Sunday 21 May was sunny with bright blue skies, but there was thunder in the air spreading from Chertsey across Windsor towards the west of Slough…. rolling thunder of 152 motorbikes all participating in the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride!

Two OPs, namely Clive Carrington Wood (72-77) and current OP Chairman, Phillip Plato (73-77), were both partaking in the West London branch event of the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride and between then raised almost £1,000 for charity.

The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride is an international event that unites classic and vintage styled motorcycle riders from all over the world on one day to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer research and men’s mental health.

The event was founded in 2012 in Sydney, Australia, by Mark Hawwa. It was inspired by a photo of TV Show Mad Men’s Don Draper astride a classic bike and wearing his finest suit. Mark decided a themed ride involving men “dressing dapper” whilst riding classic motorcycles would be a great way of connecting niche motorcycle enthusiasts and communities while raising funds to support men’s health. Now there are rides in 121 countries involving more than 350,000 people doing what they love for a great cause.

In the UK on 21 May there were 55 different rides organised around the country and in the West London ride in which Clive & Phillip were participating there were 152 riders who collectively raised over £21,700 for prostate cancer and men’s mental health awareness.  Phillip was riding in memory of his late cousin, Jim who tragically died last year.

Clive was also accompanied by his partner, Stef and were riding a Norton Commando 961 ES built in 2013. Phillip was riding a Triumph Bonneville T120 registered in 2019. The Route took the riders from the old Brooklands racing circuit, past Ascot racecourse, into Windsor Great Park before going through Windsor town itself past the Castle, into Eton and finishing at the History of Wheels Museum near Slough. Many members of public lined the route to wave the riders past with thousands of slightly bemused tourists also filming the riders in Windsor!  

OP Chairman Phillip Plato said, “This was a wonderful day out with a friendly atmosphere and lots of banter between all the riders who had all dressed the part for the occasion. It was great to have formed a small OP group for this occasion and I hope this will see a growing number of OP motoring enthusiasts taking part in future”. 

Donations can still be made via https://gfolk.me/PhillipPlato371710.