THUNDER BAY – The 21st annual TBayTel Motorcycle Ride for Dad saw roughly 200 riders parade down Arthur Street in support of the Northern Cancer Fund for Prostate Cancer
This year’s ride saw over $25,000 in pledges alone and organizers expect the grand total raised by the ride this year to reach roughly $40,000.
Haley Werbowetski, events officer at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, and organizer of this year’s ride said that the amount funds raised is on par with previous years and that it goes to show how important the cause is for the community, especially those who ride in the parade every year.
“They are all here for multitude of different reasons, lots of these people have connections to the cause, lots of them have either gone through prostate cancer or know somebody who has either passed away from it or is going through treatment,” she said.
“A lot of these guys, it's their first big ride out with their friends again and for a lot of people it's a combination of both.”
The Ride for Dad has raised over $1.2 million dollars over the 21 years that it has been held and all the funds go into the Northern Cancer Fund to directly support prostate cancer care in Thunder Bay.
The day started off with registration and a hot buffet breakfast at the Victoria Inn, followed by the thunderous Roar for the Cure where roughly 200 riders simultaneously kick started their engines and headed out on a parade down Arthur Street.
The ride made several stops throughout the south end of the city then headed back to Victoria Inn for the awards ceremony.
“We'll be having some great prizes for top pledgers for the poker run, and we've got the Peter Pascuzzo Prize, which is in honour of Peter Pascuzzo, who actually rode this ride in the first year he was sick at the time he ended up passing away just after the ride and in his pocket, he ended up having five aces on his poker run,” she said.
“So, in honour of him, a bunch of his friends get together, and they donated a great prize and the closest hand to the Five Aces wins. So, we're really looking forward to giving that one away.”
John Pascuzzo joined the ride the year following the passing of his brother Peter who succumbed to kidney cancer and said that it was important for him to carry on his brother’s legacy and support people like his father who had prostate cancer.
[Peter] rolled to raise awareness for prostate cancer. My dad was a was a prostate cancer person and he beat it,” Pascuzzo said.
“And it was because of these events to raise awareness, first of all and then to raise funds to help people in the situation where they have prostate cancer and to work towards a cure.”
Pascuzzo said that it was great to see the riders still going strong and coming together to support the cause for 20 years.
“It's a great way of getting riders together. It's a great, great way to build up that camaraderie, have an enjoyable ride, and just enjoy the enjoy the scene,” he said.
“The biggest part is the raising of funds for prostate cancer research and this event has always been well attended and we've done a pretty good job in the city of bringing the awareness of prostate cancer to the community.”
