Thousands of Bikers Join ‘Dave Day’ Ride in Honour of Dave Myers

 

Thousands of people gathered on Saturday to celebrate “Dave Day” in honour of the late Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers. Myers, one half of the beloved motorcycle-riding cooking duo alongside Si King, passed away from cancer in February at the age of 66.

The celebration of Myers’s life, which aimed to raise funds for the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and the children’s charity NSPCC, featured a motorcycle procession from London to Myers’s hometown of Barrow-in-Furness. The day concluded with a concert and a service of remembrance.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast from London, King described the event as a “celebration of my best friend that we’ve lost.” Surrounded by a crowd of bikers in Hawaiian shirts, King humorously remarked on their attire: “Everybody’s got that lovely Dave sartorial elegance about them, ie dodgy shirt. Some of them have had them specially printed, it’s remarkable. I mean, you wouldn’t buy a secondhand car from them, would you?”

King estimated that around 20,000 people would participate in Dave Day. He emphasized the emotional significance of the event: “It’s a celebration of my best friend that we’ve lost. And, yeah, it is, it’s very emotional. You never know how these things are going to impact you, you know, it is a celebration of Dave’s life. That’s why we’re here, because he was so irritatingly positive all of the time. And we love him and that’s why we’re here.”

People from various locations, including Texas, Malaysia, and across Europe, joined the event. Myers’s widow, Lili, shared how the gathering had helped her cope with her grief. “Oh, it’s endearing. It just helps me go through my process of grief. Because it just makes me feel that I’m not on my own with all this,” she said.

Jason Woodcock, the event’s organiser, explained how Dave Day came to be. Lili Myers had asked him to gather “a couple of bikers together for his funeral,” which led to the idea of a memorial ride. The event’s popularity exceeded expectations, leading to a shortage of accommodation in Barrow. However, the community stepped in, offering spare rooms and gardens for camping.

Dave Day followed a memorial motorcycle ride in April, where bikers from across the UK rode in a convoy to pay tribute and raise funds for cancer research. This ride, organised by Biker Escorts East Yorkshire, began in Beverley marketplace in Yorkshire and concluded in Scarborough.