Organisers of a cycle ride staged in memory of former Mildenhall Fen Tigers rider Danny Ayres have hailed the event a success after raising more than £1,400 for his family.
Friends of the ex-speedway star, who died suddenly last month, smashed the £1,000 target they set themselves after cycling from Mildenhall Stadium in West Row to the Adrian Flux Arena in King’s Lynn for the opening day of the Dirt Track Show on Saturday.
On their arrival at the Norfolk stadium, the group performed a lap of the track, home of Premiership speedway side King’s Lynn Stars, before taking part in a minute of noise to celebrate the life of the 33 year old.
“We had such a great group of riders, mechanics and friends of Danny take part it really was something else,” said Luke Bowen, organiser, and former speedway rider.
“At the moment we have raised over £1,400 but I think it will be closer to £2,000 as a couple of people have raised some money they still need to collect.
“The minute of sound saw cars and bikes doing burnouts and you couldn’t see us for the smoke. It was a great send off.”
Though all those taking part, who paid further tribute to Danny by wearing socks and gloves in his favourite colour pink, completed the challenge, Luke said conditions made the ride tricky at times.
“The first hour was freezing and it was like torture and you think ‘why are we doing this?’ then you realise why and we just pulled through it,” he said.
“The adrenaline took over when we got there and we thought we could do this again but we all had things planned to get back.”
While the camaraderie between those on the bikes helped them complete the challenge, for Luke it was a sight following their arrival at the Norfolk stadium that was the highlight of the entire event.
“The best thing was when we got to King’s Lynn watching Danny’s eldest daughter Lilou, four, riding this electric balance bike around the track while Danny’s former mechanic rode his bike round.
“You could tell she was Danny’s daughter as she was going flat out and wanted to continue just going round on it.”
Anyone wishing to make a donation can do by searching for Bowen’s tribute to Danny Ayres at gofundme.com.
Read more
More by this author
