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Tour de Aky to return this weekend in memory of much-loved police officer

Friday, 12 July 2024 07:36

The Tour de Aky is back this weekend, fundraising for three charities.

The annual Tour de Aky is back tomorrow (Saturday) in memory of a North Yorkshire Police officer who took his own life.

The event was launched in 2019 by PC Pierre Olesqui in memory of his best friend and police colleague PC Mick ‘Aky’ Atkinson.

Mick sadly took his own life in 2018 following struggles with his mental health.

Pierre has been organising the Tour de Aky every year since, cycling 106.6 miles as a nod to Aky’s collar number.

To date, the event has raised more than £76,000 for various charities.

And this year, Your Harrogate is proud to be sponsoring the shirts that participants will be wearing for the event tomorrow (13th July).

The Tour de Aky 2024 will be again be fundraising for MIND, Andy’s Man Club and Yorkshire Air Ambulance after raising more than £10,000 for the charities in 2023.

The route will start in Woodlesford, the village where Aky grew up, and includes a visit to Your Harrogate’s studio before moving on to York Police Station.

Organiser Pierre Olesqui told Your Harrogate:

“Aky was a police dog handler and a massive personality. I just wanted to remember and honour him.

“We go to locations that had importance to him. This year includes Elland Road - he was a massive Leeds fan - Headingley Stadium, his school, family home and police stations he worked at.”

Pierre added:

“The basis of it is about mental health and talking.

“If you’re on a bike for eight hours, I challenge anyone to not talk!

“The slogan ‘it’s okay to not be okay’ but the ride is only successful because of the support we’ve received.”

If you’d like to support the Tour de Aky 2024, donate via the GoFundMe page or find out more on Facebook here.

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