THEY are not in the first flush of youth, but a group of motorcycling enthusiasts has proved they are game for a laugh by stripping off for their own charity calendar.

Bikers in the Buff is the brainchild of Miss December, former Home Office civil servant Maria Carter, who lives in Parkstone with her engineer husband Rich – alias Mr July.

A biker since her teens, she explained that the idea was to raise money for a charity called Riders for Health, which supplies motorcycles, spare parts and training on maintenance to health workers in Africa so they can reach patients in rural areas. Proceeds from sales of the calendar will also benefit other charities.

“It was my idea,” said Maria, who now works in local government. “We’re a group of friends that has ridden together forever. We don’t belong to a club – we just hook up and ride out. I’ve travelled everywhere with them – we even took them on our honeymoon. There were 18 of us at a bike rally in Faro (Portugal).

“The beautiful thing about it is that when I rang up to ask the others, not a single one questioned why.

“We took the photographs ourselves – I took all the girl photos and Rich took all the boy photos. Although we’d been on holiday together, it was the first time we’d seen each other naked. I had to turn away and say: ‘Give us a shout when you’re ready’.”

Maria, who rides a Suzuki 1000, moved to Dorset from Bristol five years ago. She met her husband through motorcycling and bonded with him at a rally in Wiltshire. “We fell in love over a big bonfire in a great field full of smelly bikers and the rest is history,” she joked.

“My other half has a Triumph and BSA – he restores bikes and sells them on. Every penny he makes goes to the charity.”

The pair visited Zambia in 2006 to see the work of Riders for Health and plan to go back in 2014. They are covering their own costs, but aim to have raised a £4,000 donation by then. They have already sold 200 of the £5 calendars, which can be ordered on buffbikers.co.uk