Blood bikers undertake 1,000 mile challenge to raise funds

The Yeovil Freewheelers, also known as the YFW Blood Bikes provide a 24/7 service to deliver urgently needed medical supplies such as blood and blood products, blood samples, biopsies, MRI scans, X-rays, prescription drugs, breast milk and a variety of medical equipment and medical documents to hospitals in and around Dorset.

The group started their mammoth ride from the Shell Garage in Dorchester and from there headed to Lands End where they arrived at 2.50am.

Jack Gooding, one of the riders said: “It was hard going, and some time was lost due to night closures on the A30, which we were on and off of during the early stages.”

It was at this point that the bikers split off into two groups based on the range of the bikes being ridden and they proceeded to ride to John O'Groats, Scotland, approximately 835 miles away.

Blood bike charity ride (Image: YFW Blood Bikes)

One of the groups was made up of members Steve Barnes, Kris Knapton and Andrew Wiley who required five fuel stops on their travels, arriving at the Scottish border at 11.40am and finally reaching John O’Groats at 7.45pm – completing their challenge in 20 hours and 45 minutes.

The blood bikers at John O'Groats (Image: YFW Blood Bikes)

Kris said: “As the ride went on, I quickly began to understand why it was called a saddle sore as each fuel stop, it hurt getting off the bike."

Nigel Massey, Jack Gooding and Kristian Saunders formed part of the group that has a shorter range, meaning more fuel stops for them, however, they still completed the challenge in 21 hours and 30 minutes.

Unfortunately, one of the riders, Dave Cake, suffered a serious mechanical failure which resulted in him having to be recovered from the roadside halfway through the challenge, although he still managed to complete it in 23 hours with a borrowed bike.

Blood bike charity ride (Image: YFW Blood Bikes)

Dave said: "My driveshaft failed on the bike so had to be recovered to a local dealership in Preston.

“Speaking with the Bowker Motoradd in Preston and explaining that I was doing a charity ride, I cheekily asked the question if they had a bike I could use to complete it, to which they gave me two options, both demo bikes, so used their BMW RT to complete the challenge."

Andrew, Chairman of the YFW Bloodbikes said: “It was a difficult but fully enjoyable challenge and was great to see the commitment from those who took part, especially from Dave when he had his mechanical failure that most people would have just gone home. It says a lot about the riders and the lengths they will go to, to continue providing support to our local NHS trusts".

Kris added, "It was a great experience and by each of us funding this challenge ourselves, it means that the whole amount raised goes to keeping the charity fleet of vehicles ready, for those all-important calls from our local NHS Trusts".

If you would like to support the life-saving group visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/yfwironbutt2024