On Friday, December 12, which also happens to be my birthday, I had the pleasure of hosting the Algarve Senior Bikers Charity Christmas lunch.
This is an annual event for members and friends of the ASB, which raises funds for the Gaivota home for children and teenagers in Albufeira.
A special thank you to Carol and Kenny B who kept us entertained throughout the lunch and afternoon with a great variation of popular and Christmas songs.
During the afternoon, I was pleased to present Dra Isabel Barrocas, the director of Gaivota, with a €50 Gift Voucher for each of the 33 kids in the home at this time.
Catarina Santos, the psychologist from Gaivota, thanked all the ASB members for the help and support and explained how the gift vouchers work and the difference it makes to the lives of all the children in the home.
We also raised an additional €810, which will also go towards helping the kids.
This included some donations from people unable to attend the lunch. Thank you to all for your generous donations.
This year, in addition to the money raised at the lunch, there was another €1,550 raised at a BBQ with the kids at the home in June and funding provided by the ASB for birthday presents for each of the residents throughout the year.
In total, the money raised this year by the ASB for the benefit of the kids of Gaivota was just over €5,000 which helped to buy Easter eggs, backpacks and notebooks for their return to school after the summer break and new Christmas decorations as their existing ones were in need of replacement.
Many thanks to all at Restaurante Ponte Romana in Silves for their kind hospitality and serving us with an excellent lunch as usual, which was followed by my wife Dee’s homemade birthday cake for me.
Thanks to all who have supported me with this event and over the past years since I started the ASB in 2010.
Recently, the ASB has grown considerably and the off-road Gravel Group run by Andrew Chilton is still growing.
Longer tours of between three and 10 days in Portugal and Spain have been arranged by Walter Kollert and continue to be enjoyed by those able to participate.
The monthly group rides continue to be popular and usually finish at a restaurant for a social lunch.
Thanks to all those who donated money and raffle prizes and for all the greetings and presents for my birthday, and who came along to help me celebrate the fact that I am now in my 70th year of riding motorcycles.
Don’t forget Carol and Kenny B with some friends will be back at Ponte Romana for another fundraiser for Gaivota on Sunday, January 18. Details on the ASB website.
To find out more about the ASB, visit algarveseniorbikers.com and join us for a ride through the beautiful Algarve countryside.
I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.
Ride safely.
By David Shirley – ASB Organiser
Photos: Michael Jensen
