Fuelled by Friendship: Riders turning every trail into a story

-a group that lives for the weekend

With each drop of fuel falling into the engine, the machine breathes. The dirt bike engine roars to life as the wind rushes past, slicing through the air, while the sound of the motor rises with every twist of the throttle.
For these weekend riders, a group of friends who share a passion for riding, those emotions are evident in the smiles captured in the monthly photos shared across their social media pages.
They seem unable to resist reliving the experiences they create together, sharing them across their platforms and showcasing the unforgettable memories made along the way.
This team of riders does not let a punctured tyre, a mechanical setback, or an unexpected obstacle dampen their spirit. For them, every challenge is simply another part of the ride – another story to tell when the engines finally fall silent.
The first journey began in January last year, when about 20 riders gathered for their first group ride, taking to the trails and highways of the Savannah, and making their way through several villages along the way.
However, it must be underlined that this was no one-time ride where the engines were switched off, the helmets put away, and everyone returned to their everyday lives until the next month. Not at all.
The thrills of the ride had already taken hold within the hearts of these riders.
The thing about this group was that they all had a shared love for riding and a busy life to balance, but each rider managed their own business and commitments as Sunday turned into a day to escape.
By the latter part of last year, the riders had traded stretches of asphalt for rugged trails, taking on the route from Linden toward Bartica – navigating terrain that demands more than simply twisting the throttle.
Twenty riders bumped up to 30, transforming a casual gathering into a growing community bound by fuel, friendship, and the freedom of the ride.
Speaking to the only female rider in the team, Erieka D’Andrade relayed to Guyana Times that they primarily ride in the Savannah to various communities that can be accessed from the highway.
“Most persons are working from Monday to Friday; some people work Saturday. So, Sunday is like, you know, people do different activities to blow off that steam. So, this is us blowing off that steam. For me, I have my own business, and you know, it’s not regular nine-to-five when you own your own business. It’s like all sorts of hours – all sorts of hours in the night and stuff. You’re up studying the work and stuff. So, this Sunday is just like, it’s a real relaxer.”
Ironically, as the engine blows off smoke and ignites the air with the burning oil, the experience gives her a chance to do the same – leaving behind the pressures of everyday life and finding her release on the open trail.
“Everybody’s standing up laughing, yapping. Whenever we’re riding, we break and yap, and you know, like, it’s really nice for us.”
D’Andrade made it clear that the team is currently self-funded. “As of now, the team is self-funded. We’re self-funded because basically everybody owns their own bikes.”
With each outing comes a financial commitment. On average, each rider spends approximately $20,000 every weekend to fuel the experience, covering gasoline, food, drinks, and other necessities.
The group’s adventures have since expanded beyond the highway, with the riders venturing into several parts of the country, including Bartica, Kwakwani, Orealla, and Mahdia.
That figure, however, is considered the minimum, particularly on longer rides. Unexpected challenges, such as punctured tyres or other mechanical issues along the trails, can quickly push the cost higher.
“So, like me, I have an ATV; I have a side-by-side. Most persons have dirt bikes, and well, the majority of the group is dirt bikes. So, it’s your own vehicle. Some people have vans too, like pick-up trucks, pick-up vans, so they have those as well.”
When asked how members of the public could join the group, she explained that the riders have been using social media to attract new members.
“Well, usually, like, we started posting on TikTok, so people would ask us how we could come up, and we would just tell them, ‘You just reach out to us’. Every Sunday, we’re going somewhere, so you just got to reach out to us and find out where, and we can meet up and you come with us.”
However, the growing costs and challenges have not dampened the riders’ enthusiasm. In fact, the group has recently begun taking steps to make its identity more official.
While the riders maintain that they do not want the group to become overly formal or serious, its growing presence online is naturally pushing it in that direction.
With a sizeable following now watching their adventures, the group has also begun attracting invitations from various locations looking to use the riders’ presence as part of their own marketing efforts. In some cases, the riders are invited to visit destinations free of cost, with food and other amenities provided as part of the experience.
One of their recent invitations came from Waterhead Resort in St Cuthbert’s Mission, which was among the first destinations to invite the riders to experience the location. After the group shared its visit and the experience online, the exposure generated significant attention for the resort and helped introduce it to a wider audience.
“Places are inviting us to come and check out the place free of cost. They can cook for us and stuff like that. Like, there’s this place called Waterhead Resort in St Cuthbert’s Mission. They were actually the first set of people that invited us to come. And then they blew up after we posted about the page and us riding there and so forth.”
But the impact did not stop there. The riders’ growing visibility has also encouraged other off-road biking groups across the country to step forward, organise their own adventures and showcase their experiences.