The Perth Bikers' Charity Ride History

(UPDATED FOR 2002)
 THE LONGEST RUNNING EVENT OF ITS KIND IN AUSTRALIA

Bikes Unlimited (inc.) was formed in 1975 when a group of motorcyclists called a meeting to fight the unrealistic laws that governed the licensing of custom motorcycles in Western Australia. The group formed and achieved many forward steps in this area, as well as helping to promote the cause of motorcyclists in general. This has helped over the years to create reasonable and workable guidelines in the building of such vehicles, as well as worked toward the promotion of friendship amongst all motorcyclists and created a greater public acceptance within the general community of motorcycling as a recreational activity.  
One of the things that helped the efforts of Bikes Unlimited in gaining serious recognition for the aims of the club, was their idea to start the running of the annual “Perth Bikers’ Charity Ride”. Not only did the ride assist them in their aims, it also became and still is an extremely popular event at Christmas.

Its popularity has enabled the event to generate in excess of over $1million worth of donations toward the Salvation Army’s Christmas Appeal, over a period of 25 years. All donations have been primarily generated by the generosity of the riders’ who have attended the Ride, although there have been increasingly more donations for the general public over recent years as well.  

The first Ride consisted of around 60 motorcyclists, who headed off to Sister Kate’s Orphanage with toys for the children. Unfortunately their good intentions were to no avail, as many of the children had gone for Christmas, so there were very few children there to give the gifts to. The Club reassessed their situation and decided to concentrate their efforts on providing for the Salvation Army’s Christmas Appeal. This tradition has carried on to this day, with the 2000 Ride celebrating 25 years of caring by Bikes Unlimited and the Perth motorcycling community.  

From left to right....Dick Watson, Tony Beeson, Ding Bob, 
Mary Anne, Big Bob, Bandit

The Bikes Unlimited (inc.)
Charity Ride Sub-Committee

Ding Bob             Chairman               email

Tony Beeson       Secretary

Dick Watson       Treasurer                email

Bandit                 Media/ PR/Web      email
Big Bob &  Mary Anne   
Charity Ride Merchandising    08 9344 4282

David and Patricia Cornish
Events/ PR                                       email

The Ride has grown considerably over the years, becoming more popular with motorcyclists of all descriptions, as well as with the general public. What started at around 60 bikes, grew to several hundred, then a couple of thousand. Over the last 5 years, the Ride has been able to boast an attendance of over 6000 motorcyclists at the event. This is a considerable portion of the Western Australian motorcycling community. Riders travel from nearly all parts of the state to attend the Ride, which has even been known to include participants from other states.  

The sight of 6000 motorcyclists travelling in unison up the freeway is something to behold, as well as an awesome sound to hear. Spectators of the event have been seen in the past to line the freeway and roads on the route of the Ride, as well as cramming onto the freeway overpasses. Cars have also been known to simply pull over to the side of the freeway to experience the spectacle.  
The continuous increase in participants, as well as the ever changing needs of the road system, have over time forced the route and destination of the Ride to change. After the incident at Sister Kate’s, the Ride started delivering their gifts at the Council Houses in the City. This venue soon became unworkable, and the Ride then moved to Forrest Place as its destination. Pretty soon this was also too small and the venue was once again changed to Lakeside/Joondalup Shopping City, where it stayed for several years until the year 2000. With the development of the Graham Farmer Freeway (affectionately known as the Polly Pipe), the use of the freeway from the starting point at the Jeff Joseph Reserve in Applecross to Joondalup, became a logistical nightmare. The organisers of the Ride had to take a long hard look at the route, as it had become a danger to the participants of the Ride to continue on this course. With the safety of the participants being of the utmost importance, the Ride had to change.

  A proposal from the Midland Gate Shopping Centre became the most viable option as the new venue for the event. Unfortunately, even with the considerable planning and practice runs of the new route, it turned out to be less than suitable on the day and the venue had to change again in 2001, returning once again to the ever popular Joondalup.  

Now the Ride starts from the Belmont Park Racecourse car park, crosses the Graham Farmer Freeway and heads north through the tunnel. The bikes stay in the right side lane and follow it all the way through to the end in Joondalup. The bikes then proceed on to the Arena Joondalup to fill up the oval.

People used to think that the sight and sound of a few thousand motorcyclists making their way into the city was awesome. With the now normal participation of 6000+ motorcyclists making their way through the new Polly Pipe, it will be an even more awesome sight and sound to behold indeed.

As has also become customary, Bikes Unlimited will be holding it’s annual Christmas Bike Show after the Ride, this year also at the Arena Joondalup. The entertainment will as usual be free, which is a thank you to the Riders on the day for their efforts and participation in making the event a success. Along with this, there will also be a Community Fair situated around the perimeter of the oval, organized by the Arena and Joondalup City Council.

 

 

 

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