Why We Ride for Wales Air Ambulance: The Charity Behind Our Bonfires and Bike Fests
At Moto Junkies, riding is about far more than the miles under your wheels. It’s the people you meet, the places you discover and the community that grows around a shared love of adventure.
That community matters especially when we come together to support a cause close to home: Wales Air Ambulance Charity. We raise money at Moto Junkies events, including our Burning Bike Fest and Bonfire Weekend, because the service it provides can matter enormously to riders and everyone else who lives, works and explores across Wales.
Riding in a beautiful place means thinking about the realities
We’re lucky to ride in some of the most spectacular parts of Wales. Mountain trails, forest tracks and winding rural roads are a big part of the appeal. But some of those wonderful places are a long way from a hospital, and getting help to someone in an emergency can be challenging.
None of us sets out expecting an accident. We ride carefully, look out for one another and take our safety seriously. But if someone suffers a life- or limb-threatening injury or illness, reaching them quickly can be crucial.
That’s where Wales Air Ambulance can make a real difference. Its teams bring advanced, hospital-level critical care directly to the patient, wherever they are in Wales. The service is consultant-led and operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Depending on the situation, the response may involve one of the charity’s helicopters or a rapid response vehicle.
For those of us who ride far from busy roads and towns, that care feels especially personal. Wales Air Ambulance exists for people in our communities, including riders like us.
A lifesaving service supported by the public
Wales Air Ambulance is a charity, and it relies on donations to fund the service’s essential resources. The charity funds the aircraft, rapid response vehicles, bases and aviation staff. NHS Wales’s Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) provides the clinicians who deliver critical care.
Keeping the service flying costs around £13 million every year. The charity estimates that a mission costs roughly £3,545. It operates four helicopters alongside rapid response vehicles to help reach people across Wales.
Those figures are a reminder that this vital service needs ongoing support. Donations help keep the aircraft and vehicles ready to respond, and help bring specialist care to people at the moments they need it most.
If you’d like to learn more about the service, visit Wales Air Ambulance. You can also donate directly to the charity.
Fundraising with a bit of Moto Junkies spirit
We know fundraising doesn’t always need a grand gesture. Sometimes it starts with a group of people getting together, sharing a good evening and putting a little extra towards a cause they care about.
That’s the spirit behind the fundraising at our events. A raffle, a collection and the generosity of the people who come along can all help make a contribution. We don’t want to suggest a particular amount raised or promise a set total. What matters is that our community gets behind a charity doing important work across Wales.
The Burning Bike Fest on 13–15 March 2026 brought people together to welcome the riding season and enjoy a weekend of bikes, good company and a big bonfire. Our Bonfire Weekend at MotoCamp Wales runs from 6–8 November 2026, with the chance to meet fellow riders and enjoy a relaxed weekend in a stunning part of the country.
At gatherings like these, the campfire brings people together, but the reason we fundraise reaches well beyond the campsite. Every ticket bought, pint raised and raffle ticket sold helps keep the helicopters flying.
Why your support matters
A fundraiser doesn’t have to be complicated to mean something. When you join us, you help make the community around Moto Junkies part of a wider effort to support emergency care across Wales.
That support matters to riders, but it isn’t only about motorcycles. Wales Air Ambulance responds to people facing life- or limb-threatening emergencies in communities throughout the country. Its clinicians can provide advanced care at the scene, while the charity’s aircraft and rapid response vehicles help make that care available across a wide area.
We hope you never need the service. We hope the only thing you take away from a ride is a head full of fresh air and a story worth telling. But if you, someone you love or another member of our community ever needs urgent help, it’s reassuring to know that skilled teams can reach people in difficult and remote places.
That’s why supporting Wales Air Ambulance feels personal to us. It’s a charity that’s there for our communities, and we want to do our bit to help keep it there for the future.
Come and join us at Bonfire Weekend
Our next chance to come together is Bonfire Weekend at MotoCamp Wales, from 6–8 November 2026. It’s a friendly social weekend in the heart of Snowdonia, with a bonfire, live music and plenty of time to catch up with fellow riders. You don’t need to arrive with a riding plan: come along to enjoy the weekend and be part of the community.
We’ll be fundraising for Wales Air Ambulance as part of the event. Every ticket bought, pint raised and raffle ticket sold helps keep the helicopters flying.
Whether you come for the bikes, the bonfire or the company, we’d love to see you. And if you’d like to support Wales Air Ambulance in another way, you can make a donation directly.
Thanks for being part of a community that looks out for one another. We can’t wait to welcome you.
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