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Ride to raise prostate cancer awareness

Jun 6, 2008 | Chris Fox | The Daily Gleaner

Mark Perego wants people to talk about prostate cancer. His dad, a prostate cancer survivor, prefers not to, so Perego has been doing the talking for him and is urging others to do the same.

He will be doing plenty of it Saturday when Ride for Dad, a series of national motorcycle trips in support of prostate cancer, takes place. Perego organized the one in New Brunswick.

"My father is one of those guys that won't talk about it. He was lucky because he got diagnosed by a pretty astute doctor, and he got the chance to get involved in a research project called Brachytherapy, which saved him. But he still won't talk about it, not even to his friends," Perego said.

"This ride is really going to be about talking about it and getting people out to get tested."

Ride for Dad will take place in Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John, with motorcyclists from each city participating in a parade and then driving to Sussex for a barbecue and concert.

"Normally, Ride for Dad is done in just one city, but I wanted to do something different, so I combined the three cities," Perego said. "Going to Sussex is a gorgeous ride and because it's in the middle of the three cities, it's a perfect fit."

Saturday will mark the first Ride for Dad event in New Brunswick and Perego expects a big turnout.

"We are expecting to see 100 to 200 riders per city, but we also want to see people that are non-motorcyclist that want to help raise awareness and money for prostate cancer," he said. "You don't have to be a biker to participate, you can help by gathering pledges and participating in that way."