Real stories

Our epic scooter tour of the UK to fundraise for dementia

The scooter scene has been a constant in my life since the early 80s.

I got into it through the music – the post-punk era of The Jam and Secret Affair – and through my older brother. 

When he moved to four wheels, I taught myself how to ride his scooter and that’s how it all started.

The 80s were a depressing time to grow up.

But riding off for a weekend and meeting up with like-minded folk was an amazing escape. 

It still is if the truth be told.

Determined to fundraise

I met my partner Henry through the scooter scene. We’ve only been together for eight years but we’ve known each other for more than double that.

Henry’s mum Joan was diagnosed with dementia in 2011 and passed away in 2021. 

She was an incredibly strong, vibrant person, so it was difficult to watch her diminish but it also made Henry determined to fundraise.

The idea for a fundraising scooter tour came from our shared passion. But I also had experience – I did a 1,000-mile ride around the south coast with my oldest friends to raise money for breast cancer research in 2016.

The other motivator is that we’re all of a certain age. We wanted to do something to revisit the people and places that scootering has introduced us to. 

This is where our tagline ‘Before We Forget’ came from.

Planning a route

Henry’s the ideas person, I’m the logistics person and together we plotted a 10-day, 2,000-mile plus mile route around England, Wales and Scotland.

It included stopovers at 28 towns that hosted national scooter rallies in the 80s. Places that hold lots of memories.

Our friends, Dave, Alex and Richard, volunteered to join us. The plan was two riders would be on the road at any one time, with the others in back-up vans.

When we started promoting our tour and fundraising in autumn 2023, people’s kindness and generosity was overwhelming. 

It was clear that dementia has touched more of our friends’ lives than we previously knew.

For example, a friend ran a marathon to raise money for us, while a local company donated and printed his running T-shirt free of charge. We are so thankful to all the many unsung heroes.

How we fundraised

After months of planning, we set off on our tour in August 2024. 

From the start, it was clear that this would be the adventure of a lifetime. It was all so fantastic that it’s impossible to pick out any one highlight.

However, one memorable moment was visiting Fort William.

A local scooter club timed their annual ride-out to coincide with our tour and arranged a big evening event. It was made even more emotional by the appearance of Henry’s best friend from Canada.

In total, we raised over £20,000. We did this through several activities including auctions, competitions and social events.

But the largest chunk of the money came from shaking buckets during our tour, which gave us the chance to talk and connect with people and share experiences.

Dementia is such an emotive subject.

At this moment we don’t have any plans to do another tour, but I can’t say it won’t ever happen!

I mean, if Henry comes up with an idea, I’ll probably work out a way to do it.