Our story it all began back in 2013 when Keiron had a major
motorbike accident just outside of Ripon. At that point in time, Keiron was competing in the amateur No Limits Race series at various tracks round the UK and had purchased a Kawasaki ZX6R to use as a road bike and training bike for Track Days ahead of race meetings. Unfortunately on the 14^th July 2013, whilst riding from Hawes to Ripon on a national speed limit country lane, Keiron’s Bike suffered a catastrophic engine failure which resulted in oil being sprayed onto the rear wheel and hot exhaust, causing a fire and a loss of control. Keiron’s bike left the road as he tried to bring the bike to a controlled stop, where he was faced with the choice of a wire fence, an oak tree or jumping from the bike head first onto the road. The decision to jump undoubtedly saved his life however, the resulting injuries, including 14 broken bones, a punctured lung and damaged liver, left Keiron in a life threatening condition.

Thankfully a second rider stopped at the scene and immediately called the emergency services before noticing the bike had now taken fully alight and presented a significant risk of explosion due to the petrol tank. Faced with an impossible choice Lee helped Keiron to his feet, to move him clear of the bike, before tank failed; following which Keiron lost consciousness. The road ambulance arrived around 25 mins later along with the fire brigade who began to extinguish the hedgerows which had now taken light.

Following initial assessments by paramedics it was
determined Keiron was in a critical condition and the accident was likely to result in a fatality. The air Great North Air Ambulance was dispatched to the scene and were quickly able to diagnose Keiron with a punctured and collapsed Lung with internal bleeding. He was flown to James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough where 2 chest drains were installed and a full body MRI scan was undertaken. Keiron was placed in intensive care for a day then taken for surgery on his right arm, which had almost been severed in the crash, before being moved to a high dependency unit for a further 3 days.

The road to recovery was challenging especially around the
damage done to the right arm, it took several operations and the installation and removal of metal work to bridge the gap in the bone. Initial assessments suggested that the arm would have limited mobility and that further surgery would result in further damage to the sensory and motor nerves. In spite of this Keiron has trained hard to regain significant use of the arm to a level where he now feels able to cycle for 24 hours.

A separate and far more serious incident affecting Allan
late last year, that again required attendance by the Yorkshire Air, made us feel that we would like to give something back - and so the challenge was born.

The team of 14 is comprised largely of people with no
cycling ability or experience so the training has been gruelling and the
outcome far for certain; however, if we are able to raise a decent sum of money for both Air Ambulances it will be seen as a massive success.