On Sunday 4 September, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity’s East Anglia team proudly hosted ABF The Soldiers’ Charity’s second annual Motorcycle Ride, raising a fantastic £5,095.56 to help Army families and veterans.
This year they were delighted to host over 210 riders and passengers from across the UK who raced around the 40-50 mile circular route, starting and finishing at The Triumph Factory Visitor Experience in Hinckley, Leicestershire. Their charity bikers were accompanied by The Army Motorcycle Road Race team and assisted by Leicestershire and Rutland Blood Bikes, Triumph Owners Motorcycle Club Milton Keynes Colossus and Leicestershire Fire Bike.
They were absolutely thrilled to invite some very special guests: Titch Cormack, Graeme “Billy” Billington and John Nelson from BBC Two’s The Speedshop, who enjoyed the ride and a friendly reception from their fans among our bikers and support volunteers.
“Billy” Billington said:
“This was a fantastic event run by a great team for a great cause, helping to promote ABF the Soldiers’ Charity, and I know everyone who went had an awesome time”. John Nelson also praised a “fantastic event at Triumph’s head office at Hinckley, it was great to see a huge turnout of riders. A massive well done to all and a big thank you to Johnny, Ian and Pete for showing us around the exhibition”.
Simon Ferrier, Liaison Officer for our East Anglia office, added:
“We had a brilliant day meeting old friends from last year and welcoming new supporters too. Our riders created such a warm atmosphere for everyone who attended; bikers are such a friendly bunch. We also thank all our volunteers for their hard work in making the day happen, especially local community fundraiser Jacqui Sage-Passant.”
Simon Thrussell, Head of Customer Experience at Triumph Motorcycles added:
“Last year we welcomed ABF The Soldiers’ Charity to Triumph with our first major ride after the Covid pandemic, so we were truly delighted to welcome back nearly 200 riders in 2022 to raise funds for a great cause”.
Charity riders who took part spoke of a “brilliant ride out” and praised our Triumph hosts, organisers and marshalls for “running everything like clockwork” and ensuring the route was “clearly signed” and “125-friendly”.
They hope to build on the success of this year’s motorbike ride which saw an increase in registered participants from 2021.
Details about next year’s planned ride on Sunday 3 September 2023 will shortly be available on ABF The Soldiers’ Charity’s website.