The enjoyment of riding a motorcycle has a lot to do with community of spirit; riding makes you part of a brotherhood and sisterhood with common interests and a common cause. This spills over into doing good for others; the biking community loves a good charitable cause, as long as it involves riding bikes!
With winter not yet having taken a firm grip on early morning temperatures, the timing of the Bikeshop Rivonia/RAD Blanket run was perfect. Organised and promoted by Bikeshop Rivonia and RAD KTM, who now live next door to each other, this year’s run was hugely popular.
The familiar face of Donovan Fourie – the face many of you will blame for ruining your weekend’s TV bike watching…was the very able leader of the pack, and he was rightly proud of the turnout.
Certainly, the car park was packed, and Donovan later confirmed that there were 360 bikes present, many of those with pillion passengers, and over 600 blankets were collected.
Special mention must go to Honda South Africa, World Sportsbet, which donated 150 blankets, as well as RAD KTM, Trans Bus Africa, Bike Kings, Dirt & Trail and Ride Fast, all of whom made significant contributions to the cause. Mention and appreciation must also go to everyone who donated even one blanket; you know it will make a difference to someone’s life.
The distribution of the blankets has been entrusted to the Rotary Club of Brits and Hartbeespoort, who have many, many worthy recipients, all of whom will be grateful for the help at this difficult – and cold! – time of year.
A big thank you must also go to Bikeshop Rivonia’s Kyle, Janine, Donovan Huntingford, Zane, Raymond and Helena, all of whom Donovan Fourie singled out for special praise and recognition for their hard work behind the scenes in organising the event.
The ride to Maggie’s Farm, near Lanseria, was pretty epic for a charity breakfast run and gave infinite opportunities for getting lost on the way, an invitation that some riders found impossible to resist. At around 120 km, the organisers and Donovan showed that the point of the exercise was not simply to collect blankets but to give the participants a memorable ride out on a beautiful Sunday morning. This they achieved; talking to some of the riders at the end point, the reaction was unanimous; more like this, please!
It looks very likely that this will continue as an annual event, which can only be excellent news for the charities being supported. It also puts Bikeshop Rivonia and RAD KTM right at the front of people’s minds, which, despite the charity angle being most important, is also the point of the exercise for both from a business perspective.
Following so closely on the heels of the Triumph South Africa-sponsored and very well-attended Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, the Bikeshop Rivonia/RAD Blanket Run begs the question: what more evidence does one need that South African motorcyclists are the best people you could ever wish to have on your side?
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