Sherri Pinder and her partner were getting ready to head out on a motorcycle ride, which for many people, could turn out to be life-changing.
They are joining hundreds of other bikers raise money for prostate cancer research and awareness as part of the Nipissing Motorcycle Ride for Dad.
Pinder’s father is being treated for prostate cancer and is currently in remission.
“I think it is important to be part of the ride because it is supporting a great initiative. There are too many people suffering from prostate cancer and cancer in general. The weather isn’t the best, but it is a small cost to pay for all the people who suffer from this horrible disease.”
She encourages women to talk to the men in their lives about getting checked.
“The women are the backbone. They support their husbands and children and friends. This disease sometimes takes a toll, taking part of their family away from them. The women are there to support and encourage the men in their lives to get checked. They have just as much of a role in this ride today as do the men.”
The entire route was 235 kilometres.
“People here truly believe in the ride, who we ride for and what we ride for. So, although the weather hasn’t bee cooperative, we’re happy with everyone who is supporting the ride,” said John Strang, co-chair of the Nipissing Motorcycle Ride for Dad.
“People have registered online, people have come in today and dropped down their money and told us to have fun, be safe, but we’re not riding. As motorcycle enthusiasts, we understand that, but we have our hard cores out here who will ride in anything.”
Saturday marked the 12th ride in Nipissing.
Over the past 11 years, the event has raised over $350,000 locally.
“That’s pretty impressive. And that’s 3,500 riders in those 11 years as well. They keep coming out year after year. That’s the commitment of our followers, that’s the commitment of our sponsors. We’re pretty proud of that,” said Strang.
“We’ve got riders that are prostate cancer survivors who are going through it right now. Some of our sponsors are going through it themselves. So we have people who are going through the battle or they know somebody who has, and they’ve been with us every year.”
In Canada, 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Every day an average of eight men will die from the disease.
“We encourage everybody to get it checked. Get it checked. A simple PSA blood test or prostate exam. It is nothing to be embarrassed about. If we can save one life, we’ve done our job.”
Byron Smith and Gary Janz started the ride back in 2000, and it remains strong 19 years later.
“It has been terrific. The first few years it was just in Ottawa, but after that, we started getting requests from other cities, so we took it on the road and we’ve expanded it right across Canada to over 30 chapters now,” explained Smith.
The fundraiser now includes the Snowmobile Ride for Dad, the ATV Ride for Dad, watercraft and now it is starting to look at bicycles.
“Our best example of the changes this has made to the lives of men is probably down in Avalon Newfoundland, which is kind of a controlled area for population, it really doesn’t move around a lot. They found that the rate of prostate cancer is going up, which means men are getting checked and it is being found, and the fatality rate is going down. So that is what we want to see. We want to see more cases diagnosed early and less fatalities.”
Advancements can only be made through research.
“What we want to do is fund cutting edge research and get that seed money to those young doctors for research. Once they get a plausible program, they can apply for funding from the Federal government. “
Strang says money raised supports prostate cancer research at the Northeast Cancer Centre in Sudbury.
“We have a new doctor in town who has committed to submitting a research application. He wants to participate in doing a research program here in North Bay.”
The ride received a jump start from last weekend’s Guinness World Record attempt for the largest exercise ball class.
The local effort was organized by Khouri Long owner of Cor Maximus.
“The record was held by the Greater Toronto YMCA, with 454 participants doing a 30-minute swiss ball class,” Strang told the riders.
“Last weekend we broke that record with 499 participants. We raised $5,400 for the ride."
Last year’s motorcycle ride raised $25,000. This year organizers would like to see that number climb to $40,000.
