London to Minehead
June 2003
I was invited to take part in a ride-out from London to Minehead in Somerset (south west of England) organised by the Essex Chapter of the Harley Owners Group (HOG), a round trip of 410 miles. I immediately saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone – visit a part of the UK I would otherwise not see and, most importantly, use the ride to raise some much needed funding for NAS International Charity (NASIC).
Despite the short time I had to look for sponsorship, I was encouraged by the response of pledges and support from everyone I spoke to.
The ride down started off with about 70 bikes at Chingford in North London at 10am and we arrived at our destination at 5pm. There were about three stops on the way for re-fuelling and eating otherwise the ride was pretty much uneventful. On the return leg, we made a 100 mile detour to take in more of the lovely west coast scenery making the total distance we rode just over 500 miles.
In all, apart from a seriously aching shoulder and sore bum, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I must confess that my initial thoughts the next day was “never again” however, after seen the pledges rolling in from as far away as Canada and the US, it lifted my spirits and I am certainly looking forward to doing another trip. A total of £700 was raised in sponsorhip of this ride.
Abiola Owoaje