Julie's blog - Up date on our fund raising journey so far

Since my last blog, we kick-started the event with a Ladies of Harley Ride led by our LOH Officer Debbie at the beginning of October. I invited Margaret and Mr Griffiths along to see us off. Unfortunately Margaret couldn't make it due to a heavy cold, so I sent her our best wishes on the Chapter's behalf  for a speedy recovery.

We asked everyone to wear something pink on the day and we weren't disappointed. Even the men who protested profusely at the thought of wearing pink joined in the fun. Our Chapter photographer, Ian McClelland, took the group shot and also a special picture of Debbie and myself with Mr Griffith sitting between us on a Harley. I managed to snap a few photos too before we set off.

We didn't know how many bikes would come along  and we hoped that the weather gods would be good to us on the day, and guess what - they were! The weather was exceptional and the turnout was fantastic. Off we went, snaking through the countryside. First stop was The Linden Tree Pub for a tea and coffee stop. My thanks to the pub for kindly donating it free of charge. We also took our collection boxes along and the customers were more than willing to donate for our cause. Then it was back on the bikes and onto the final destination, The Highlander at Belsay, Northumberland for some lunch. The collection boxes came out again and before long the tins were full to the top.

We raised £500 on our ride-out, which we donated to the Just Giving site the next day. We worked really hard with our raffle, selling tickets whenever the opportunity presented itself, right up until minutes before the draw after the return of the Ride Aid team on 25 October. We had 50 prizes on offer, most of them were claimed on the day, and the rest of the winners have been notified to collect their prizes from the dealership.

Moving on to November and the LOH have organised a bag-packing session at Sainsbury's in Throckley. I am hoping that we will be successful as Barclays Bank has agreed to match pound for pound the amount raised. Chapter member Frank Goodall has done his own bit of fundraising - he had his beard dyed pink, then collected sponsorship to have it shaved off. He has raised over £500, which will be added to the Just Giving site as soon as all the money has been collected - well done Frank!

The Geordie Chapter generously donated £5,000 from the proceeds of the Heart and Soul Rally back in September and, with all the fundraising to date, we have donated over £8,000 to Ride Aid. I am amazed at how generous people have been for such a worthy cause. We are still short of our target, but I can guarantee we'll get there in the end, however long it takes.

Thanks again for your support, we do really appreciate it.
Julie