The family of missing Trowbridge man Ben Garland have staged their fourth and biggest-ever Ride to the Tide fundraising event.
Almost 250 bikers set off from the Trowbridge Rugby Club car park on Saturday, August 17 to ride the 54 miles to Poole harbour in Dorset.
They have each paid £10 per bike to join the ride, meaning the family is likely to have raised around £2,000 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution based in Poole.
Mark Garland, 59, of Frome Road, Southwick, lost his son Ben on January 21, 2020 and still lives with the hope that one day his son’s body will be found.
Ben was a keen biker who owned a Harley Davidson, and Mark organises the charity fundraising event to keep his son’s name and memory alive.
“We are very pleased with the turn-out. I think that the fine weather has helped this year, compared to last year when it rained.
“Today is one of my happy days. It is fantastic to see so many people turn up to remember Ben and raise funds for the RNLI.”
Ben was aged 24 when he disappeared from rocks near Portinatx on the northern coast of Ibiza while working as a deckhand on a superyacht.
He went out on his Harley Davidson motorcycle to video the waves after Storm Gloria and despite extensive searches by the Spanish police and coastguard his body has never been found.
Ben is believed to have been swept off the rocky coastline by the waves. Only his jacket, identity tags and watch have ever been found.
Scores of bikers turned up from all over Wiltshire and beyond, and only two were left behind when the ride began at 11am following a minute’s silence for Ben.
The forlorn figures of Andy Ong, 56, and his son, Brandon, 26, from Bradford on Avon, were left in the car park after the rest of the bikers departed.
Andy said: “I am very disappointed. My Ducatti just would not start. It has been running fine so I’m not sure what is going on down there.”
He planned to ride home with Brandon, who only passed his bike test a month and a half ago, to pick up another bike and join the ride.
Last year’s Ride to the Tide raised £1,650 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, whose headquarters are based in Poole.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here