BikeWise has come and gone for the twenty second time and once again it was a tremendous success making good news stories across social media, the newspapers and on the BBC and ITV local news this morning.
Remember that as a full time operational police unit the police officers of the Cleveland and Durham Motorcycle section manage to fit in planning and organising the event in amongst their day jobs and home life supported by a small army of enthusiastic volunteers who also commit their time in promoting and planning the event.
In addition of course the day itself is not only about motorbikes and casualty reduction but it’s also about Durham Constabulary, undoubtedly the best force in the country, engaging with you the public at its headquarters.
We also have an army of staff and officers who are all committed to doing their bit to make the day the success that it is.
Beyond that however we have a whole range of sponsors and businesses that provide services and infrastructure for the event without profit, or even at a loss, because they sincerely believe that what we’re doing is the right thing and they want to be associated with that success - we’re extremely grateful for their ongoing help.
If I try and name them all I’m in danger of missing someone so this year I’m only going to single out Alan Fairbairn of Fairbairn Marquees; Alan’s support over the years makes the event affordable for you the visitor and it really makes a difference when we are able to make later make contributions to good causes and charities.
In terms of attractions on the day of course we have our stalwart stunt man Dave Coates - I sometimes wonder of he’s Peter Pan he never looks any older!
The now legendary and ever popular John McGuinness is a great supporter - we lure him up with Durham Vodka to take home as a thank you and so he doesn’t forget us!
Dick Shepherd with his huge collection of Triumph motorcycles selects a few of his collection for our enjoyment and brings them up from Essex - all for a few bottles of Durham Ale!
And of course you may recall that John and Kath Jones of Hitachi Construction Machinery (Who you may remember as HM Plant) have been tremendous sponsors over the years , their motivation and belief in BikeWise has been and continues to be unswerving - the whole team really can’t thank them enough!
But of course all of this wouldn’t mean anything without your support bikers and none bikers alike make the event what it is - an absolute success!
So from all of us on the BikeWise team a big thank you, remember Ride Safe and Think Bike !
Looking forward to seeing you all again at our 23rd BikeWise in 2017