Bikers have paid tribute to a motorcyclist who died when he came off his bike on a summer’s evening ride with friends.

Perry Wood, 50, from Old Moor Close, Wallingford, suffered serious head injuries following the incident on the B4015 at Marsh Baldon.

Chris Head, 42, Lyn Reed, 47, Douglas Russell, 46, and Christian Tomms, 37, were riding with Mr Wood – known as ‘P’ to friends – when the crash happened on Monday last week, August 22.

Mr Reed said of his friend: “He was a total gentleman.

“He was the kind of guy that always put others first, no matter what time of day or night it was.

“If you ever had a problem he was always the first person to show up with a big smile on his face.

“As soon as people met him they would know they would have a good friend for life.”

Mr Wood was pronounced dead at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.

He had been riding road and off-road motorcycles for 33 years, and regularly went on Monday night rides with friends, starting at the H Cafe near Berinsfield.

He had two brothers, Bob and Tony, and a sister, Elaine, and grew up in Nettlebed, where his parents, Eileen and Peter Wood, still live.

He attended Gillotts School, Henley, and had worked at car repair shop Prestige in Reading since he was a teenager.

Mr Head, from Wallingford, who knew Mr Wood for 23 years, said: “I feel very empty and I think we all do.

“When the accident happened there were some off-duty paramedics who were absolutely excellent and I think if it wasn’t for them, it would have been more traumatic for us.

“None of us actually saw the accident and I think that’s something to be thankful for.

“The police did a fantastic job at the scene, too.”

Biker Wayne Morris, 47, from Old Moor Close, lived next door to Mr Wood and knew him since he was 14.

He said: “He was just very, very easygoing and helpful to everybody.

“He absolutely lived for his bikes and had bikes for as long as I’ve known him.

“We are all absolutely devas-tated.”

Mr Wood will make his final journey in style.

He will arrive at Caversham Crematorium, All Hallows Road, Caversham, Reading, on Monday in a specially adapted sidecar that will be attached to a motorcycle.

An inquest into Mr Wood’s death has been opened and adjourned.