Freewheelers Volunteers to Ride on Avon Tyres

Cooper brand Avon Tyres has agreed to supply motorcycle tyres to the Freewheelers Emergency Volunteer Service, a registered Charity which provides emergency out-of-hours medical transport throughout the West Country.

Freewheelers’ fleet of marked-up Yamaha FJR1300s, often referred to as “Blood Bikes”, provide lifesaving transport for urgently-needed items such as blood (as the name suggests) test samples, patient notes, X-rays and medical supplies. Avon will supply Storm-ST tyres, while JHS Racing at Keynsham will service Freewheelers’ duty bikes as well as fit them with the brand new rubber.

“We do around 80,000 miles a year in total as a charity and we’re doing that all year round, in all weather,” said Freewheelers’ Mike Belch. “The chief protection we have is that little patch of rubber that keeps the bike in contact with the road and safety and predictability is everything for us. Having good quality tyres we can trust on the bikes is literally the difference between life and death not just for us, but for the people we’re helping. It’s great to have such a high profile supporter as Avon.”

The organisation only exists through charitable donations and the support from both Avon Tyres and JHS Racing allows more donated funds to go straight to the NHS. The charity was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service last year for providing a cost and life-saving service to the NHS and allows motorcyclists to contribute a valuable service to the community.

More details of Freewheelers can be found on their website: www.freewheelers.org.uk, while details of similar groups across the country can be found at www.bloodbikes.org.uk.