The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Mike Devery has set up the Alternative Carriage Company with his trike hearse which he uses to carry bikers on their final journey.
FUNERALS: Former Dundee bus driver quits job to give bikers a special final send-off in motorcycle hearse
A former Dundee bus driver has set up Scotland’s first biker funeral company, featuring a trike motorcycle hearse.
Mike Devery was inspired to start providing the service following the death of a friend’s son, and set up the Alternative Carriage Company.
The 49-year-old has already done two funerals in just over a month and said he has had positive feedback.
Mike, from Carnoustie, said: “Bikers wouldn’t really want their final ride to be in the back of a car, so I got a trike hearse custom-made.
“A friend of mine’s son was killed last year and this is what prompted me to set this up, although I had had the idea floating around in my head for several years.
“I’ve now given up my job as a bus driver to focus full-time on this.
“I’m aiming to provide this service all over Scotland to anybody that wants it – it doesn’t have to necessarily be bikers.
“I’ve already done two funerals, one in Fife and one in Greenock.
“It was an honour, and the trike hearse was well-received.”
Mike is a biker himself, starting out when he was 16 by buying a scooter, then moving on to motorbikes.
When his daughter turned eight, she was keen to go on the back of his bike but this was deemed too dangerous and Mike got a trike motorcycle instead.
He added: “That’s how I got into trikes. You can’t really fall off them, so it was a way for my daughter to get involved.
“She’s 20 now but I’m still into trikes. I’ve been a biker since I was 16 as I lived in the countryside and it was the easiest way to get around.
“On one hand, I hope there won’t be a massive demand for my service because it’s always tragic when there’s a death, but the service is here for those who want it.”
Mike will be at the Baxter Park car show in Dundee on Sunday from 10am-4pm, where he will be available to answer questions.
Bikers wouldn’t really want their final ride to be in the back of a car, so I got a trike hearse made