Overland riders raise thousands for charity

Visitors to last year’s Overland Event raised over £3000 for African motorcycle charity Pikilily and this year organisers hope to repeat that success for Air Ambulances UK.

Held at the historic Hill End outdoor activity centre near Oxford, from Thursday 31st August to Sunday 3rd September, the Overland Event has run annually since 2015 and has motorcycle travel at its heart. Every year the organisers choose a different bike-related charity to support.

Last year they selected Pikilily, following a presentation by its founder, Claire Elsdon, at the 2021 event.

Predominantly operating in Tanzania, Pikilily is an organisation working exclusively with women, training them to ride and maintain motorcycles safely. They can then progress to generate an income for themselves, using the bikes to make deliveries or offer a taxi service.

Initial donations ahead of The Event reached over £1,500 and this figure was doubled following a whip-round on the Saturday night, reaching a total of £3,028. A delighted Claire said that amounted to almost a third of annual running costs.

For 2023 Overland will be supporting The Air Ambulance service in the UK. The charity was picked because of the life-saving work of Great Western Air Ambulance, when one of Overland’s volunteers was knocked off her bike during a tour of Cornwall.

Visit www.overlandevent.com/overland to find out more and book tickets.