Meet Richard Lima
In August of 2021, my wife Andrea and I moved from Mooresville, NC to Albuquerque, NM. Our daughter was grown, she had moved into her own place, and she left Andrea and me looking for a new adventure. My wife, a nurse practitioner, was lucky enough to find a job at the VA here in Albuquerque, so we made the move. I’ve been modeling for 26 years and fortunately can live anywhere as long as I’m close enough to an airport to fly to LA, NYC, or any other city to do a shoot. Andrea and I knew we wanted to live somewhere in the New Mexico area, due to my love for the Land of Enchantment. So here we are! I always had a dream of riding my bicycle across America. Moving to NM, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to do it. Initially, I wanted to start my ride in May, but wasn’t sure exactly when. In early April, I received word that a close family member of mine died of suicide and immediately the plans for my ride changed. I had to ride for suicide awareness and prevention. My miles needed to be for mental health. Fortunately, I was able to get connected with NAMI Albuquerque and tell them my story about losing a loved one to suicide. I was put in contact with Brandon Estrada from NAMI and we immediately started putting a game plan together on how my ride across America could benefit those experiencing a mental health crisis. I’ve received amazing support for this ride from my partners, including, Trek Bicycles, Trek of CLT, Tifosi Optics, NAMI Albuquerque., and my wife, Andrea. I hope to bring awareness and raise money for mental illness, and for those thousands of people contemplating suicide every day across our country. Over 1.2 million people attempted suicide in 2020 and our goal for this ride is to let those people know that they are never alone and there is help.
You will be able to follow my ride through my Instagram (@RichardLima1) where I’ll be posting daily videos and pictures of my ride. I will also be going live at the end of the day to discuss how everything is going. I am so grateful for this opportunity. It will change my life, and hopefully others for the better.