The police said —
on yer bike!
By Euan Duguid
THE serenity
and calm of the Scottish countryside was interrupted recently as a pack of roaring motorcycles and cars went the extra mile to raise Ł4100 for The Sunday Post CHAS appeal.
 Leader of the pack, Chief Inspector Ronnie Buchanan (52), a biker from the Strathclyde division of the Federation of British Police Motor Clubs, explained how the 50 bikers and a fleet of motorists managed to rev up the readies for Rachel House!
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 Some of the “trek” bikers, from left,
Ronnie Buchanan, Steve Riding, Malky McGookin,
John Armstrong and Graham Dykes,
with Assistant Chief Constable, Sandra Hood.
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He said, “Every year, bikers from forces all over the UK meet and travel around the country for various events, but we thought we’d do something different to help CHAS and a number of other children’s charities.
“We chose to organise a trek — a combination of orienteering and a treasure hunt on a motorcycle — but decided to break tradition and let motorists join in to help such a good cause.”
Roaring
The fund-raising event was held in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the Scottish section roaring through the towns of Gretna, Kirkcudbright, Newton Stewart, Whithorn and Stranraer. It was the largest trek of its kind ever organised.
Ronnie, based at Hamilton police office, explained that a “trek”, as the name might suggest, isn’t about clocking up miles.
On the contrary, the aim is to keep the mileage as low as possible.
He said, “The organisers set a series of map references and, armed with a pencil and an A-Z, we had to negotiate the shortest route between them.
Cryptic clue
“Just to make things a bit more interesting, there was a cryptic clue to solve at each location and additional points were available to those who found the hidden treasure.
“It was great fun, but we were exhausted after the four days!
“A trek requires enormous amounts of concentration. It isn’t like doing 10 or so laps of closed circuit with a man with a green flag at each corner.”
Ronnie is a “born again biker” as it was only five years ago he bought his first motorbike and immediately fell in love. He explained “I bought a Yamaha Thundercat touring bike and was hooked on the biking scene straight away.
“Obviously, the freedom of the open road and having so much power in your control is a big attraction, but motorcycling offers much more. There is a great camaraderie between bikers that doesn’t seem to exist between motorists — road rage is unheard of in the biking world!”
Chief Inspector Buchanan expressed his pride to be part of The Sunday Post appeal.
He said, “The situation these kids are in is very troubling and I hope the money raised can make things as easy as possible for them.
“I’ve got to admire The Sunday Post for helping the hospice.
“It’s such a worthy and important cause and we are delighted to be able to help out by doing something we love.”
Delighted
Strathclyde Police Assistant Chief Constable Sandra Hood, who presented the cheque to CHAS, was also delighted with the efforts of the fund-raisers.
She said, “It is a tremendous achievement and we hope the money raised can help the children in some way.
“Most importantly, we have learned a lot more about Rachel House through this event.” |
You can e-mail us at:
hospice@sundaypost.com
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