History
September 21,2008
5th Annual Ride 4 the Cure 2008
After so much rain in the month of August, there were 750 happy faces this year when the sun was shining brightly for the entire weekend. Motorcycle riders came from New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and all over Nova Scotia. It has turned out to be quite an
event! It started with our traditional “Biker’s Barbecue” at the Membertou Trade & Convention Centre Friday night with great entertainment by Chad Tetford. There was a full hot breakfast buffet at
Membertou on Saturday morning and the ride departed at 9:00am. The first stop was Baddeck where riders were met by a highland piper at the beautiful Inverary Inn & Resort. The Inverary Inn treated riders to tea and coffee with scones, tea biscuits and awesome oat cakes and then the ride continued on to Cheticamp. Motorcycle riders were able to enjoy an outdoor barbecue at the Cheticamp Arena or lunch at restaurants hanging pink balloons showing their support. Next it was
on to the community of Ingonish to the St.Peter’s Parish Hall where everyone raved about the now famous “Ride 4 the Cure Chili”. The bikers resumed their ride and made their way back to the Membertou Trade & Convention Centre to draw their Poker Hand and turn in pledges. The riders enjoyed another night of great entertainment this time provided by “Debbie and Michelle”. The total prizes donated exceeded $18,000. The Top Poker Hand Prize was a Kawasaki 750
Brute Force donated by Kawasaki and Gord’s Sports Centre Racing. The winner was Charlotte Burke from Charlottetown. The Top Fund Raiser was Gerald Currie $7,601 followed by a close second by Paul MacKinnon who also raised over $7,000. The Top Fund Raiser prize was a
beautiful leather reclining sofa from Burke’s Countrywide Furniture and Gord’s. The ride raised $59,182.84 and then Gord’s donated the difference to bring it up to a total of $65,000 for 2008. This year for the first time pledges could go to Cape Breton Regional Hospital
Foundation for their Cancer Centre Expansion Project and/or the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Special thanks to Cpl. Ronald MacDonald for arranging the RCMP traffic support. A big thank you to the Inverary Inn & Resort , their staff and their volunteers. Thanks again to the communities of Cheticamp and Ingonish for making such great stops. We couldn’t have done it without you! Ride 4 the Cure has now raised since inception approximately $184,000.
Thank you to Kawasaki Canada for providing the most valuable top poker prizes to date.
TOP POKER HAND GRAND PRIZE
2008 KAWASAKI BRUTE FORCE 650, VAULED AT $10,000.00
Update July 14, 2008
The executive of Ride 4 The Cure, 2008, has compiled a list of hotels in the downtown Sydney area that will be offering preferred rates to participants in RIDE 4 THE CURE.
Please note that all rates quoted are based on single rooms (one double bed)* with double occupancy. Please remember to ask for the RIDE 4 THE CURE rate when booking your room.
You may also choose to visit the Nova Scotia Tourism web site at Nova Scotia .com, choose accommodations and click on Sydney Area.
DELTA HOTELS
www.deltahotels.com
1-800 -268-1133
Rate: $119.00 + tax per night
DAYS INN
www.daysinn.com
1-877-834-0333
Rate: $99.00 + tax per night
CAMBRIDGE SUITES HOTEL
www.cambridgesuiteshotel.com
1-800-565-9466
Rate: $119.99 + tax per night, free continental breakfast included
QUALITY INN
reservations@qualityinnsydney.com
1-902-539-8101
Rate: $99.99 + tax per night, this is a non smoking hotel
COMFORT INN
1-800-4choice
Rate: $159.00 + tax per night, free continental breakfast included
* Rooms may have 2 beds and are based on availability. Please ask when making your reservations.
SEE YOU ON SEPTEMBER 19TH.
Ride 4 the Cure 2007, another successful ride!!!
Largest Ever Ride 4 The Cure
The fall weather was cooperating once again for the fourth annual Ride 4 The Cure.For the First time the ride sold out with 500 registered participants. The 2007 Ride 4 The Cure started with Friday night late registration and social at the Membertou trade and Convention Centre. The evening’s musical entertainment was a big hit provided by Aaron Martel followed by Mark MacIntyre. They helped set the tone to start the fund raiser. Saturday morning the day began with a hot breakfast at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre and the ride began at 9:00 am. I’d like to mention all of the volunteers at the various stops were prepared to receive about 380 riders and ended up with 500.
The first stop was the Inverary Inn in Baddeck. Their staff and volunteers from the community served refreshments and processed 500 people very professionally when they were only expecting about 350. We couldn’t have done it without their help. The next stop was Cheticamp at the All Aboard Restaurant. Riders lunched at the restaurants marked by pink balloons, which indicated they would be making donations to the ride. Next stop was Ski Cape Smokey in Ingonish where the Ski Cape Smokey Society prepared a barbecue. From there, riders returned to Membertou for another barbecue followed by a prize give away and awards for Top fund raiser and Top Poker hand. The Top Fund Raiser was Paul MacKinnon of Ball’s Creek with $4005. The Top Poker Hand was a three-way tie between Tracey Chopeck, Grace O’Rourke and Corey Deveaux who decided to share the $8000 Suzuki 400 Eiger prize.
By the end of day the total raised was $36,860. The goal was to raise at least $15,000 so that the total raised since the ride began in 2004 would be $100,000. We are now at $119,000 since it began. Each year the ride just keeps on growing as the word spreads throughout the motorcycle community.
Ride 4 the cure 2004 “the beginning”
Ride for the Cure started back in September of 2004 when Gord MacDonald of Gord’s Sports Centre along with family and friends decided they would like to organize a group ride to show appreciation for the customers of Gord’s Sport Centre, the local Kawasaki / Suzuki dealership in Sydney Nova Scotia. What better place to take a ride on your bike than the Cabot Trail. During the one week of planning, they felt that they should dedicate the ride to raising money for Breast Cancer, because of the large impact breast cancer has had on the MacDonald family and so many other family in Nova Scotia and the world. The preparation was made to send all proceeds to CIBC Run for the Cure a Canadian Breast Cancer foundation. They cleverly named the event Ride 4 the Cure. Even with the short notice, riders came out in droves to help support the cause and have a great ride around the world famous Cabot Trail. A total of 145 riders donated their money and joined what would become one of the great events motorcyclist look forward to in the fall of the year. Total raised the first year was $5000.00.
Ride for the cure 2005 “the Growth’
2005 Ride for the cure, preparation started earlier this year and the word went out to advertise that the Ride 4 the Cure was on for another year. The ride started at the Casino Nova Scotia in Sydney with a great breakfast prepared and donated by the Casino. Delta Sydney offered discounted room rates for riders as well. 2005 brought out an amazing 345 riders and over 425 people including all passengers. There was multiple stops setup along the way for coffee and snacks and to allow riders to pick a card for their poker hands. The event ended on the pier in Sydney. Gord’s Sports Centre along with Kawasaki and Suzuki gave away two dirt bikes, one bike going to the top poker hand and the other to the one that raised the most pledges. Total money raised was a whopping $15,000.
Gallery of pictures from the Ride 2005. Gallery 1
ride for the cure 2006 ‘Man, where can this thing go!!!’
2006, at this point it is safe to call the Ride 4 the Cure an annual event. This Ride was getting so big that it was spread over the entire weekend starting with Friday night. The registration began at The Membertou Trade and Convention Centre in Sydney the crew at Membertou put on a fabulous meal with BBQ beef with salad and all the fixings. After dinner the great music started with two bands and a performance by the Men of the deep. The morning started back at the Membertou Centre with a full Canadian breakfast another awesome meal provided by Membertou. The Ride took everyone to Baddeck and the beautiful Inverary Inn, where the staff put on a full spread of goodies and hot or cold drinks. The ride continued through the Cabot trail stopping in Inverness for BBQ burgers and hotdog’s. Finishing back in Sydney, this year the Ride had 465 riders registered and raised a mind blowing ****$64,543.42****. The prizes where huge this year, Gord’s Sports Centre and Kawasaki gave away a $9000 kawasaki KVF700 4 wheeler to top poker hand holder of Ronnnie Schruder and the top pledge earner was Paul Mackinnon which won him a Suzuki LT 80 valued at $3500.
