Riders arrived bright and early at the West Brant Starbucks location with motorcycles and three-wheelers alike for the Ride to Thrive Motorcycle Charity Ride on Saturday, August 10, 2024.
The annual charity ride is held in an effort to help raise monetary support and awareness for both Participation Support Services (PSS) and the Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), and all proceeds raised through the event will be evenly split and donated between the two organizations.
The event was originally started by Doug “The Great” Hunt, who works with PSS, and Brent Goodnough, who is now retired from CMHA, and the two have since organized a variety of fundraising rides for over 20 years.
“We were pretty young back then but it’s been fun, because both Brent and I have motorbikes, and the whole idea was based around doing something together with the two organizations, and we thought ‘well, let’s do something like a poker run,’” said Hunt. “So over the years we’ve done some different formats; We used to have a coffee ride, and then we had a show and shine, and now for the last couple years we’ve been visiting five different motorcycle shops which is great. It’s a fun ride, but it’s a way of giving back to the community and so you’re kind of doing few things at the same time… personally, when I’m involved, I really like to call it ‘fun-raising.’”
For this year’s event, riders were making stops at Davidsons Sport in Norwich, Power Garage in Woodstock, the Second Gear pop-up trailer in Paris, Brantford Motorcycle, and Dual Sport Plus (also located in Brantford), before heading back to the Brantford Naval Club for a light lunch.
“Second Gear used to actually be in Ayr but they’ve moved to Cambridge in the last year, so they’re going to be actually setting up a trailer for us at the Tim Hortons on Dundas Street East in Paris,” said Hunt. “Once we wrap up, we’ll head over to the Brantford Naval Veterans Association, who are good friends of ours that have been supporting us for years with large donations. They’ll have food for us and then, thanks to the community, we have plenty of great prizes to give away as well.”
As registration wrapped up, Larry Davis, Town Crier for the County of Brant, kicked things off with a declaration before Larry Brock, MP for Brantford-Brant, said a few words to the participants.
“I want to give a big shout out to Doug and the group of people that are surrounding this for putting on this event together,” he said. “Thank you for the love and commitment you have for this community and the two organizations we’re raising money for, CMHA and PSS. These are two amazing organizations that do incredible work for our community and for the residents in our community day in and day out.”
Following his speech, Brock gave out certificates of recognition to representatives of both CMHA and PSS to officially acknowledge another year of work in the community.
A few minutes later, it was time to put the kickstands up and head over to the Participation House to wave to the residents, a tradition held every year before going off on their ride.
“We’ll head over to the Participation house to do a loop there, honk the horns and wave to the residents,” said Hunt. “It’s nice because the riders get to see some of the people they’re helping and supporting, and I think the residents really enjoy it too.”
Hunt noted that the ride wouldn’t be successful without, not only the participants, but the people who help organize the yearly event.
“Let’s give a big hand to Lisa Mackay from CMHA because she helps put this together, well actually, she does all the work and I just ride the bike these days,” laughed Hunt. “I also want to recognize the Brantford Lions Club, they’re big supporters of ours that are out here every year.”
The Lions Club has been helping with the event’s registration since 2022 and Randi-Lynn Jancik, President of the Brantford Lions Club, said that her and the members are happy to help out.
“We’re there to really help make sure things go smoothly with registration and to take some photos and videos of the event,” she said. “With the Lions Club, we really prioritize showing up and being there for the community, and just helping out where we can. That’s what we’re all about so we’re happy to be here again this year helping the cause.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
