Any thoughts - The bike Experience

Off-topic Charity
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The bike experience is a charity that basically runs experiences for disabled people to ride motorbikes. They hire some track, and have adapted bikes / helpers who assist to get people riding again.

It’s as much as giving people hope / confidence as it is about riding a bike.

Anyhow - friend has just shared the devastating news that following a bike crash on Monday she’ll never walk again. She’s broken her back (3 vertebrae) damaged her spinal chord, 2 broken ribs and a broken shoulder. Fair to say she’s not in a good way and under going surgery today. 40, NHS worker and a couple of kids to boot.

So I thought I’d send her a link to ‘The bike experience’ just to give a glimmer of hope that life in a wheelchair can still have positive aspects (obviously it’s crap - but you know what I mean)

So I jump on their FB page and this is the first message I read:

After a decade of operating, with more than 400 disabled people give the fabulous opportunity to ride two wheels, the charity is likely to stop operating for the time being.

We have had no success in any finding applications, all sources are focused on Covid related charities. No previous supporters have been able to offer help. There is no money left to pay the PLI, pay the equipment insurance, hire the venues, repair the equipment etc. We have enough to continue to pay for the storage of all the kit for the next few months whilst we attempt to find somewhere to either store it until we get funding, or find someone with money to take it over.

The knowledge is still here, so for the foreseeable future we will act as a point of knowledge and advice. Plus I am prepared to come along to venues to instruct from the sidelines if that can help those who have their own equipment and have places to ride.

It is a great shame, but unfortunately in this world, you need money to make the magic happen. Still, we have helped to change the lives of 400 riders, some have gone back to the roads, some are track day riders, some are racers, others have gone on to other areas and taken new challenges.

Who knows what the future holds, but for the time being, the charity is held over and waiting.

Be safe.
Talan

So, any thoughts of how to get these guys the help they need to get up and running again?

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Morning, firstly, really sorry to hear about your friend. My pennies worth, would you want to throw getting onto a bike again so quickly if she has only recently been put in this situation I suspect she would have many demons to battle first (my opinion though).

Secondly! what a great shame, I sincerely hope they can find someone to help them out I really do, it is people like that, that make real changes to peoples lives.

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Yeah, glad I never sent the link as “Hey - you seen what these guys can do?” - followed by “Oh sh1t, they’ve run out of money” probably wouldn’t have been the best thing for her atm…

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Unfortunately the charity sector is as competitive as the corporate one. It sounds like cash is what they need but whilst you could throw a fundraiser, it’s likely to be a temporary solution. The issue will be keeping up regular contributions. It’s a very niche charity so that is really hard, especially in these times and would need a lot of fundraising / digital marketing experience to get the message out

Really sorry to hear about your friend, it’s a horrible thing to hear. I know it’s not the same but I have heard of other charities in this space for people to ride horses etc. Not the same but can still give a sense of life.

I’d agree with sleeper though that probably need the dust to settle on this (at least until all surgeries are done). Suspect she is adjusting to new life and needs to do this before exploring new things.

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It’s a shame to hear about the bike experience, I know a few people who Jeep meaning to do something with them.

Have a talk to nabd - national association for bikes with a disability.

My partner’s wrist means she can’t operate a clutch with her left hand, nabd are helping adapt her bike so she can again.

They offer (from other manufacturers) loads of options, she might not be able to ride a bike, but they can do the mods to something like a trike.

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Cheers. Stumbled on NABD earlier. Lots of interesting stuff going on for bikers with disabilities.

Really hope Jeep or someone else can step in to help these guys out. Is such a worthy cause and hope they can get what they need to get up and running again.

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So sorry to hear that :frowning_face:

What part of the NHS is she in, there’s lots of charities/organisations ran by/for NHS personnel

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If you look through some of my previous threads, many of you will remember that I used to do a lot of work with Talan and the guys at TBE and my old firm sponsored them to the tune of about £10K a year which covered their insurance and running costs.

Unfortunately, their main centre of operations was at Silverstone and in days gone past the circuit used to allow TBE to use the facilities (Basically a patch of tarmac) free of charge as it was good PR for the circuit and cost the circuit nothing as they were operating anyway.

A new CEO was appointed and decided to start charging TBE about £1,000 a day which ate heavily into TBE resources and bearing in mind they rely on donations and bequests, it was not going to take long for the money to run out.

So at the moment everything is in abeyance. I am now semi retired as a motorcycle crash investigator legal advisor, and when I retired the sponsorship went as well.

RAF Odiham was the alternative centre but because of Covid and security restriction I think that has become a bit of an issue, so it is a case of finding someone with deep pockets to help keep them going or find an alternative site large enough and free at point of use . Given the current climate, neither are easy.

Talan Motorsports the race team are still going but they are sponsored in a different way.

I have seen the difference TBE makes to riders who have suffered catastrophic injuries and the look of joy and pleasure TBE has provided to so many cannot be articulated. I even sponsored them out of my own pocket for a while.

I used to be a big supported of the NABD but they have started to crawl up their own backside in recent years and now I don’t have much time for them.

Anyway, I hope that gives you a bit of insight. I will mention to Talan about this thread and maybe he will come on here and give you more detail either by joining LB (He lives in south London) or through me.

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If anyone’s feeling flush - a fundraiser has been set up to help with the inevitable costs associated.

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Quick question? Was the crash her fault? Is it her intention to make a claim against a third party>

If she is making a claim, bearing in mind that the award will be substantial then she can request an interim payment from the third party…

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Don’t wish to start any rumours or speculation - I simply don’t know the details and nor does she.

She told her chap that she remembers clipping a wing mirror and then knows she ended up crashing. A witness (who I presume was behind her) stated she was doing 40 mph which is within the limit of the road (Stretches are 60 mph and 40 mph) so could have been her error or a driver cutting across.

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@bluelagos Thanks for that. I was not trying to pry, just looking to see whether there may be an obvious solution to the financial situation.

It will be interesting to find out what the witness did see and whether the Police decide to prosecute the other driver as that would certainly give her ammunition to make a claim.

Conversely, if the Police arrive at her door with a view to reporting her for offences, then that will make life more difficult (although not impossible) to make a claim again depending on the evidence.

If I know the Police these days, I bet it has already been filed in bin 13, so important to possibly pay the £60 and get a copy of the certified extract of the Police report.

Feel free to drop me a message if you need advice or help…

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