Share This Page:

  

Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Forums Announcements, News & Media Articles along with current home and international affairs.
Post Reply
Beast
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 3701
Joined: Fri 07 Dec, 2001 12:00 am
Location: East Sussex
Contact:

Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Post by Beast »

Image

Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Thousands of bikers from throughout the country are planning a spectacular mass ride through Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire on Mothers Day to honour soldiers who have lost their lives in Afghanistan.

More than 1,000 riders are expected to ride through the Wiltshire town on Sunday March 14 and then gather on the runway at RAF Lyneham.
They will there hand over funds raised for the Afghan Heroes charity set up last September by a group of mothers who lost their sons in Afghanistan.

The bikers will descend on Wiltshire from throughout the UK and gather at the Leigh Delamere services on the M4 (Junction 17 - eastbound) before the mass ride through Wootton Bassett to RAF Lyneham at 12 noon where the fallen were repatriated into the UK.

Total number of bikes already registered: 7729
Total number of riders already registered: 10667 (inc pillion)

Each rider will pay £5 (on the day) and receive a special commemorative Afghan Heroes wristband, which will be their entry pass to the RAF base.

All proceeds raised from the ride will go to the Afghan Heroes charity, which helps our service personnel in theatre, families of the fallen and our returning troops.

If you would like to attend this event please follow the link below and complete the form:
http://www.afghanheroes.org.uk/bikersevent.asp

Thank you for supporting this event.
BBUK
Member
Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu 04 Feb, 2010 11:25 am
Location: Dereham, Norfolk
Contact:

Re: Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Post by BBUK »

After meeting with the police and authorities, the Wootton Bassett Ride organisers have asked us to relay the following info:

Due to the unprecedented response from the biking community and with 10k bikes registered, we have been asked to close registration one week early. Unfortunately it will NOT be re-opening.

We would like to reassure everyone that the ride IS GOING AHEAD WITH the FULL support of the police and local authorities. We have spoken to a few local businesses who are all looking forward to the day. ALL bikes will be riding through Wootton Bassett no matter what you may have heard.

Plan details re: start/end locations, routes, times, wristbands, will be made available in document format as soon as they are confirmed. We have another meeting with the police next week to discuss the finer details. We can confirm, however, that we will NOT be riding on any stretches of the motorway.

We would like to apologise to anybody who has not registered however wanted to join us, we thank everybody for their patience and support.

Thank you for supporting Afghan Heroes

Full details to follow. Please check back regularly for confirmed event details.

For general constant updates please visit our Facebook , Blog , and Twitter pages for latest updates.

Total number of bikes already registered: 10333

Total number of riders already registered: 14301 (inc pillion)
Wootton Bassett Ride FAQ

The following is intended to help answer some of the questions that we are receiving (and we are getting lots!). It is obviously not a complete list but will be updated regularly as we receive new info:

When is the ride?
On Sunday 14th March 2010

Is the ride still on?
Yes, the organisers have informed us that the ride IS still on.

Who is organising the ride?
The ride is being organised by Daniel Forder, Julia Stevenson and Elizabeth Stevens via their Facebook group – “Bike Run in support of Wootton Bassett: Sunday 14th March 2010“. The Police, MOD, Wootton Bassett authorities and staff from Afghan Heroes charity are supporting them where needed. Afghan Heroes charity is the beneficiary of money raised on the day.

What time will it start?
This is T.B.C. by the organisers but as we understand it the ride will start at approx 12pm. with the muster point opening at approx 8am, but still we stress, T.B.C.

Where/when will we get our wristbands?
Wristbands will be purchased on entry to the muster point.

How much are the wristbands
Each wristband will cost £5 - One per person will be required to enter the muster point.

Where is the muster/start point?
At this time the organisers are in talks with the MOD to secure a location large enough for everyone to meet up. For the moment you can consider this to be T.B.A. but what is known is that it will NOT be at the Leigh Delamere services on the M4 as this is simply not large enough.

What is the end point?
Again, at this point it should be considered T.B.A. The organisers will let us know once confirmed. We can confirm it will NOT be RAF Lyneham.

Why can’t we use RAF Lyneham?
Originally when the organisers approached the MOD the maximum anticipated number of bikes was 2000. As RAF Lyneham is an operational airbase, 10,000+ bikes on-site is impossible.

Will the ride go through Wootton Bassett?
Yes, the police and local authorities have confirmed that the ride can go through the town.

Will all bikes be allowed through Wootton Bassett?
Yes, the police and local authorities have confirmed that ALL bikes on the official ride will be allowed through the town.

Why was the registration closed early?
The organisers have been in close talks with the Police, MOD and Wootton Bassett local authorities. Following these talks a limit of 10,000 bikes was agreed as a maximum safe number for the event. Once this number of registrations was reached we were forced to close registrations.

Why only 10,000 bikes?
Simply put, Wootton Bassett is a small town with limited facilities in the local area to support a very large number of bikes/people. For the sake of safety, logistics, marshalling and the people of Wootton Bassett, 10,000 is the limit.

I was too late to register, can I still come?
Obviously we cannot prevent people from using the public highways, but the organisers would like to ask those who have not registered to please stay away. If thousands of additional bikes turn up on the day there is a distinct possibility that the event may be badly disrupted or worse, shut down. The purpose of the event is to show support to the people of Wootton Bassett and to raise funds to support our troops and their families. The best way for this to happen is for the event to run as smoothly as possible. we are very sorry if you did not manage to register and we thank you for your continued support, but please do not just turn up. There are other ways to support us, such as donations, buying a wristband or helping to set up/run an event in your local area etc.

What use are the registrations now that we are not using RAF Lyneham?
It is true that the main reason for registration was to allow the MOD to vet all participants. This may still be required if we end up on an MOD property. Even if it is NOT required the organisers will be using the list on a “first come, first served” basis for determining who will make up the 10,000 as mentioned above.

When will the full details be known?
Once the event organisers have concluded their talks with the Police, MOD & Wootton Bassett authorities they will let us know and we will publish them here – Until that happens please try not to speculate.
BBUK
Member
Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu 04 Feb, 2010 11:25 am
Location: Dereham, Norfolk
Contact:

Re: Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Post by BBUK »

Well the event went absolutely brilliantly, the streets were crammed with well wishers, it was just so moving, anyway, here is a link to some photographs of the day.
http://feraphotography.co.uk/Blog/Entri ... ssett.html

Hope you enjoy them, as you can see there was only a couple of bikes there, official figures were about 11,500 bikes, but being there, I am sure there was more like 20,000, plus we raised over £100,000 for the cause too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeQpCJEG1-4

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news ... es/?ref=mr
Beast
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 3701
Joined: Fri 07 Dec, 2001 12:00 am
Location: East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Post by Beast »

Hi BBUK,

I'm very glad to hear the event was such a great success and such a great amount raised for Afghan Heroes charity.

Being a biker myself I was unable to make this event due to other commiments, but hoping heres to the next. 8)

I have received concerning information about a particular journalist and a write up for the Daily Mirror which did make my blood boil! :bad-words:
BBUK
Member
Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu 04 Feb, 2010 11:25 am
Location: Dereham, Norfolk
Contact:

Re: Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Post by BBUK »

[quote="Beast"]Hi BBUK,

I'm very glad to hear the event was such a great success and such a great amount raised for Afghan Heroes charity.

Being a biker myself I was unable to make this event due to other commiments, but hoping heres to the next. 8)

I have received concerning information about a particular journalist and a write up for the Daily Mirror which did make my blood boil! :bad-words:[/quote]

YEP, We had a couple of them, one from the swindon advertiser and the other from the mirror, both made derrogatory comments about bikers and various other subjects, neither of which sat well with all who took part and all that welcomed, there are also a few that are in active service too that regularly frequent the Facebook page that are equally enraged. On the whole we are boycotting the mirror, after quite a few of us flooded both journalists with emails of discontent.
Beast
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 3701
Joined: Fri 07 Dec, 2001 12:00 am
Location: East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Post by Beast »

Yes i read the article from that creature from the Mirror, i'm for one that doesn't buy the paper anyway!
Was disgusted with the article to be honest, and i'm for one that will be firing off a few emails tomorrow as well.
Once again, good show BBUK! 8)
BBUK
Member
Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu 04 Feb, 2010 11:25 am
Location: Dereham, Norfolk
Contact:

Re: Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Post by BBUK »

NO PROBLEM.
Attachments
Wootton Bassett Run Bikers from Police Helicopter above Hullavington Airfield
Wootton Bassett Run Bikers from Police Helicopter above Hullavington Airfield
fromtheairwb.jpg (106.42 KiB) Viewed 5664 times
Beast
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 3701
Joined: Fri 07 Dec, 2001 12:00 am
Location: East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Post by Beast »

Great photo, thanks for sharing. :)
BBUK
Member
Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu 04 Feb, 2010 11:25 am
Location: Dereham, Norfolk
Contact:

Re: Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Post by BBUK »

To catch up on effects of the event and responses, heres the facebook page for one,

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&ti ... 1436251925

and heres the facebook page for the other,

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1 ... nfo&ref=ts

you guys should be able to see all the photos and some of the video footage from these links, enjoy, :)
BBUK
Member
Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu 04 Feb, 2010 11:25 am
Location: Dereham, Norfolk
Contact:

Re: Mothers Day Bikers Event 2010

Post by BBUK »

Paras to pay own tribute to wootton bassett.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news ... tt/?ref=mr
Post Reply