Over 400 ride in memory of Papa Joe

Don Lefebvre suits up to lead the rally in his father's honour Saturday.

Over 400 Young, old, new and experienced riders turned out this weekend for the 13th Annual Papa Joe Ride for Cancer.

Don Lefebvre never thought a simple tribute to his father would grow to be the largest single day bike rally in Ontario.

Lefebvre’s father, Papa Joe, lost his battle with cancer in 1993, a year later a few close family members and friends got together and rode their bikes in his memory, 13 years later the annual event has become a major fundraiser in the area.

“We started off with about 10 of us to raise money for cancer and it escalated to were it is now today,” states Lefebvre.

Lefebvre says it is amazing and emotional to see that a one-day rally in his father’s honour can draw upwards of 400 riders.

“It’s always emotional … it’s touching, but I know if my dad’s looking down he’d be really pleased with the turn out.”

“We have the best bands, we have the best meal and we’re talked about all over Ontario, so we’ve got all kinds of bikes from one end of the country to the other and people from all over too.”

80-year-old ‘Silver Fox’ has made a run from Canada’s far north for about 12 years now to show support to the Lefebvre family.

“I used to ride from White Horse, the Yukon, to North Bay … I’d spend three months in Yukon, three months in North Bay and 6 months in Florida,” he explains.

“I met Joe yes, but I know his son a bit better because I use to build houses around here, I built 250 houses.”

The Silver Fox who is a goldsmith by trade said the Lefebvre’s are the best people in the world, and stand out in the world of bikers.

“See there’s two types of bikers, the most protected one is the chap that says I’d love to ride a bike by my wife won’t let me,” he laughs.

“The other is the individual riding for the Hell’s Angels type … they’re sweethearts, but they’ve got to prove themselves as a so called biker and that’s bullshit man.”

Lefebvre agrees and says that rallies such as the Papa Joe run help remove some of the stigma that surrounds motorcycles.

“Not only this run cause there’s a lot of rallies now and there’s always going to be good ones and bad ones, you just have to know how to separate the two of them.”

To date the ride has raised over $134,000 and Lefebvre says this year they have pledged to add to the hospital’s equipment list again.

“We pledged another colonoscope, our second one and they’re about $40-thousand for the hospital … all our proceeds go to the new General Hospital Foundation.”

The waiting area of the Cancer/Chemo unit in the new hospital will be dedicated to Papa Joe.