Why (the hell) am I doing this? (5 days to go!)

Apart from doing what I love doing (riding my motorbike), raising money for charities or doing things for the community is a key part of what I do.

The O55 Motorcycle Group is a community group for bikers aged over 55 (or thereabouts), we are often people that have either retired or close to retirement. For men (and the majority of bikers are men) this is a very challenging transition phase and I, perosnally, watched my father really struggle with this; after his retirement it was like he felt he had no purpose in life and he gave up. A few years after his retirement he was diagnosed with dementia which led to a very slow demise and 15 years later he passed.

Some of the O55 members are alone (for various reasons) and to be able to go to informal social gatherings of like-minded people, who just want to ride, have breakfast/drink, a chat, ride some more and then meet up again when people want to, is really important. Just providing a bit of informal, non-demanding, structure. Before the O55, members had no like-minded group to meet with, would either go for a ride alone or not ride. We are an informal group, we set up events and if people turn up, great, if they can’t turn up (or don’t want to) that’s ok, there is no pressure, there is no “call to church”.

Through the sale of stickers and patches we raise money for KSS (Kent & Sussex Air Ambulance Service) and so far have raised over £200 with more to be added following this years sales. We also visit a lot of charity cafes or small local businesses to give to all.

At the 57yrs old, I’m now close to retirement (I hope!), my work life has always been important to me and even though I’ll always kept myself busy, I run two companies that have very demanding commitments, the O55 Motorcycle Group and have a very demanding (and loving) 4 yr old daughter. I will continue to run the O55 as long as I can ride a bike, I love it and I’ve seen how it has benefited our members. This started as a Kent based community group, and with the success in Kent I want this to expand and provide a UK wide benefits, something can can only be realised by having other regional coordinators. The success I have seen in Kent is why the group has been opened up to a UK wide group. It will take time and patience, but this group and it’s members are wonderful.

This wasn’t going to be a charity run, but I thought, blimey if I’m doing this I think I can help others, which is something I’ve always tried to do and SANDs is a charity close to my heart. Shortly after the loss of my daughter, 18 yrs ago, I did a lot of charity work, raising money for SANDs, by running and doing many 5K, 10K and half-marathon’s until my body said enough and I had to stop, I think I raised c£5K in a couple of years! Sport was a big part of my younger life, however, at the age of 14 I had to give it up as my knees were done, so to do the amount of running I did in my late 30’s/early 40’s for me was a massive achievement. My knees are still knackered, and getting worse as I get older; standing or sitting for a few hours at a time can be problematic on top of the sports injuries I now have arthritis so at times it can be very painful but that does not compare to the emotional pain following the loss of my daughter; so, I don’t complain (often) :)

SANDS is a fantastic charity that helps people through a trauma that no parent should have to face, but unfortunately some of us have had to. I’ve experienced and seen the trauma that couples and individuals face as they go through the loss of a baby/child. To have support through this process is immensely important. I have seen no other charity do as much as SANDs in this field.

The photo below is of the teddy bear I bought my daughter, Naima, when she was in hospital, the teddy bear came home but my daughter did not :(

The Teddy Bear will be coming with me on the Tour.

I’ve named all my daughters, and Naima’s name came to me one day/night, the name “Naima” is of Arabic origin with Hebrew and Scandinavian roots. Derived from the Arabic Naaima, it means "gentle," "tender," and "delicate." a perfect name for her even if her life was short.

Just a reminder here’s my Just Giving Page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/in-memory-of-naima