, the sport hasn’t had the coverage it normally would.
“So by doing something like this, I want to hopefully get in the news as much as I can and show a positive side to British Speedway.
“I’ve always enjoyed road cycling and I’ve always wanted to do something like this.
“So I thought I may as well add some meaning to it and give something back to the Ben Fund because what they do is so important.
“It’s not just the current injured riders they help, they help those who got injured riding Speedway and who are still affected by their injuries today.
“The Ben Fund hasn’t been able to have the collections at each track this year and so I wanted to help do my bit to get them a bit more money in.”
Supporters will be able to follow Kyle’s progress via his social media channels and donations can still be made at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/speedway-benfund