Former Freewheelers volunteer rider Iain Woodcock died in a kayaking accident on December 14th 2011 aged just 33.

On Friday December 23rd Freewheelers volunteers, on personal bikes as well as the charity's duty bikes, joined Iain's funeral cortege across Bristol. Iain's body was carried in a motorcycle sidecar hearse for the journey from the Clifton Downs to the memorial service at Westerleigh Crematorium. Iain's role in Freewheelers, his committee post at Bristol Advanced Motorcyclists, and his work as a motorcycle instructor, mean that the ride was well attended by over 100 bikes.

Freewheelers committee and volunteers extend their deepest sympathies to Iain's wife Sarah, daughter Bella, and family.

For the third year running, Avon & Somerset Constabulary have opened their Cop Shop in The Galleries shopping centre in Bristol. In its first year this community outreach service had 900 visitors, last year it attracted 4,000 and the estimate for this year is 7,000. It will be open in the run up to Christmas, and features a number of interesting and informative displays as well as advice from the police officers and police community support officers in attendance. 

This year the police have invited Freewheelers to display one of our bikes so that people visiting the Cop Shop can find out more about the work that we do. One of our Honda ST1100 bikes is now proudly located at the entrance to the shop. See our gallery for pictures. 

If you are in The Galleries between now and December 23rd then be sure to stop in and say hello. You will find it on the top level opposite TK Max.

Freewheelers volunteer riders work 365 days a year, which means that three riders and a coordinator give up time with their families to be on duty over the Christmas holidays. One of our riders, Simon Whitelock had the brilliant idea to sponsor a shift.  So both Simon and Nick Archer, our Christmas shift volunteers, are doing just that.

Our running costs are now over £30,000 a year. With two shifts a week (Monday–Thursday and Friday–Sunday) that works out at £300 to run the three duty bikes on a single shift. 

Nick has launched a JustGiving page and hopes that his work colleagues, friends and family will give generously. If you want to show your support to Nick, Simon and the other riders over the Christmas break then you can donate by debit or credit card at www.justgiving.com/nick-archer

Mel Rowbottom, of Channel 5 Emergency Bikers fame, is one of our New Year volunteer riders along with husband Martyn who will be coordinating. Mel too is seeking sponsorship for her shift. You can sponsor her through BT's MyDonate facility at mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/freewheelingwithmel

You can read more about Nick and Mel on our Volunteer Interviews page. 

Update: As of December 21st, Nick's total is over £610, which pays for two full shifts, and Mel has raised £310. Both totals are even higher once the 25% Gift Aid is added. We extend our warmest thanks to their friends, relatives and supporters!

At the recent Heart of Somerset Awards, where Freewheelers won the Sarah Atkins Award, the following film by GRACE Productions was shown to highlight the work that we do. If you click full screen, then you can view the video on glorious 720p or 1080p high definition. 

You can see photographs taken during the filming in our photo gallery.

Following on from the recent news that we had been selected as a Finalist in the Heart of Somerset Awards we were very pleased to accept an award for our commitment to the community as we were presented with the Sarah Atkins Award.

Sarah lost her battle with cancer earlier this year at the age of 28.  Sarah was always keen to have a go on a motorcycle and was always aware and very grateful for what Freewheelers do for patients and hospitals around the area. 

Her parents, Cathy and Dave are pictured here with our own Andy Smith accepting the award.

The awards were run by the local Burnham and Bridgwater Times, Wells Journal, Shepton Mallet Journal, Central Somerset Gazette and the Cheddar Valley Gazette.  Keep your eye on these in the next few days for more pictures and details of the other award winners

Take a look at The Flying Crane Blog, which has some photos from when a production company along to make a short film about the Blood Bikes to show at the awards ceremony.

Sainsburys Odd Down held their first charity “café quiz” on Sunday night pitting 10 teams against Freewheelers own. With a variety of rounds the Freewheelers team managed to keep up with the best and retained a reasonable position throughout.

The round with a questions on the Charity did help but the final dingbats round gave us a clear advantage. As a result of some significant position changes in the last few rounds the Freewheelers team proudly took the winning medals.

A fantastic night, with fun had by all, as well as the staff raising a quiztastic £229.

Burnham-On-Sea's Kingfisher Cub Pack have turned pennies into pounds.

The youngsters have collected hundreds of 1p and 2p coins in aid of the Freewheelers Emergency Blood Bikes this term.  Giles Prewett, Cub Scout Leader, told Burnham-On-Sea.com the children lined up all the coins to see whether they would go round the scout hut.  "They all did a fantastic job and have raised an estimated total of £64.46. The lined up pennies went five times the length of our hall measuring 87.6 metres!"  He added: "We thank all our cubs for their hard work and achievement for fundraising for such a good cause." (from Burnham-on-Sea.com)

The money that cubs collected was handed over to three Freewheelers, who brought along their bikes to the scout hut in Burnham. At the same time, the Beavers handed over nearly £100 that was raised through a sponsored sunflower growing competition. 

You can see pictures from the presentation in our photo gallery. 

On Friday June 24th, we held our first ever collection at the new Tesco superstore in Shepton Mallet. Our volunteers collected an amazing £960, which is higher than the usual £600 that we would receive in a day outside a supermarket. This was also the first outing for our new BMW F800ST motorcycle - the store's manager is pictured sat on the bike in the entrance foyer. 

We were very pleased during the day to see so many staff and pupils from All Hallows School. 

On Thursday June 16th, riders from Devon Freewheelers, Freewheelers EVS, SERV, and NW Blood Bikes all worked together to get two hospitals out of a difficult situation.

An equipment failure at the Oxford Milk Bank  meant that stocks of human breast milk, used to feed very premature and sometimes very sick babies, were running critically low. Some milk was available in Exeter - 160 miles away - so the milk bank called on the services of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB) members. Devon Freewheelers picked up the two boxes of frozen breast milk and put them onto the back of their bike and rode up the M5 to the Somerset border, where they handed over to Freewheelers EVS. They in turn rode up to Swindon where they met with SERV who took the much needed milk up to Oxford. The transfer from Exeter to Oxford was swift, safe and fuss-free.

Earlier that same day, the neonatal intensive care unit at Bristol's Southmead Hospital had run out of breast milk. The hospital would normally source supplies from Oxford, so instead had to look elsewhere. That is where NW Blood Bikes stepped in and collected a box of frozen breast milk from the Countess Hospital in Chester, and rode it down to Redditch, close to the M5/M42 junction, where it was handed over to a Freewheelers EVS rider to complete the 175 mile journey from Chester to Bristol.

These two separate transfers of frozen human breast milk in one day, both of which were done completely free of charge, are a perfect example of how NABB brings together the different blood bike group across the UK. 

Aviva is the largest insurance group in Britain and has a strong local presence in Bristol. The company has an outstanding Corporate Responsibility Programme, which seeks to have a positive impact on the societies in which the company operates. 

For 2011, the Bristol office has adopted Freewheelers EVS as its local charity for 2011, following a vote by staff which saw us receive an amazing 61% share. On June 1st, our volunteer Nick Archer, who is an Aviva employee, was presented with a cheque for £2,500 with a hint that more money may be forthcoming later in the year. We would like to thank all the employees of Aviva in Bristol for their kind donation. 

Social media is an important way for charities to keep in touch with their existing volunteers and supporters, or to attract new ones. Freewheelers now has its own Facebook page at facebook.com/freewheelers - just click "Like" to keep track of the latest news. We are also using Twitter — follow our tweets at @FreewheelersEVS. If you are a virgin tweeter then the most recent tweets are listed on the left-side of this website underneath the menu. 

Help us to expand our social network coverage and get the message out about the work that we do — please re-tweet our tweets and share our Facebook page or wall posts with your friends.

Freewheelers has partnered with Givey, which is a solution that allows people to make donations using Twitter or SMS text message. If you are registered with Givey then you can tweet the #Givey tag, our twitter ID @freewheelersevs and your donation up to £10, e.g.  #Givey @freewheelersevs 10. This will signal Givey to deduct the donation from your PayPal account, and automatically reclaim 25% Gift Aid. To make a donation by SMS text message, send Givey BLOODBIKE plus your donation up to £10 to 88008, e.g. Givey BLOODBIKE 10.

If you want to know more about how Givey works, watch their YouTube video. If you want to see our tweets and follow us, then go to @FreewheelersEVS on Twitter.

Freewheelers just broke another record. For the 84 hours of continuous duty from 7:00pm on Friday May 29th to 7:00am on Tuesday May 31st, Freewheelers volunteer riders made a total of 60 deliveries, which is a record for a three-day Bank Holiday weekend. This comes hot on the heels of the four day Easter weekend, when we did 96, and the Royal Wedding weekend when we did 85. In comparison, last year over the Easter weekend we made 64 deliveries. 

With rising fuel costs and increasing work loads, it is more important than ever that we raise enough money to operate and maintain our fleet. One quick and easy way you can help is by making a donation using your mobile phone. Send a text message containing the word BIKE24 and your donation from £1 to £10 to 70070, e.g. BIKE24 10. You will not be charged for the text itself, only the donation, and 100% of your donation will go to Freewheelers. 

An excellent new website and video sponsored by the emergency services aims to raise public awareness of how they should respond to a vehicle with blue lights and sirens. Every motorist and motorcyclist should watch the video and have a read of the website. Giving easy and safe passage to an ambulance, fire engine, police car or even blood bike running with blue lights and sirens might just help save somebody's life. The video is below, and the website is www.bluelightaware.org.uk

The day began with the customary photo shot at the blood donor centre in Leicester, then it was off with little time to spare during a day that would cover the second longest distance to date. Joining the team on this leg were Istvan Melnesku, Nicolas Rousseaux, Nikki Marsh, Chris Lawrenson, Mark Foster Johnston. In Kettering they were also joined by Eniko Takacsova and Istvan. One interesting sight en route was Rushton Triangular Lodge, a Grade I listed folly built in 1595, which is a unique piece of Catholic architecture where everything is done in three to reflect the holy trinity — three sides, three doors, three gables on each side, and triangles featured everywhere. On arrival the riders paid their respects at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, which has the graves of 3,812 military personnel killed in World War II.

Distance covered: 78 miles.

If you want to follow Mike and Paul's progress read their blog. If you want to sponsor them go to www.bloodbikes.co.uk

A common theme over the past few days is canals - the Midlands canal network makes it a pleasure to do long distance cycling. It is said that Birmingham itself has more canal mileage than Venice. Canaletto was never moved to paint them but they are still worth seeing. The baton for the ride to Leicester was handed over by Stephen Woodhouse, General Manager of the Birmingham Malmaison. Today's riders were Mark Davies Garry Griffin from the Malmaison, Mal and Kevin Smith from the Hotel du Vin, and Nikki Marsh from Hotel du Vin Bristol.

First stop of the day was the city's blood donor centre, then it was onto the canals. The team quickly passed under the infamous Spaghetti Junction and then out into open countryside where hawthorn cutting on the towpath resulted in no less than six punctures. Delays caused by the repairs put the team behind schedule so there was no eatin' in Nuneaton (sorry, their pun!)

Distance covered: 50 miles.

If you want to follow Mike and Paul's progress read their blog. If you want to sponsor them go to www.bloodbikes.co.uk

At the start of the second week spirits are still high. The team is joined by Josh Watts, DGM from Hotel du Vin in Bristol, and Lucy Sartain. The 64 mile route took them along the canal from Nottingham to Derby then up over the southernmost part of the Pennines (the third crossing on this trip!) and then in to Stoke-on-Trent. On day nine they had a much easier route which took them south through Stafford to Birmingham along the canal, although rain showers and head winds made it seem much more difficult.

Distance covered: 64 miles on day 8, then 42 miles on day 9.

If you want to follow Mike and Paul's progress read their blog. If you want to sponsor them go to www.bloodbikes.co.uk

Effective immediately there is a new and easy way to donate money to Freewheelers using your mobile phone.

To donate any amount between £1 and £10, just text BIKE24 plus your donation amount to 70070. e.g. BIKE24 10

The great part is that every mobile network will let you send the text completely free of charge (except for Virgin Mobile who will charge you for one standard text). Of course  the donation itself is added to your next bill, but the best bit is that Freewheelers gets 100% of your donation nobody gets paid any commission and there are no admin fees. If you are a tax payer, JustTextGiving can can add gift aid to your donation to boost it. All you need to do is follow the simple instructions in the acknowledgement text.

Freewheelers is trailblazing this new service by JustGiving and Vodafone. Our Bloodbike Challenge cyclists, who are currently en-route from Newcastle to Plymouth, will start handing out cards with the text donation details to people that they meet en route.

In Sheffield, the riders were joined by Yuki from Hotel du Vin in Bristol and her husband Ben. They were married just a few days ago and have postponed their honeymoon to take part on the ride. How can you begin to thank a couple who do that? After tea and bacon sarnies at the Sheffield Cable Water Ski Centre, the riders cycled in the rain before a lunch stop at the Elizabethan National Trust property Hardwick Hall. In Nottingham, following the obligatory photo outside the blood donor centre, the team celebrated Saturday night and the end of the first week with a nice pizza.

Distance covered: 56 miles.

If you want to follow Mike and Paul's progress read their blog. If you want to sponsor them go to www.bloodbikes.co.uk

Day six of the challenge saw our riders cycling from Manchester to Sheffield over the infamous Snake Pass, which includes a four mile climb to a height of 1,680ft — one of the toughest in the UK. At the start of the day the riders were joined at the Malmaison in Manchester was Grant McKenzie – GM Mal Manchester, who was taking the baton on to Sheffield. First stop of the day was the other NHS Blood and Transplant blood donor centre in Manchester, which proved difficult to find. Then it was east towards the Pennines, a journey interrupted when one of the bike's chains snapped. The ride up the Snake Pass from Glossop was slow, but everyone made it up and their reward was some superb scenery including the lake that was used for practice by the Dambusters pilots, followed by an eight mile descent into Sheffield. After the usual tea and biscuits welcome at the blood donor centre and some more bike maintenance, the team retired to their hotel.

Distance covered: 43 miles.

If you want to follow Mike and Paul's progress read their blog. If you want to sponsor them go to www.bloodbikes.co.uk

On Day 5, the team were joined at the Malmasion in Liverpool by Martin Deaker – CCT Services Director and Richard Killen – Senior Partner Highcroft. After a photo stop at the famous Penny Lane, the cyclists used the canal to head towards Manchester. En-route they needed an emergency repair which was done with speed and professionalism by MJ Cycles in Latchford. In Hale they were joined by Brian Maxwell, MD Blue Group, and were given tea and biscuits by local resident and election campaigner Margaret. The journey into Manchester through the city's docks ended with a photo stop at the blood donor centre then onto the nearby Malmaison hotel.

Distance covered: 47 miles.

If you want to follow Mike and Paul's progress read their blog. If you want to sponsor them go to www.bloodbikes.co.uk

On Day 4, the team crossed the Pennines, but this morning they needed help to cross just one road. After a bit of fun with a local lollipop lady, the team rode to the NHS Blood and Transplant blood donor centre in Lancaster before the long ride down to Liverpool. En route they stopped at the Pickerings Hotel in Garstang, who kindly gave them free tea and biscuits and let the riders take a picture with one of the bikes half way up a tree. After visiting the Liverpool blood donor centre, on what proved to be the quickest day of the ride so far, they had an early finish at the Malmaison in Liverpool where they met up with Hotel du Vin and Malmaison commercial director Scott Harper who will take the baton on to Manchester on day 5.

Distance covered: 63 miles.

If you want to follow Mike and Paul's progress read their blog. If you want to sponsor them go to www.bloodbikes.co.uk

On Tuesday May 3rd, day three of the challenge, in the company of Lesley Phillips, Malmaison Leeds Events Manager and Charlie Wilson, Malmaison Leeds Accounts, the riders set off from Leeds for a relatively short ride to the NHS Blood and Transplant blood donor centre in Bradford where they were given a warm welcome by the staff who provided tea and biscuits — without asking them to donate blood first! Then it was a ride along the canal towards Skipton. In Keighley the baton was taken over by Andrew Tosh from the Leeds Malmaison. The second half of the day was a long hard slog up and over the Pennines followed by a relatively gentle ride along the River Wenning and River Lune valleys to Lancaster where they met up with DGM Matt Townley and Steven Frei, Sous Chief Malmaison Liverpool.

Distance covered: 81 miles.

If you want to follow Mike and Paul's progress read their blog. If you want to sponsor them go to www.bloodbikes.co.uk

Sainsbury’s Odd Down in Bath opened their doors to customers on Wednesday 27^th April. As their chosen charity for 2011, they are keen to promote what we do, as well as raise funds for the rest of this year. To start the ball rolling we attended their open day and their first full weekend of trading. Customers from the area where all keen to know what we do, and how this is achieved. And at the same time we had people returning, just to sit on our bike and pick up a few more groceries! We also spoke to some potential new volunteers. Even the duty bike had a brief opportunity on Saturday to pop in after a call to St Martins hospital that is just opposite the store.

We are meeting with the management team in a few days to set up a programme of events. Steve, the store manager has already even offered to push one of his team out of a plane and follow with a couple of parachutes all in aid of Freewheelers! Watch this space for the results of our new relationship.

As a result of the 3 days, and a great deal of interest we collected donations of over £1,100. Thanks to everyone. So keep an eye out for us at Sainsbury’s Odd Down. And we highly recommend the pizza cooked to order!!!

On Monday May 2nd, day two of the challenge, the riders set off from Richmond in North Yorkshire. After lunch in picturesque Ripon they arrived at the Hotel du Vin in Harrogate, where they were joined by Craig Whitehead, who is Head Barman of the Hotel du Vin in York. With Craig holding the baton, the team cycled to Leeds, their final destination for the day, where they visited both of the city's blood donor centres before retiring for a well earned rest.

Distance covered: 63 miles.

If you want to follow Mike and Paul's progress read their blog. If you want to sponsor them go to www.bloodbikes.co.uk

Our riders and coordinators are having a well deserved rest after two incredibly busy weekends — so busy in fact that we had to put extra bikes on the road to cope with the workload. At one point over the easter weekend the coordinator had 15 jobs on the go at once.

Freewheelers works from 7:00pm to 7:00am in the week, but we do 24 hours at weekends and bank holidays. The past two weekends have both been sandwiched with Friday and Monday holidays, meaning that on both occasions we were on duty, non-stop, from 7:00pm on Thursday to 7:00am on Tuesday — a total of 108 hours.

Over the Easter holiday weekend we did 96 calls - a record for us. In comparison we did 64 calls over the same weekend in 2010. Over the Royal Wedding and May bank holiday weekend we did 85 calls. We normally have three bikes on the road in Bristol, Bath and Somerset, but our spare bikes were pressed into duty to stop the duty riders getting too exhausted. The contribution of our coordinators shouldn't be overlooked either — each incoming call from a hospital requesting our services means that the coordinator has to call the duty rider, then wait for the rider to report that they have picked up, then delivered, and finally are they safe back home. If jobs aren't straightforward, which sometimes happens, then the coordinator might have to make more calls to chase things through.

At 9:00am on Sunday May 1st, Mike Burns and Paul Rowe, accompanied by three other riders, set off from the Malmaison hotel in Newcastle bound for Richmond in North Yorkshire. En route they stopped at the Newcastle NHS Blood & Transplant donor centre, and the iconic Angel Of The North sculpture (see the picture right and click to view a larger version). Lunch was in Durham and after passing through Darlington they reached Richmond at 5:30pm.

Distance covered: 58 miles.

If you want to follow Mike and Paul's progress read their blog. If you want to sponsor them go to www.bloodbikes.co.uk

Last year on the May bank holiday weekend Mike Burns set off on a marathon sponsored cycle ride to raise money for Freewheelers. He was so successful and enjoyed it so much that this morning, Sunday May 1st, he is doing it all over again. Mike and riding companion Paul Lowe are setting off from the NHS Blood & Transplant donor centre in Newcastle on the first leg of their ride, which will take them to every blood donor centre in England. During their journey they will be joined by 70 riders and will cross the Pennines three times, covering over 1,200 miles. En route they will stay at Hotel du Vin and Malmaison hotels, and staff from the hotels will be joining Mike and Paul on the ride. Other companies, whose employees will be joining the ride and raising money include Paul's employers AXA Wealth, Bristol-based CCT, Bath-based City Financial, and Downside School. You can see the route that Mike and Paul will be taking at www.bloodbikes.co.uk, and you can keep track their progress on the blog.

If the fundraising goes as planned it will allow each of the companies to buy a new vehicle for Freewheelers. On Saturday May 21st in Plymouth, at the end of the ride, Mike and Paul hope to present us with a new Volkswagen Tiguan 4x4, a BMW R1200RT and a BMW F800ST. The Tiguan is going to be used in support of the new breast milk bank at Southmead Hospital, which is launching this year. The R1200RT will be used by our riders in Somerset to replace an ageing Honda. The F800ST, one of three that we hope to buy as a result of this ride, will be used as a relief bike when things get really busy, as well as for fundraising events. As the F800ST is much smaller and lighter than the R1200RT, it will also be available to any of our duty riders who prefer it to the larger bike.

If you want to support Mike and Paul by making a donation, please visit their JustGiving page.

Happy Happy Sue is a toy company that likes "Trading the smiley way". The company is helping us by providing logistical support to our upcoming Newcastle to Plymouth Sponsored Cycle Ride. Happy Happy Sue is distributing fundraising material to all the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin hotels that will be taking part in the ride. They are also sending packs to each of the 70 cyclists, containing their water bottle, hi-viz jacket and backpack. Without Happy Happy Sue's help, this would be a real struggle for Freewheelers.

Freewheelers would like to thank the Lions Clubs of Cheddar Vale, Clevedon, and Weston-super-Mare, who have donated a set of insulated boxes for use at the new Human Breast Milk Bank at Southmead Hospital.

The boxes have thick walls to ensure that up to 25 bottles of frozen breast milk can be stored at a safe temperature. When the new milk bank opens, the boxes will be used by Freewheelers to transport frozen milk bottles from donor's homes to the hospital where they will be screened, pasteurised and re-frozen. They will also be used to transport frozen processed milk from the milk bank to special care baby units and neonatal intensive care units across the South West of England. In the meantime, before the Southmead milk bank opens, the boxes are being put to good use taking milk to and from the nearest milk bank in Oxford. See our gallery for more pictures of the handover ceremony our click on the pictures below.

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's will open a new supermarket at Odd Down in Bath at the end of April. This week Freewheelers and several other charities were invited to meet the staff of the new store, so that they could decide who was going to be their charity of the year. After telling staff about our work, we were delighted to be selected as Sainsbury's Odd Down Charity Of The Year. Events will be held at the store, starting on April 27th the opening day, and will continue throughout the year. We hope to raise some much needed funds - critical at a time when petrol prices are so high.

Freewheelers volunteer Allan Roberts, a keen photographer, put together this slideshow of our bikes, members and fundraising events.

Southwestern Housing Society (SWHS) is a registered, social landlord that provides affordable housing throughout the South West and, in particular, in Somerset. Each year they put aside a sum of money into a Community Fund and allocate this to support projects or services that benefit their tenants and the community generally in which they live. The Society welcomes applications for funding from not only it’s own tenants and tenant groups but also agencies and other organizations working in areas where they have homes.

Doug Harding, a volunteer rider for Freewheelers, works for Southwestern Housing Society and felt that an application for funding would be appropriate and was subsequently successful in securing a cheque to the value of £500 to be put towards the cost of installing ‘state of the art’ GPS and communication systems to the operations bikes.

Shown in the photo which was taken at the housing society’s head office in Weston-Super-Mare is Phil Yorke, Chief Executive of SWHS presenting the cheque to Doug Harding.

Earlier this week the diligence of one of our riders may have helped save a life.

Arriving at the house of a patient discharged earlier in the day, and getting no response at the door, rather than — as a taxi may have done — leaving the delivery on the doorstep and moving to his other two calls, he reported back to the co-ordinator. On speaking to the originating hospital, the nursing staff there were concerned for the patient's well-being, and asked if our rider would be prepared to wait while they tried to find a keyholder. Eventually after our rider has been on scene for an hour, he accompanied a keyholder into the house to find the patient collapsed and unresponsive - our rider called 999 for an ambulance and continued to help until the patient was taken into hospital.

As usual, we'll never know if this story had a happy ending... but because our rider took a pride in doing what we do, well, and went the extra mile, a patient who could easily have died alone overnight in their flat was admitted to hospital care. Job done.

Several Freewheelers members are current or former members of the Armed Services. That is not surprising as there is an obvious link between serving one's country and serving the public through voluntary service for Freewheelers - although the magnitude of the commitment differs massively!

It is inspiring to see the support that some of our members give to the Armed Services

Freewheelers volunteer Allan Roberts, who is a former Grenadier Guardsman, is helping Go Commando — a charity that supports the Royal Marines of 40 Commando in Taunton. Alland, supported by a local businessman, will be picking up some of the families of 40 Commando in a fleet of vintage cars and will be taking them to the circus at Sanders Garden World at Brent Knoll. You can make a donation to Go Commando on Allan's JustGiving page.

Several members of Freewheelers EVS will join the Ride of Respect through Wootton Bassett in April. They will use their personal bikes to carry pillion passengers — wounded service personnel who are coming up to Wootton Bassett for the day from Headley Court and want to experience the thrill of riding past the cheering crowds in the packed town centre.

Freewheelers is delighted to learn that the Bridgwater Chapter Harley Owners Group has chosen us as their charity to support for 2011.

The Chapter is part of H.O.G. (Harley Owners Group), a worldwide organisation with well over one million members united by a common passion for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Bridgwater Chapter was formed in 1990 and currently has over 450 members, mainly in the South West but with a number countrywide. As well as enjoying their motorcycles, they like to put something back into the community and always raise money for charity every year. Since their formation over 21 years ago, they have given many thousands of pounds raised through sponsored rides, raffles and other activities to local and national charities.

This year a shortlist of suitable charities was given to members and the winner of a raffle to raise charity funds, picked the Freewheelers. Bridgwater Chapter Director Gill Mogg said how delighted she was that the Freewheelers had been chosen, because members were well aware of the vital work that the organisation carries out. She also said that she hoped the Chapter could also provide practical help to the Freewheelers by using their Harley Davidsons for publicity purposes if required.

Funds raised during the year will be presented to the organisation at the Chapter annual General Meeting in November.

For more information on Bridgwater Chapter, go to their website , http://bridgwaterhog.co.uk.

UPDATE: In January 2012, the Bridgwater Chapter presented Freewheelers with a cheque for £2,500. Our heartfelt thanks goes to the members for all their hard work. 

In July 2010, following a series of fundraising events, All Hallows Preparatory School presented Freewheelers with a brand new BMW R1200RT blood bike. A competition was held at the school to name the bike and the winning entry was "The Flying Crane".

To ensure that the pupils at All Hallows can keep track of what their bike is doing, we have created The Flying Crane Blog, which will document what The Flying Crane and its riders have been up to, together with statistics on mileage, deliveries, fuel used, and running costs. Although we are writing the blog for the children at All Hallows we don't mind at all if other people read it or leave comments and questions — just make sure they are suitable for readers aged 4 to 13!

Freewheelers EVS is the winner of NatWest’s Bath and North East Somerset Community Fund.

In August NatWest launched a new fund, as part of its customer charter, to support local charities and projects, and invited customers and local people to decide who would benefit from this new community initiative. 380 individual funds of £5,000 were created nationwide, with £3,000 set to be awarded to the most popular good cause and £1,000 to the two runners up.

After weeks of voting a panel, made up of local bank officials, customers and community figures carefully examined the nomination papers and chose Mentoring Plus (Bath & N E Somerset), SWALLOW and Freewheelers EVS as the three charities to benefit from Bath and North East Somerset’s fund. The local community have since voted on which of the three charities would receive the £3,000 top donation and which two would each receive £1,000 - and Freewheelers EVS came out on top.

Colin Orr, NatWest’s Senior Bank Manager for the area, who was on hand to congratulate the volunteers, said: ‘The Community Fund really captured the imagination of the local community and I would like to say a big thank you to all those that took the time to nominate and then vote. All three charities are winners but for the Freewheelers volunteers it is obviously an extra special time.”

Jason Phillips, a Volunteer Rider from Freewheelers said ‘Hospital patients don’t usually see what we do, and its good to see that people appreciate us.  A big thank you to everyone for voting for the Blood Bikes to receive £3,000.  This award is quite timely, particularly as we are now supporting the “milk bank” by transporting breast milk to babies in neonatal intensive care.  We have also this week added a further on-call bike to our fleet to cover weekends and Bank Holidays as a result of an increase in demand for our services.’

Photos from the presentation can be seen in our gallery.