Stromness woman to undertake charity motorcycle trip

A woman from Stromness, who suffered a serious brain injury in a motorcycle crash in 2013, is to take part in 48-hour charity motorcycle ride down the length of the UK and back again, to give back to an organisation that helped her.

In the early hours of Monday morning, Donna Spence, from Stromness, will join two other motorcyclists at John O’ Groats and set off to pay a swift visit to Lands End, on the southern tip of England, before turning round and heading back north, with the goal being to arrive back at John O’ Groats the next day.

According to Donna, if all goes smoothly, the group will cover a total of 1676 miles within 48 hours. The trio are planning to set off at 4am on the Monday.

Donna is taking on the gruelling challenge in an effort to raise money for Brain Injury Grampian as well as the Equine Grass Sickness Fund, while the other two riders, Alex Rosie and Kenny MacKenzie, both from Caithness are raising money for the Special Care Baby Unit at Raigmore Hospital.

Donna chose to raise money for Brain Injury Grampian as, in 2013, she and her husband were involved in a serious motorcycle crash near Dunrobin castle. Donna suffered a brain injury and was given support through the charity.

Asked if she was looking forward to taking on the challenge, she said: “I am looking forward to it — I’m sure by the end of the trip we will all be very sore, but it’s for a some very good causes.

Donna has two fundraising pages running at www.mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/donnaspence1 and www.justgiving.com/fundraising/donna-spence1