Nearly a hundred motorcyclists rode across four counties to Brighton last Saturday to raise money for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for blind and vision-impaired ex-service men and women.
The bikers raised more than £2,500 for the charity during Ride for Life Beyond Sight Loss, the charity’s annual motorcycling event.
Two groups of riders left the Fire Training College at Moreton-in-the-Marsh, Gloucestershire, and rode via Loomies Café in Hampshire, down to Blind Veterans UK’s Brighton Centre for a barbecue. Fifteen ex-Service men and women with sight loss welcomed them at the finish.
Rachel Chitty, regional fundraiser for Blind Veterans UK, said: “The barbecue was just a good old-fashioned opportunity to sit down and talk. Everyone enjoyed speaking to the veterans at the centre and the atmosphere was brilliant throughout the day.”
Dianne Heydon, 54, and a biker from Nottinghamshire, said: “We spent the evening at the Centre drinking, socialising and chatting with a number of the veterans and they had some wonderful tales to tell. Not to mention the odd saucy joke!”
She added: “To anyone with a motor bike out there, Ride for Life Beyond Sight Loss is an annual event open to all riders and the proceeds go to a great cause.”
Ride for Life Beyond Sight Loss took place on Saturday 15 August 2015. The event kicked off at Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, at 9am and ended with a BBQ at the Blind Veterans UK Brighton Centre later that day.
There was one stop at Loomies Cafe in West Meon to pick up additional riders for the finish. Registration cost £15 with opportunities to donate on the day included a raffle.
To find out more about Blind Veterans UK’s work, go to www.blindveterans.org.uk/bikeride or call Rachel Chitty on 01273 391455.
