Harleys ride for help
Raising funds for motorbike injury medical expenses
Motorbike injuries can lead to costly medical expenses, and not all riders have adequate medical aid to cover those expenses.That is why the Harley Owners Group of Namibia, affectionately known as the HOG Namibia Chapter #7968, will embark on an epic journey this weekend – the Southern Cross Run.
As chapter director Holger Sircoulomb recently explained, the run covers 2 030 km, and ten riders will take on this feat of endurance, testing both man, woman and machine, not only for the sheer fun of it but also to collect money to establish a medical expenses fund.
As Sircoulomb explained during a participant briefing, the endurance run is the adventure part of something bigger: “We are hoping to establish this fund where the fund can then assist bikers that fall and are injured,” he said.
He said they want the fund to be run by a committee comprised of people from the entire Namibian biking community: “This is not a HOG thing, this is a biking thing,” he said. Already, the fund has a starting balance of more than N$20 000, which was raised from donations.
Tough ride
The HOGs will set off this Saturday at 06:00 in the morning from the Shell service station in Lafrenz, in the capital. Although the riders are free to decide which legs of the trek to take on in order of their preference, careful recording of their odometer readings will ensure that each completes the gruelling journey in its entirety, if they can. Whether the rider or the machine gives in along the way is irrelevant, as both must make it to the finish, back at the Lafrenz Shell service station, within 33 hours to qualify for the special recognition of having completed the journey.
Recognition will take place on 27 August at 16:00 at the Handle Bar in Windhoek.
Friends, family, fellow bikers and supporters can gather there starting at 11:00 in the morning, where they will also be entertained by a live band.
For the Southern Cross, riders will have to go from Windhoek to Mariental (522 km) and back, or to Otjiwarongo (518 km) and back, or to Gobabis (418 km) and back, although the last leg after completing the other three will have to be from Windhoek to Dordabis (190 km) and back.
Riders who complete the entire Southern Cross in 24 to 27 hours will get the gold recognition, with silver for riders who cover the distance in 27 to 20 hours and bronze for those who complete the routes in 30 to 33 hours.
Shell is a sponsor of the event, providing their service stations in each of the destination towns as refuelling and turn-around points.