After a well-deserved year off when we vacated the Yorkshire roads to make room for the Tour de France we return, fresher than ever and determined to beat any previous record we set for the amount raised.  This year we aim to raise enough money to keep the two Yorkshire Air Ambulances flying for a whole day by once again being sponsored to ride tiny motorcycles around the wonderfully scenic and sometimes vertiginous back roads of Yorkshire.

It may surprise you to know that the Yorkshire Air Ambulance Charity relies on the generosity of individuals and organisations to help save lives across Yorkshire.

In fact as a Charity they only receive help through secondment of paramedics from the NHS, through Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.  To keep both of Yorkshire's air ambulances in the air they need to raise £9990 per day. This is equivalent to £3.6 million per year. As a rapid response air emergency service the Charity serves a population of approximately 5 million people across 4 million acres.  Their two Air Ambulances operate from The Nostell Priory Estate near Wakefield and RAF Topcliffe near Thirsk, and together both Air Ambulances cover the whole of the region. To find out more about the Nostell Air Support Unit, visit this page, and to see more about the Topcliffe Air Support Unit, please click here.

Event planning is in the early stages but we have reserved the dates of the 4^th and 5^th July.  As we have so enjoyed the fancy dress element of previous years and we were lacking a “theme” we asked the YAA for ideas and their suggestion was to link with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s Yellow Yorkshire day which they tell us is to be the 3^rd July and to travel around the county dressed in yellow.   

Working on the theme of Mountain Monkeys we are researching the 10 steepest roads in the county and plan to make 5 ascents over around 150 miles each day with hopefully the extra twist of a camera crew in place before we arrive to film each ascent. 

In an effort to get more people involved and to raise more money for the YAA we are opening up the event to riders of any size bike however making a minimum fund raising requirement of £1 for every cc of engine size of the bike you use.  This means standard 125cc monkey bike riders would have to raise at least £125 per bike and the rider on the Triumph Rocket would need £2300!  It might mean that some other motorcyclists without their own monkey bikes might want to take part on their own bikes however once again we have the support of the Monkey Bike importers and can help you obtain your very own new Monkey Bike at a very special 'event only' price. 

Please let me know if you are able and willing to take part either by riding a bike or in an alternative support capacity such as catering, lead car driving, navigating, support van driving or photography by emailing me at dtysoe@bankstone.co.uk 

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