By Mal Butler
More than 120 motor-cyclists paid tribute to the late Gordon Endler, with a charity ride-out around the Island on Saturday.
Gordon was killed four years ago, when he was riding between Niton and Rookley and a tractor pulled out in front of him. His pillion passenger, Jacqueline Stannett, suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to hospital.
The ride-out started and finished at Sandown Airport, with the bikes heading to Yarmouth and turning left onto the Middle Road, with a stop at Freshwater Bay, then along the Military Road to Blackgang, Niton, Rookley, Merstone and returning to the airport
Gordon’s son, Joe, took part in the event, and organiser, Jon ‘Flexi’ White, said: “It all went off really well and, afterwards, a small group of us went to the crash site to pay our respects to Gordon.
“It went brilliantly, and the marshals did a fabulous job. We had an air ambulance volunteer with us, and we gave her a helmet and she had her first ride on a bike as a pillion passenger.
“It was all a bit last-minute this year, because myself and my wife, Pippa, were both in hospital recently for different reasons and we were trying to organise a meeting point, but Sandown Airport came to our rescue and we are going to make it our base in the future.”
A record £581.94 was raised for the Hants & IW Air Ambulance via donation buckets. In addition photographer, Michelle Jackson, is running a Justgiving page accepting donations for the use of her photos, which is currently standing at £110 at iw.observer/bikerpicsdonate.
Isle of Wight Observer