IT'S a sport synonymous with speed and tragically road racing has claimed many lives, including Ballymoney brothers Joey and Robert Dunlop. However, the urge to race continues to inspire many professional motorcycle racers to risk life and limb as they travel at speeds of over 200mph in pursuit of glory.
While being a professional motorcycle racer makes for an adrenalin filled career, being the wife of a road racer amounts to an extremely worrying and nerve-racking declaration of love.
While many anxiously look on from vantage points along the route or from the competitors' paddock, others prefer not to watch. Last May Karen Farquhar, the wife of one of Northern Ireland's most successful road racers, Ryan, was in the paddock watching him race when he suffered a horrific crash.
"I didn't realise that it was Ryan. At first I was told he was sitting up talking and expect him to come lumping down the paddock to me. But when a race organiser came running towards me I realised it was worse than I realised, especially when the police helicopter arrived to airlift him to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast," recalls the 36-year-old.
After checking-in with her children, Keeley (12) and Mya (8), who were with their grandparents, Karen was driven to Belfast.
"Ryan had a previous accident at the Cookstown 100, but nothing serious. This was a matter of life and death. When we got to the Royal we were told he had injured his liver and was in theatre. When the surgeon came out he told us Ryan had arrived with severe internal bleeding and if he had been travelling to hospital by road he wouldn't have survived," says a relived Karen.
Ryan's journey from Portrush to Belfast took only nine minutes and, having witnessed first hand how critical air transfer is, the family are very supportive of the Air Ambulance Northern Ireland charity.
This winter Ryan organised a charity clay bird shoot, raising £4,000 for the charity, and the couple are delighted that the new Belle of Mid Ulster pageant will be making a donation to the charity.
"None of us know when our family may be involved in a serious accident and need lifted to hospital as quickly as possible. My husband is the living proof that an air ambulance service will save more lives," Karen says.
While the family had a further scare after an infection meant Ryan had to return to intensive care, he left hospital in July, with Karen dedicating every spare moment she had to care for him.
"Ryan is doing well considering what he's been through. Having a large part of his liver removed leaves the body with a lot to deal with and means he has reduced energy levels and weakness. It was difficult seeing him in so much pain and his life dramatically change, but you do what you have to do. Hopefully as time goes on he will continue to get stronger," says Karen of her husband, who will return to the North West 200 this May – but as a spectator.
"It will be great to go with Ryan at my side and not have the worry that goes alongside being a racer,s wife," she adds.
Does she think he ever race again? "This year he definitely won't be fit, but he does keep holding on to that slim hope."
Karen acknowledges the negativity that surrounds road racing.
"Motorcycle racing can be cruel and I have a love/hate relationship with it. But when you fall in love with someone, you do anything to support them," says Dungannon-based Karen, who has been with Ryan for 18 years, 12 of those married.
"Some people are hard and ask you, 'Why you don't just tell them to stop?' But accidents happen every day of the week – no-one has any promise of life. Ryan's accident was unfortunate but thankfully me and the girls still have him and it's reminded us to cherish each day as it comes.
"It's Ryan's 41st birthday on February 2. Last year was his big one, but this year we will have an even bigger celebration as we are just so glad he is here."
Ironically, Ryan had retired from the sport a few years previously, following the death of his uncle Trevor Ferguson, killed while racing at the the Manx Grand Prix in 2012. Ryan lead a motorcycle cavalcade at his funeral and announced his racing days were over.
"At the time it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. He tried to be involved in running the team but he was back racing within two years. It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but I supported his decision."
Karen confesses she's glad she won't have to endure being a mother of a road racer.
"Years ago the girls rode quads and scramblers on the fields beside us but that's as far as their racing ambition went. Thankfully."
During Ryan's recuperation, aside from nursing him back to health, Karen took the opportunity to follow her own passion for fashion in creating the social media blog, My Girls and I.
"Keeley is make-up mad and we would often find ourselves looking at blogs. So we decided to make one of our own, which helps promote local independent fashion and beauty businesses of the mid-Ulster area, of which there is plenty."
:: For further information on Air Ambulance Northern Ireland visit airambulanceni.org
BE THE BELLE OFMID ULSTER
MOVE over Rose of Tralee – this spring, a new pageant is aiming to celebrate the diversity and community spirit of women in mid-Ulster.
The Belle of Mid-Ulster, which covers towns such as Dungannon, Cookstown and Magherafelt, is the brainchild of a group of volunteers who are passionate about showcasing their area as "a great place to live, work and visit".
Janice Gibson is chairwoman of the volunteer organising committee Friends of Belle of Mid Ulster and was instrumental in forming the cross-community group last year.
"The aim of Belle is to promotes every blade of grass – the people, the talent and the beauty of the area and to give women here a platform and voice," says Janice.
Working as both a freelance communications consultant in the small business sector in Mid-Ulster and as an ASDA community champion in Cookstown, Janice was passionate to promote the area and highlight some of the great work being done at community level.
She was involved in the Rose of Tralee Tyrone Rose heats voluntarily in the noughties but stresses that The Belle of Mid-Ulster is not a beauty contest. There are no cringe-worthy swimwear sections and women are judged on their personality and passion for the Mid-Ulster area.
To enter, women must be age 18 or over and from mid-Ulster, reside there or have ancestral links to the area. Already the organisers have received entries from senior citizens and a number of foreign nationals, which is a growing feature of the diversity of the region in recent years.
The committee are also requesting escorts who, like contestants, can apply online.
"The escorts, just like the Belles, need to love the mid-Ulster area," says Janice, who hopes the ambassador role of the winner will grow in the coming years.
As well as the pageant, which involves 15 heats across the region and a grand final in Cookstown's Royal Hotel on March 23, where the belle will be crowed and win an abundance of prizes, the plan is for the Belle of Mid-Ulster to grow to include a range of courses and events to help support and inspire women to flourish personally, economically, and professionally.
:: To apply and for futher information visit belleofmidulster.co.uk
