February: Severn Freewheelers

From 4x4 wheels used in last month’s charity we are now moving to 2 as we support one of our Mayor’s charities.

Severn Freewheelers are a group of advanced motorcyclists providing a free out-of-hours courier service for hospitals in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, North Wiltshire and Herefordshire. Carrying anything from blood to X-rays and patient notes between hospitals in the area, they are available from 7.00pm in the evening to 7.00am the following day, and all day at weekends.  All riders are volunteers and must have an advanced riding qualification (ROSPA or IAM) with a yearly check-ride.  All receive extra training in emergency response riding, and go through a First Aid course. In short, a professional team delivering a professional service, FREE to the NHS at the point of use.

Each "shift" consists of two people, a rider and a dispatcher. The dispatcher fields calls from the hospitals and plans the route for the evening based on the calls received. Emergency calls are obviously dealt with first, and for these they can use their blue lights.

For those of you who are interested in the technicalities of the machines used, this is what the website has to say about the bikes themselves:

“We run a fleet of five motorcycles. Each bike is specially modified to carry the packages given to us by the NHS, and liveried in emergency response reflective battenburg colours.

The three original R1150RT BMWs are being replaced after nearly three years of service by the next generation R1200RT BMWs. These are the bikes commonly used by police forces throughout the UK and have a reputation for robustness.

These emergency service bikes are specially built by BMW. We have four of these bikes, having replaced one after completing over 60,000 miles.

Our most recent purchase was a Honda Pan European (ST1300) from Honda UK. This bike is similarly liveried and equipped to the BMWs.”

If you would like to see the team in action they will be at the Prescott Bike Festival, Prescott Speed Hill Climb on Sunday 7th April.

For more information click here and visit the Severn Freewheelers web site at http://www.severnfreewheelers.co.uk