The 8th
Annual Hercules Run
Sunday 4th
October 2009
In aid of the Breast Care Unit at Blackpool
Victoria Hospital
The presentation of funds to the Breast
Care Team was held on Friday 21st May 2010
Hercules Past
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A Tour of
Lancashire’s Hill Country*
Preesall School to
Gawthorpe Hall, Padiham, the long way.
Once again, you are
cordially invited to join our Annual motorcycle ride-out in aid of
local charities. This year, our destination is the very historic
Gawthorpe Hall, Padiham, in the shadow of Pendle Hill. With this in
mind, we decided to try and fit as many of Lancashire’s other
splendid and lesser-visited hills into our trip, with an interesting
and sometimes challenging route which takes us through, round, and
back through the Forest of Bowland. As usual, this gives us a 100
mile-ish ride to the destination.
This year’s chosen
beneficiary charity is the Breast Cancer Unit at Blackpool Victoria
Hospital. The reason for choosing this particular charity is all
because of a very brave lady called Andrea Ashworth who recently
discovered a small lump. Due to her own vigilance and the hard work
of her doctor and subsequently the best if totally underfunded
Health Care system in the world, Andrea is testimony to the fact
that Breast Cancer CAN be beat providing it is discovered
early enough. Same goes for the guys, similar regular check,
different area!!
Last year’s event
attracted over 140 bikes for the second year running, despite the
forecast bad weather. This is particularly pleasing - the whole
point of this event is that it’s a challenge, yes, it’s for charity
and yes it’s supposed to be fun, but ‘proper’ motorcyclists don’t
let a bit of rain put them off, do they?!
New for this year,
you’ll be able to demonstrate your support of the event by wearing
our limited-edition Hercules Run T-Shirts, which many of you have
asked for in the past. These have been specially commissioned from
Gill of Rallyfest Promotions for this year’s event. If we were to
have any left after the event this would obviously decrease the
amount we donate to charity, so we WILL sell out! Don’t be
disappointed, they are very good, if you don’t buy one you’ll wish
you did. Also on the subject of money, you may notice that the entry
cost of the event has risen slightly this year, partly due to the
admission cost to Gawthorpe and partly because the feedback from you
guys has suggested that we are underselling the event and that we
should increase the costs in line with the rise in administration
costs to maximise our donation to our allocated charity. I trust you
will all agree with me and continue to support the Hercules Run.
You should also have
received a Blue Skies sponsorship form with your application.
Although we are not suggesting that it is a compulsory obligation, I
would ask you to try and persuade as many friends, relatives and
well-wishers to sponsor you on the Hercules Run. Don’t forget to ask
them to tick the Gift Aid box if they are a taxpayer. Again, we are
listening to what you say. After all, we have been getting lost for
Charity for the last 7 years and hope to continue to do so for the
next 70 years!
Also in response to
feedback from our regular participants, we are reverting to the
less-regimented marshalling regime which served us well on the
earlier runs. It is still our intention to ride as a group, with a
police escort for at least part of the journey, but we appreciate
that this is not always practical due to the sheer numbers and the
wide variety of bikes we attract, from vintage to modern sports
bikes. This year, we are lucky to have the support of North West MAG
for the marshalling.
Please pre-book
early as possible to avoid work on the day and give us a prompt
start on the morning of the run. NOTE :THERE IS A SMALL
SURCHARGE APPLICABLE IF YOU BOOK ON THE DAY BECAUSE I DON’T WISH TO
MISS MY BACON BUTTY IN THE SCHOOLYARD THIS YEAR!
Finally, we intend
to move away from (expensive) mailshots of entry forms to increased
use of our new website and e-mailing for future events, so please
provide your e-mail address with your entry form.
Thanks for your
support, we look forward to seeing you on the day.
Regards
Geoff Madden –
Organiser
*NB The route does
contain an unavoidable bit of Yorkshire.
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