Call for bikers to join Ride of Thanks from King's Lynn hospital

Bikers will join a national Ride of Thanks from Lynn's hospital this July to pay tribute to NHS staff and raise funds for three Norfolk hospitals.

Organisers hope to have between 3-400 bikers on July 4, when they will ride to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Lynn, Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and The James Paget Hospital, both in Norwich.

Danny Fowler, a senior healthcare assistant in A&E at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, is organising the event and hopes to pay tribute to his friend and colleague Estrella Catalan, who died of Covid-19 a few weeks ago.

He said: "It's been pretty full on and we have struggled both physically and mentally, but we seem to be coming out the other side of it now. Our numbers are coming back down.

"I wanted to do something to raise awareness and respect for NHS workers, and to raise money for the hospitals."

Mr Fowler, 30, who is a keen biker, said: "It will be good to get back on the bike, I've been riding for 10 or 11 years and often do charity rides

"I'm looking forward to it, it's going to be a really good event and we're potentially looking at 300-400 riders on the day all going well."

The event, which is part of a national Ride of Thanks, was originally planned for April, but due to lockdown restrictions was moved to July 4.

Across the country, thousands of bikers are expected to take part in the national event. Norfolk's riders will start at Knight's Hill Hotel and Spa in Lynn at around 10.45am, where they will join a one minute silence in memory of Estrella Catalan.

This will be followed by a one minute roar of thunder where organisers call on everyone to shout, cheer and clap as loud as they can.

The route will take them on a circular route around each of the three hospitals, but cyclists will not stop on the day to ensure they stick to social distancing restrictions. Mr Fowler also hopes to ride by the A&E department at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital where he works in memory of his friend, Estrella.

Mr Fowler said: "We're going to charge riders a small fee to take part and we will have patches and stickers for sale, with everything we make being put into the pot and then split between the three hospitals.

Find out more by joining the NHS Ride of Thanks Norfolk group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/210078187075870

Donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/nhs-ride-of-thanks-norfolk