Wigan woman and motorbike-mad friends raise thousands for charity

Susan Rigby and her fellow riders, who together make up the Rivi Kickstart Chicks, took turns to ride a Honda C90 at the “Plop Enduro” race (named for the famous noise the motorcycles make when stationary) at Mallory Park race track in Leicestershire on Saturday.

And while proceeds from the race itself went to the North West Air Ambulance, Blood Bikers and other charities, The Rivi Chicks were raising money for their own chosen charity too through sponsorship.

Susan, from Hindley, Deb Ward from Southport, Gaynor Parker from Manchester and Joanne Brown from Liverpool, raised £2430 for Prostate Cancer UK and the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD) by taking part in last year’s event in Anglesey, becoming the first all-female team to take part since 2012 in the process.

This year, they were riding in aid of Gaynor’s niece Stacey, who needs a much-needed funding boost to cover potentially life-changing medical tests for a range of conditions.

Susan said: “It was a fantastic weekend. The camaraderie between all the teams was fantastic, it was such a well run event.”

Unfortunately, the Rivi Chicks did not complete the full eight-hour race after an accident early on.

Susan said: “We started off well, but it was blowing a gale. There were massive winds and we were struggling.

“And it was raining too, which is never good because none of us had been to that circuit before.”

Susan and Gaynor completed their first stints successfully, before Deb went out for their third session.

“Unfortunately, the team’s bike was put out of action during a collision with another rider, putting an end to their participation.

Despite their early exit from the race, the quartet still had a day to remember, one which raised thousands of pounds.

And undaunted by the idea of another gruelling race, Susan and Joanne are already preparing to part in another Plop Enduro event when it travels to the Isle of Man in July.

Unfortunately, the Rivi Chicks quartet will become a duo for this race, as Deb and Gaynor cannot attend due to work commitments.

To find out more about the team’s fund-raising page here