WE LOVE FREEDOM
And help where we can!
ABOUT US
For many years, our concern has been to give seriously ill children a nice day. Thanks to our many years of experience and our motivated team of trikers, bikers, police, live acts, etc., some of whom have traveled from far and wide for this event, we are able to do justice to this cause every year. We place particular emphasis on ensuring that the children feel safe during the ride.
Our new partner, the company MEDION, has thankfully made its large parking lot in Essen available to us to provide a barbecue, ice cream truck, live acts, magicians and many other attractions to make this an unforgettable day for all the children, but also a big thank you for all the drivers, riders and accompanying persons.
Special thanks also go every year to the Krad-Stafflel of the Essen police, who together with the Blue-Knights and the BiB take over the escort and traffic safety and the services of the rescue squadron of the DRK, who have to react especially to some precarious situation with the guests.
OUR TEAM
Gaby
Udo
Markus
Fauchi
ActionGroup
HOW IT ALL STARTED
The first ride
In the spring of 2004, Gaby Thomayer was once again thinking about how to do good with trikes. Through the Internet she knew that in the north of Germany donation trips were organized, with which one drives for money a certain distance and then donates these proceeds for facilities of needy people.
But since she wanted to get away from money altogether and also had to realize again and again that trikes are magnets for children, Gaby started to spin her idea further - and to give the children themselves an unforgettable day.
She contacted 4 different institutions, explained what she had in mind and was passed on with shaking heads. The fastest and most curious facility was the oncology department of Schwabing Children's Hospital.
Out of caution, it was only going to be a family trip, with 10 trikes and the kids. Planned from Munich to Schliersee to a boat rental, whose owner was also affected father and wanted to barbecue for the passengers. But in the course of the planning the interest of the children became ever larger, the Trikes ever more and the father jumped from its project to grill.
Now good advice was expensive.
The nursery school teacher at the clinic said, "There's a lake festival in Schliersee, you can drive us there, we'll walk around the festival and then you can drive us back. Gaby didn't like that, she didn't want to be a cab company.
Why not organize a barbecue where no one has to pay anything? - No sooner said than done...
Asked an old school friend, who owns a piece of forest, if he would make it available...
Asked the boys' club if we could have the grill and the beer benches... - These made themselves available also still as "ground personnel"! ...
And went begging to get everything for now over 200 people.
Asked their buddy Jimmy if he would beg along and off they went.
Within 14 days they had everything they needed for such a party together.
But now it was a problem to get through Munich in this convoy without tearing off. Many did not know the way. So off to the city of Munich to get permits. No one knew what the crazy woman wanted, and everyone looked at her incredulously. But after a long talk and a lot of persuasion, a police escort was available to guide the troop through Munich.
As a souvenir, she wanted T-shirts for the kiddies! - There was a well-known motorcycle accessories and clothing dealer who made the shirts. An ice cream parlor, which brought us ice cream on the place, was also quickly found. So the adventure children's ride could begin!
On 25.07.2004 the first children's ride was born...
WELCOME FROM UDO AND MARKUS
Mülheim/Bottrop in February 2024
Hello dear trikers and friends of the Essen children's ride,
the time has come to inform you that I will be passing on the Essen children's ride to other hands after the ride on 1 September 2024!
The reason for this is that I was diagnosed with heart disease last summer (30% cardiac output and constant heart fibrillation)! I thought long and hard about whether I should continue with the children's ride or pass it on to someone else. I came to the decision that it would be better to look for a successor!
I was very happy to take over the children's trip and run it responsibly. However, due to the circumstances mentioned, I would like to take things a little easier in future. But that also means that I will continue to take part in the children's ride as a triker!
But now I would like to tell you who will be organising the Essen 2024 children's ride with me and will then become my successor.
It's Markus Gärtner, also known to some as Pummelfee.
After careful consideration, I came across Markus and asked him if he could imagine taking over the Essen children's trip. As he told me, I caused him a sleepless night with this question. But he then told me that he would do it and now Markus has his say:
My name is Markus Gärtner, born in Bottrop in 1981, and I'm a clerk at MEDION.
The trike craze started quite early for me. At the age of 12 in Lanzarote, my father rented a trike, which I was allowed to ride on and then drive myself. I will never forget that. We rented a trike two years in a row during our summer holidays on Lanzarote. Then in 1995 we bought a BOOM Family Trike.
I went to lots of trike meetings with my father. When I turned 18 and finally got my driving licence, I was allowed to ride my father's trike from time to time.
My father passed away in 2017 and I followed in his footsteps. At first I only rode tours. In 2022, I realised that I could also do something good and took part in rides for senior citizens. In mid-2022, the engine on Emma (my father's trike) broke down. After several operations, I unfortunately had to say the engine was dead!
Then came Molly, my new BOOM Family Trike, with whom I took part in many events in 2022 and 2023, including the children's ride in Essen.
However, at that time I would never have thought that I would take over the children's ride in Essen.
I look forward to further support from the trikers and helpers.
Your Markus Gärtner (Pummelfee) and Udo (windudo)
WELCOME FROM UDO
March 2023
Dear Reader,
dear reader,
In our fast-moving times. In which everything is becoming more and more hectic, we tend to forget what is most important for the future - our children!
Let us pause for a moment... and reflect. To our own childhood, to many beautiful moments that are unforgotten. Perhaps also to some not so nice experiences, which are however - and this is in the nature of man - often suppressed. If we are healthy, we forget many things about our children!
But unfortunately, fate has marked many children with serious and terrible illnesses. One quickly closes one's eyes and would prefer not to see it!
Out of these considerations, Gabi Thomayer (Trikerbraut), born in 1964 in Tegernsee, developed the idea of the children's trip. In 2004, she successfully organised the first children's trip in the Munich area and then moved to her current husband in North Rhine-Westphalia, or abroad as she thought at the time! Here, however, she could not get the children's trip out of her head and in 2006 the first children's trip took place in Essen. Since then, with the exception of the Corona years 2020 and 2021, a children's trip has taken place every year!
In 2016, Gabi called me and informed me that she wanted to step down from 2018. During this conversation she also told me that she would love it if I continued the children's trip. Of course, this came as a surprise to me and I asked for 14 days to think about it! But I didn't need that time and told Gabi about my positive decision after a few days.
My name is Udo Windl, I am 67 years young and was a police officer in the Federal Police until I retired!
I got into trike riding because my wife didn't get back on the bike after my motorbike accident in August 1997 and in 2004 I made the decision not to continue riding alone! I became aware of the children's ride through other trikers in 2006. In the following years, apart from two times, I always took part in the children's ride and of course got to know Gabi Thomayer better. In 2017 we organised the children's ride together and from 2018 I was allowed to follow in her - admittedly - big footsteps!
But one thing was already clear to Gabi and is also clear to me, without the active support of the many trikers from near and far and many sponsors from the region, the children's rides of the past time would certainly not have been realisable!
As we are a very long convoy for the children's ride, we would not be able to get through the city traffic without the help of the police motorbike squad and the motorbike groups "Blue Knights", "Red Knights" and the "BiBs". The "Blue Knights" are mainly active or retired police officers, the "Red Knights" are firefighters and the "BiBs" are members of the federal police!
Since 2021, we have again had a new patron for the children's ride, namely Mr. Thomas Kutschaty. He is a member of the SPD and the NRW state parliament! After a request, he immediately took over the patronage and also participated directly in the children's trip in 2022!
Andreas Stüve, Chief of Police in Essen, has been the new patron of the children's ride since 2024 and we look forward to welcoming him to the first children's ride!
That's it for now, but not without thanking all those who, hopefully also in the future, will be involved in the children's trip. Please always remember, without you there would be no more children's trip!
Yours
Udo Windl
(windudo)
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