RGLI memorial riders set off for France following service
TWENTY motorbikes carrying members of the RGLI memorial ride set off for France yesterday, following a departure service at the RGLI memorial in the Sunken Gardens.
The first RGLI ride took place in 2019. But it has not happened since due to the pandemic.
Evita Kharroubi took part in the ride in 2019 on the back of her husband’s bike.
This year she is riding her own.
‘Last time we went I met such amazing people in the group and from France who have now become my lifelong friends,’ she said.
‘We’ve been planning this for three years because of Covid.
'It’s so exciting that we finally get to go.’
The group are covering 850 miles during their trip while visiting various memorial sites, including the RGLI memorial in Masnieres and the Menin Gate, where ceremonies will be held and wreaths laid.
‘This is the first official RGLI since St Peter Port twinned with Masnieres in 2019 and it’s time to start rebuilding the relationship between the two,’ said founder and organiser of the ride, Lt-Colonel Colin Vaudin.
‘Masnieres is just a small French town, however it is an important travel route and sees about 10,000 vehicles passing through each day.
‘Since the twinning, all road signs into Masnieres also display the Guernsey flag which will be amazing to see.’
The group of riders includes experienced bikers, as well as individuals who have never ridden off-island before.
When on the roads, the bikes will take up to one mile of road at a time, and so each bike has a route card, and route markers will be stationed at the front and back and within the pack in case the group is split up.
Lt-Col Vaudin added that the group included individuals from Latvia and Russia and is even more poignant this year due to the war in Ukraine.
‘With what is happening in Ukraine, war and remembering is very present in people’s minds at the moment,’ he said.
‘If we don’t remember the past, we are destined to repeat it in the future.’
Friends of the Memorial Ride will be joining the groups on their bikes in Cherbourg, and some of them will be joining from the UK over the course of the trip.
‘It is such an amazing bunch of people from all walks of life,’ said rider Jenny Vaudin.
‘We are breaking the stereotype on “bikers” and it’s all just such good fun, while remembering the members of the RGLI along the way.’
