A group of 65 motorcyclists combined a weekend of trail riding fun in the Suffolk and Norfolk countryside with raising a fantastic £1,500 for Headway Suffolk.
The Suffolk Trail Riders (STR), a green lane motorcycle club riding byways and unclassified country roads all around England, organised the Iceni weekend event in April in their latest efforts to raise money for Headway Suffolk, a charity which supports local adults with brain injury and neurological conditions and their families.
Colin Pountney, STR chairman, said: “I come from Newmarket where there are a lot of horse riders and I know that horse riding and riding a motorcycle are two ways high on the list of sustaining a head injury, and we at STR are more than happy to help out a little when we can.
“I’ve had school friends in the past who have had head injuries and they have had to give up riding for life. It brings it home to you that it can happen at any time.”
Colin added that these weekends have attracted riders from all over the country, including Manchester, Devon and Wiltshire, and the Iceni ride was a whole weekend of riding for £30, with free camping at the Angel Inn in Larling, near Thetford, plus a BBQ and raffle.
The group also opened up the field on Saturday night for the local bike shop to showcase their new bikes.
Colin said: “The Angel Inn is perfectly situated with Suffolk on one side and Norfolk on the other side. It’s all about meeting up and enjoying a weekend of riding for £30, while raising money for good cause like Headway Suffolk.“
Helen Fairweather, Headway Suffolk’s Chief Executive, said: “We are very grateful to the Suffolk Trail Riders for raising such a fantastic amount and thinking of us while having a weekend of great trail riding fun I’m sure!
“When funding is tight, it’s very useful and a lifeline for us when groups such as STR go out of their way to support us like this, which helps us to deliver our wide variety of services across Suffolk for local adults with brain injury and neurological conditions.”
The STR meet up on the first Monday of the month in Fornham All Saints, near Bury St Edmunds, and have further events coming up in the summer. To find out more and to join the group, go to the Suffolk Trail Riders Facebook page.
Headway Suffolk helps users work on their life skills and cognitive abilities, as well as speech, mobility and daily functioning, and increase confidence and social integration through its wide range of rehabilitation, therapy and support services.