Ride for Dad hits the road in Kingston to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer research
One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and hundreds of bikers joined the fight in Kingston at the annual Ride for Dad on Saturday, hoping to help find a cure.
After his father died from complications from the disease, and with his brother in remission, it is a cause that hits close to home for motorcyclist Mark Harding.
"It’s very debilitating. I saw my brother, 6 ft. 2 inches whittle away to about 170 pounds," Harding says. "And to watch him whittle away like that was hard to take."
The Canadian Cancer Society says prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. One in eight men will be diagnosed in their lifetime, and those who have a family history are among the most at risk.
Harding says it is about preventing other families from going through the same thing.
"Prostate cancer touches everyone; whether it’s a friend, a brother."
The Ride for Dad events take place across Canada. It first started in Ottawa back in 2000.
Kingston was the second city to host a Ride for Dad, and it has raised more than $1.6 million since it started back in 2004.
The tens of thousands raised on Saturday will add to the more than $37 million the Ride for Dad events have raised for prostate cancer research in Canada.
Linda Galloway, the national project specialist for Ride for Dad, says it’s also about awareness and having men get checked.
"Early detection is key in survival," she explains. "It’s so important we’re not in a corner talking quietly about prostate cancer; we need to be shouting it from the rooftops."
Rider Trevor Hughes agrees, noting his father-in-law is a survivor.
"Talk to anybody, talk to your wife, especially talk to your doctor," he says.
This is the third province he has joined a Ride for Dad event. The kilometres raced today through downtown Kingston and up past Westport will add to those he’s ridden over the years to raise money.
He says it is also about joining fellow riders in the fight.
"I love it," he says. "I love to ride and you meet excellent people on this ride."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.