Simon Jones: the man behind big-hearted Volunteer Riders UK
The founder of Volunteer Riders UK helped get PPE to those who needed it most
‘We’ve done things we’d never ever thought possible’
‘Within a week we had 3000 bikers signed up to help out’
Throughout the pandemic, we constantly heard that NHS staff weren’t getting the protective gear they needed. So some, like Chesterfield biker Simon Jones, decided to do something about it. Simon spent his life serving others as a volunteer and a social worker before his health declined severely, and after watching the headlines and reflecting on his previous job, as well as his late brother’s memory, he was spurred into action.
He says: “For me, social work wasn’t a job, it was a career, and it was my entire role in life. I was a biker and that helped me carry on doing the job. I’d go to work and wear a suit then I’d come home, and it would be straight on with the leathers. It was like having two personas. But then when you lose one, the rest becomes less. Volunteer Riders UK (VR UK) has brought me a new lease of life. “What really kicked VR UK off was the loss of my brother on December 29, 2019. He was only 35. He died because nobody diagnosed his type 1 diabetes and he got ketoacidosis and it killed him. The pain from losing him was like I’ve never had before, and when the pandemic hit the idea was to try to stop anyone else going through that pain if they didn’t have to. ” Simon founded the group at the beginning of the emergency to deliver PPE around the country, all using volunteer motorcyclists. “Within two days we had 1000 members, and within a week we had 3000. We’re now at 3800 and still doing runs several times a week, although at the height we were doing runs several times a day. Runs can be anything from 15 miles, or from the Highlands of Scotland all the way down to Devon,” Simon says. For the longest journey, there was a relay of 22 bikers involved, with two on each leg.
“We were being told on the TV that everybody had PPE, but we kept getting the calls,” continued Simon. “One nurse in Devon was going on a shift and using the visors and masks a friend used on the shift before. They’d not been cleaned; they were just swapping over. “So, we got masks down there. But as well as doing all that I was getting phone calls from staff on hospital wards who were breaking down over the phone and I’ve spent hours talking to them, counselling and trying to stop one of them committing suicide because of what they were seeing at work.”
But even as things improve, the work of the charity isn’t over. “We’re still carrying scrubs, masks and face shields and we’ve carried
parts that have been 3D printed for ventilators to keep people alive,” Simon says. “A ventilator failed down south, and they couldn’t get the part from anywhere. So, we got one of our people to print one up and we transported it from Chesterfield to Great Ormond Street Hospital.”
Since the start of the pandemic, VR UK is estimated to have moved around 10 million pieces of PPE around the UK with some going as far as India and Africa. “We’ve done things we’d never ever thought possible,” he adds. But Volunteer Riders UK isn’t the only venture Simon has instigated with the motorcycling community. As a former head of the local MAG branch, Simon has built foundations for the next moves to benefit bikers, and already has plans for a new venture.
“I want to challenge the people in charge of the roads to have a day out on a bike and see exactly what we have to put up with. We’ll organise it so there’s a group of people all riding together, and they will experience how bad the roads are, how bad car drivers are towards bikers, and all the rest. They need to see that their inaction is actually the cause of accidents. Not rider error. “Having seen what we’ve done with Volunteer Riders UK, I want to keep these guys safe.”