Vicki’s Ride of Remembrance: Tackling Tour de Moor for her dad – and herself

Vicki Boorman is taking on our Tour de Moor on Sunday 28 September

With a mullet bike, a fierce love for enduro riding, and a promise made on her dad’s 70th birthday, Vicki Boorman will be one of our riders taking on the 53km Tour de Moor challenge on Sunday 28 September.

For Vicki, riding has long been her way of finding balance and clarity – a few hours of freedom among the trees – and this year as she takes to the inclines of Dartmoor, every pedal stroke will be both a tribute to her dad and a step forward in her own journey.

You may recognise Vicki from Kingsbridge Pet and Garden Supplies, which she took over from her dad, Richard Boorman, last year, after he was suddenly taken ill. Richard, 69, had run the business for the last 30 years, with Vicki working alongside him. She recalls when everything changed for her. “A few hours after we had left work for the day, he unfortunately suffered a bleed on the brain. After numerous tests and observations it was decided that the kindest thing that could be done would be to let my father go. He was highly reliant on oxygen as he wasn’t breathing for himself except the odd struggled breath he could manage. My dad made me promise him a number of years ago that if he was ever in that position in hospital, that I would let him go. He was very stern about what he wanted in that situation. He left us on the 4 July 2024, around 8 minutes after his life support machine was switched off.”

Vicki took on the running of the shop from her dad, but it was an initially tough start for her.

“He did everything himself from paperwork to payroll. I didn’t know how to run the business or even input an invoice so it was a very steep learning curve, where I had to learn very fast. I promised my dad I would do my best so I’ll continue to try and keep the doors open in his memory.”

Vicki has always been a keen enduro biker, taking it up after battling a brief illness, as a way of bettering herself and her health.

“After my dad passed away I didn’t have the time or the mental capacity to be able to concentrate. I couldn’t see how I could continue to ride with working 6 days a week and having so many more commitments now too, so I decided to start selling various tools and equipment. I always used my bike as a way of forgetting about life for a few hours, transferring thoughts instead to keep me from not face planting a tree or falling off the side of a descent at the edge of the forest.

“On what would’ve been my dad’s 70th Birthday I made him a promise that I would keep riding. I always thought he would poke fun at me for doing it, but he was the complete opposite, he thought it was a great idea. If he knew I’d stopped I knew he wouldn’t be very happy about it. Luckily I hadn’t yet sold any bikes!

“Since his passing I’ve more determined than ever to push myself even further and tackle challenges and descents I would normally be too fearful of. It’s had nothing but a positive effect on myself and my riding.

“I chose to take part in the Tour De Moor for my dad. He was always wanting me to try something different with biking, but I was always content on doing what I did. Taking part means I’m pushing myself to do a different style of riding, on a bike that’s really set up for rocky descents and not a long trek across the moor!”