The Oakley Spin is an annual event hosted by the Full Boar Motorcycle Club in Guernsey. The event is a ride-out for any and all bikers in Guernsey with the aim of raising money for the Oakley Waterman Caravan Foundation, it’s held once a year and is a chance for all bikers to get together and ride around the island on a Sunday afternoon. Prior to the Oakley Spin this year, the Full Boar had raised over £11,000 for the charity.
This year the Spin was held on 11th September, with bike gathering at the Salarie Corner car park from 1:30pm. There was a good turnout, although not as good as previous years. This was probably due to the uncertainty of the weather. Being a year round commuter on my bike – not a softie Sunday rider – I wasn’t put of by the risk of a light shower.
The ride started shortly after 2pm with members of the Full Boar MC leading the way. With over 300 bikers taking part in the event it took a while for us to all get on the road but that was sped up with the help of the islands Police to temporarily close junctions to allow the bikes to ride freely. There was also coverage of the event by the local media.
Overall the rideout was a success, with only one or two minor incidents – mostly car drivers getting impatient and not wanting to wait a couple of minutes for us to pass (I’m not aware of any collisions with though). Thankfully the weather also held out for us and was sunny the whole way round.
I had my trusty Contour GPS helmet cam
There were also a couple of people out the on the route that filmed all the bike going past. I was on the R1200GS with the big Guernsey flag flying off the back of the bike! (2:25 in the first video and 2:55 in the second)
About the Oakley Waterman Caravan Foundation:
The Oakley Waterman Caravan Foundation is an organisation focused on giving families with children who have life threatening illnesses some respite allowing them to enjoy some quality time with the whole family. It provides respite accommodation on two Haven campsites in England for children suffering from life threatening illnesses to have quality time with their families.
Oakley passed away, aged 6, in 2005 due to a rare form of cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma. He was first diagnosed in 2002, at the age of 3, when a tumour was found in his pelvis. After an operation, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, he was in remission. However in 2005 the tumour returned and was inoperable. Towards the end of his battle the family enjoyed precious time together while staying in a caravan at the Church Farm Holiday Village, Pagham, near Chichester. It was then Oakley announced it was his wish to purchase a caravan there to enable other children in similar situations to share quality time with their families.
Due to the initial support of the foundation a caravan was purchased at Church Farm, Pagham in 2005. Two years later a further caravan was purchased at Devon Cliffs, Exmouth.
The annual upkeep of the caravans is £10,000 and so continued support and fundraising is vital to enable the good work of the Foundation to continue.
Donations to this Charity organisation can be made online through their Justgiving page.
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