Blood Biking

General discussion of the BMW R1200RT/R1250RT
Casbar
Posts: 2670
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:25 am
Been liked: 45 times
Great Britain

Blood Biking

Post by Casbar »

Go on then how many on here are Blood Bikers? I ride for SERV Wessex  :)  Use my RT when not on marked bike duty
fatnfast
Posts: 97
Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2015 8:18 pm

Re: Blood Biking

Post by fatnfast »

Yep, SERV Kent. I take all the new applicants out for a riding assessment. Great excuse to ride a bike and help others :-)
User avatar
iRider
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 10:41 pm

Re: Blood Biking

Post by iRider »

Yes, me too. North West Blood Bikes Lancs & Lakes. I also do assessments for new riders, advanced riders and our Blues & Twos training.
It's a great way to give something back and gets you out when you may not have otherwise bothered 👍
http://www.nwbb-lancs.org/index.php

Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
User avatar
smileymiley
Posts: 395
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 8:24 am
Location: Grantham
Bike Model and Year: R1200RT 17MY
Has liked: 6 times
Been liked: 11 times
Great Britain

Re: Blood Biking

Post by smileymiley »

Do my assessment next month for Leicestershire and Rutland Blood Bikes  :)
Vini, Vidi, Velcro....... I came, I saw, I stuck around.
Casbar
Posts: 2670
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:25 am
Been liked: 45 times
Great Britain

Re: Blood Biking

Post by Casbar »

Love the job, doing what you love and making a difference  :)  But not so great at 3am when its hissing down  8)
User avatar
richardbd
Posts: 1468
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2014 8:40 pm
Been liked: 2 times

Re: Blood Biking

Post by richardbd »

Used to do Surrey & South London (SSL) until I had to start working again and found myself away from home several nights a week...
guest3074

Re: Blood Biking

Post by guest3074 »

Casbar wrote: But not so great at 3am when its hissing down
That's why on local runs on those occasions I take my car as it's insured for Blood Bike use and I also have a Car advanced qualification and I can actually do the short runs quicker at that time in the morning as I don't have to get kitted out etc  ;)
iRider wrote: I also do assessments for new riders, advanced riders and our Blues & Twos training.
We have Blues & Two's fitted but don't allow the use of them as we're not exempt from exceeding the posted speed, running reds etc until S19 of RTA is ratified, so in our opinion for little gained it's not worth the agro and increased insurance costs that go with it  ;)
Casbar
Posts: 2670
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:25 am
Been liked: 45 times
Great Britain

Re: Blood Biking

Post by Casbar »

Won't use my car, as I don't hold an advanced qual for the car, only IAM and ROSPA for the bike. Part of the fun is riding, just need some better kit, will sort before winter  :)
User avatar
elephant8869
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:09 pm

Re: Blood Biking

Post by elephant8869 »

I'm a blood bike rider and coordinator for Freewheelers EVS in Somerset, west wilts and south Gloucestershire.  We have a fleet of 8 R1200RT-P s covering about 25-30k a year on each bike. The charity is really busy with just under 4000 jobs a year. We only use our own bikes if on standby when the four duty riders are overloaded with work. We use our own cars when the weather is bad and we can't use the marked up bikes. We do use blue lights for emergency status jobs but like all blood bikes don't have exemptions. Speaking from experience blue lights can help but hinder riding when in towns as we can't treat red light signals as stop and give ways.  I hope the government gets on with it and brings in Section 19 of the road safety act: it will help our work once we get trained up to home office requirements. Any news on Section 19 implementation date?
User avatar
iRider
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 10:41 pm

Re: Blood Biking

Post by iRider »

Benchmark wrote: We have Blues & Two's fitted but don't allow the use of them as we're not exempt from exceeding the posted speed, running reds etc until S19 of RTA is ratified.

I don't know where you get your legal advice from but you should look elsewhere. We are exempt from Red Lights and certain other road signs already. S19 of the RTA 2006 if it ever gets enacted will add speed limit exemption. As yet we have no idea what additional training that will add to our existing training package.
Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
Casbar
Posts: 2670
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:25 am
Been liked: 45 times
Great Britain

Re: Blood Biking

Post by Casbar »

Sect 19 will cost about 2k in training apparently. I know Freewheelers EVS in Bristol apparently  also have to switch off Blues at traffic lights, we quite often RV with them. We in SERV Wessex also do not use Blues as the costs to insurance etc do not stack up.
guest3459

Re: Blood Biking

Post by guest3459 »

I'm an active member of Dumfries & Galloway Blood Bikes
Casbar
Posts: 2670
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:25 am
Been liked: 45 times
Great Britain

Re: Blood Biking

Post by Casbar »

Quite a few of us on this forum. Great work :-)
Lucky
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 6:20 pm

Re: Blood Biking

Post by Lucky »

This thread has me wondering whether I might volunteer. I've browsed the website and viewed the video. Is the next step to contact a local group or is there more pre-reading available? I've questions like eligibility, qualications /training, call out frequency, periods of absence due to my travels? Any more info would be welcomed.
User avatar
iRider
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 10:41 pm

Re: Blood Biking

Post by iRider »

Lucky wrote: This thread has me wondering whether I might volunteer. I've browsed the website and viewed the video. Is the next step to contact a local group or is there more pre-reading available? I've questions like eligibility, qualications /training, call out frequency, periods of absence due to my travels? Any more info would be welcomed.

Which area do you live in Lucky? My advice is contact the membership secretary of your local Blood Bike Group via their website. He/she will be willing and able to answer all your questions and arrange an induction if you choose to proceed.

Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
Post Reply