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A message from the organiser of the Overland Event, Saul Jeavons
The Overland Event is about people just as much as it is about motorcycles – for us, motorcycle travel is not only a highly pleasurable experience in its own right but also a means to access new cultures and to get to know the people as well as the landscapes they inhabit.
Sometimes, that journey can be exhilarating, sometimes stressful and sometimes you just cease coping…. A bit like life really.
We managed to still run Overland (although at much reduced capacity) in 2020, largely because we knew that we all needed our community to be able to come together, and one of Overland’s founders, Nich Brown had found Mental Health Motorbike and done the MHFA course and suggested we invite them along. That weekend was transformational for Overland and for Mental Health Motorbike, and set in place a long term relationship.
Many of those of us involved in Overland have a history of our mental health being less than perfect (from anxiety and depression all the way through to being sectioned) and Mental Health Motorbike’s objectives and methodology just gelled with our own approach to life, putting people first, and caring for each other. From Mental Health Motorbike’s point of view, because of all the lockdowns this was one of the first events the team had been able to attend, and there were still doubts at the back of their minds about whether they were taking the right approach and how much Mental Health Motorbike was needed by the motorcycling community. Their experience at the Overland Event showed them that not only were there a lot of people who really needed the support Mental Health Motorbike can offer but that the initiative was universally welcomed, from the organisers, the volunteers, presenters, attendees and even wonderful guitarist (and keen rider) Martin Harley who is back again this year. We were so impressed that for 2021 we made Mental Health Motorbike our good cause to raise money for (the only time we’ve done this for an organisation which had at that point not yet reached charitable status). The Overland Event tries to be a little dose of humanity and kindness in a world which doesn’t always feel that way, even though when you get out and explore it, you find that the world is generally a much more welcoming place than our anxieties and insecurities tell us. Mental Health Motorbike will always have free stand space at The Event, for fundraising and as a safe and quiet space for anyone who needs it, and members of the support group can obtain a discount on tickets as a way to say a little thank you from us to Mental Health Motorbike for all you do.
The discount code to enter at the checkout MHMsupport
The discount code is good for £10
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