DISTINGUISHED SCOTS TURN OUT FOR CANCER RIDE

DISTINGUISHED SCOTS TURN OUT FOR CANCER RIDE

Around 100 'distinguished gentlemen' and increasingly, ladies, on their vintage, classic, retro, café racer and bobber motorcycles and scooters will don their tweeds, polish their brogues, adjust their goggles and ride through Glasgow on Sunday 25 September to raise money for prostate cancer research. Prostate cancer is the second most common killer of men (after skin cancer) and affects 3000 Scots per annum.

The classic bikers will join the growing worldwide Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride being held simultaneously in more than 500 cities in 100 different countries. The ride aims to raise £3 million globally towards prostate cancer research, and young men’s mental health charities will also benefit this year.

Bikes participating in the Glasgow ride will include Triumph, Royal Enfield, Velocette, Vincent, Norton, BSA, Indian, Harley-Davidson, Vespa and Lambretta. The riders hope to raise awareness of prostate cancer amongst men over 50, and raise over £10,000.

Dealers can inform anyone interested that the ride will start at 10.30am from the Fort Shopping Centre in the East End, stop in George Square at 11am for an hour, then continue to the Transport Museum for a static display of bikes and riders sporting their finest threads.

Spokesman Gordon Mowat says Glasgow, and Scotland, is embracing the DGR with typical enthusiasm: “There are now rides in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Killin!  We think 500 riders could take part across Scotland, and are expecting at least 100 in Glasgow as the ride becomes more popular. The ride is free to enter and free for spectators, but we would encourage a small donation.”

More details at: www.gentlemensride.com

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Paraplegic rides TT Course

Former Racer Creates History

In August 1995 Phil Armes’ motorcycle racing career came to an abrupt end when he crashed at the Ulster Grand Prix and broke his back, leaving him paralysed from the lower chest down, and confined to a wheelchair.

Fast forward 18 years and the father of three was invited, as a past winner, to take part in the 90th anniversary celebrations of the Manx Grand Prix on the world famous TT course in the Isle of Man. This included a parade lap which the organisers agreed that Phil could take part in, if he could prove he was safe and competent to do so.

After learning to ride again on a modified bike at The Bike Experience charity at Silverstone race circuit he took on the challenge of riding the world’s toughest track in September 2013. It didn’t all go according to plan and a technical issue forced Phil to pull out after 24 miles of the 37 ¾ mile circuit. Two subsequent attempts in 2014 and 2015 were thwarted by a combination of technical and weather problems, but on August 29th this year Phil became the first paraplegic to complete a lap of the TT course on his Triumph Daytona 675.

(picture courtesy of Sue Collister)

After finishing the lap Phil said, “that was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done on a motorcycle, but also one of the most rewarding. To be able to ride the TT course again was certainly something I never thought would be possible, but it just goes to show that if you put your mind to something you can often get a great outcome.”

Riding the TT course was the height of his return to two wheels, but just two weeks prior to this historic ride, he also made an emotional return to Northern Ireland to successfully complete a lap of the Ulster GP track that he crashed at 21 years ago. He commented afterwards, “the Dundrod track is known as the fastest road race in the world, but it took me 21 years to complete a lap which has to be some sort of record in it’s own right!”

                                     (picture courtesy of Sue Collister)

Phil will be doing a show at the Norwich Playhouse on November 8th where he will talk about his racing career, the challenges of life as a paraplegic, and all the planning, preparation, and ultimately successful rides in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.

For further information please contact Phil on:

01603 487061 or 07798 811455

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Skegness biker is Bridgestone’s European winner!

A Skegness biker has put his town on the map after beating thousands of fellow riders across Europe to win a new set of Bridgestone tyres for his beloved Yamaha machine.

Gary Dunkerley, from Hogsthorpe, signed up for the new Motorcycle Diaries website, www.motorcycle-diaries.com, not realising he had put himself in line to win a pair of coveted T30 Evos along with other enthusiasts from the continent including France, Italy, Spain and Germany.

The sport touring tyre is one of Bridgestone’s most critically acclaimed yet and the 58 year-old thought it was a joke when he was told he’d won.

Gary Dunkerley, from Hogsthorpe, Skegness, is pictured with Jack Furneaux at Robspeed Motorcycles in Grimsby, with his new T30 Evo Bridgestone tyres

Motorcycle Diaries is the largest database of yet-to-be-discovered roads and points of interest in Europe where all users can share their most memorable roads and motorcycle adventures. The site is built around 4 main themes – Discovering, Inspiring, Planning and Sharing – allowing users to find the most beautiful riding spots with high quality images and videos, plan their routes and share them with the Motorcycle Diaries community.

Bridgestone became an official partner of the Motorcycle Diaries and offers subscribers a chance to regularly win Bridgestone products and goodies as well as the availability of its Bridgestone Biker’s Clubs across Europe should any rider ever have a glitch on their dream road.

Gary said: “I was glad to sign up because the site looks really good, with some great features. But I promptly forgot that I had a chance to win the T30 Evo tyres.

“I am one lucky chap! I have never bought cheap tyres and have always been a fan of Bridgestone. My car is shod in Bridgestone tyres and my son was also on Bridgestone tyres when he raced in karting.

“I have heard a lot about the T30 Evos so I will look forward to seeing how they perform.”

Gary got the tyres fitted at Robspeed Motorcycles in Grimsby, one of Bridgestone’s most valued Bikers’ Club dealers.

Bridgestone’s motorcycle sales manager Andy Whitehead said: “We are thrilled for Gary and are particularly pleased because he is such a fan of our products. It was great that he was able to get the tyres fitted at Robspeed too, who we know very well and provide such a classy level of service. We hope he gets many miles from the tyres and even posts his experiences on the new Motorcycle Diaries website.”

Gary concluded: “I am thrilled to win, I really am. When I was told that I had been chosen from thousands of European riders too made it all the more special. It might mean I have put Skegness on the map!”

 For more information about Motorcycle Diaries, visit www.motorcycle-diaries.com

http://www.motorcycle-diaries.com/

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