The Fossils Story.

The Fossils Charity Bike Run.

The Fossils Charity Bike Run is a long-established bike run in the motorcycling calendar the proceeds of which are donated to our nominated club charities. Originally an all-classic motorcycle event, the run now caters for every type of motorcycle with entries from 2 and 3 wheels – classic and modern.

The origins of the Fossils is, as the successor to the Gales Run which ran from George Gales Brewery in Horndean and was organised by Tony East owner of ARE Car Factors. The event ran from the Drayman’s yard opposite the brewery and was well supported by the classic fraternity.

Following the announcement that the event was to end, Club Vice President Mick Bowley approached the organisers and offered for the club to continue the event. The Brewery decided that with numbers swelling, the venue was getting too small and as WMCC have enjoyed a long association with Horndean Technology College, the college agreed to allow us to hold the event there. The event was then rebranded to reuse an old club trophy and named the event ‘The Old Fossils’ reflecting the nature of the event at that time.

The modern event follows the same format of a friendly gathering of bike enthusiasts before the event followed by a ride through the Hampshire / West Sussex countryside with prizes awarded for the various classes voted for by the riders and a panel of expert judges.

The event regularly attracts in excess of 200 riders and over the years has raised circa £40,000 of pounds for nominated charities. For 2022 these are SERV Wessex, The Blood Runners, (Charity number 1156383) and The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, (Charity number 1106234) both of whom are closely connected with motorcycling and motorcyclists.