WHEN Joe Marshall and Jack Oliver decided to cycle from Colchester to Denmark, it was initially just for fun.

But after a while, the pair decided if they were going to do it, they should probably do it for charity.

That’s when Joe’s life-long interest in sharks came through.

So, now, they’re Cycling for Sharks and sponsorship will go to UK charity, the Shark Trust.

IT worker Joe, 29, who lives in Tiptree, said: “I’ve had a split reaction when we tell people what charity we’re doing it for.

“But I enjoy telling people why and maybe educating them a bit.

“When people think ‘shark’, I don’t think they think about their habitats being devastated and between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of all species being close to extinction.”

The pair, who work at Colchester General Hospital, in Turner Road, set off on Friday and expect the 800-mile trip to take them two weeks.

While Jack, 24, from Brightlingsea is a keen cyclist, before deciding to take up the epic challenge six months ago, Joe had not been on a bike since he was 17.

He added: “It was horrible at the start and I was thinking ‘how am I going to do it?’, but it gets easier.”

The pair will be carrying more than 30-litres worth of supplies, including video kit to film daily video diaries, which will posted on cyclingforsharks.co.uk.

Their route will take in Amsterdam, Bremen, Hamburg, Puttgarden, Malmo and Copenhagen.

To sponsor them, go to justgiving.com/CyclingForSharks.