Calgary motorcycle enthusiasts dress up in 'Sunday Best' to raise awareness for men's health

A group of Calgary motorcycle enthusiasts showed up in style Sunday, wearing their finest three-piece suits and vintage attire in an effort to raise money for men’s health.

After two years of disruption and social distancing, the 11th annual Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) was finally able bring more than 120 riders out for the fundraiser event.

Kickstands went up at 1 p.m. Sunday as the group of motorcyclist rode through the southeast community of Inglewood. 

A little more than $20,000 was raised, with proceeds going to men’s prostate cancer research and suicide prevention, through the Movember Canada charity.

Deborah Kearns attended the event this year in memory of her late husband, Dave, who passed away from prostate cancer in 2019.

“Dave was heavily involved in motorcycling and this was a great cause that was dear to him, mostly because of mental awareness,” Kearns said.

 “Dave did the ride four or five times before he had passed and the last one, he had brought his sidecar. He would be so impressed if he were still here, it would have meant the world to him.”

The DGR is an event held in more than 100 countries and 800 cities world-wide. It was created in Australia by Mark Hawwa, who wanted to combine his love for motorcycles and fashion with fundraising efforts.

In Calgary, event organizer Brian Smith says the awareness surrounding men’s health has grown substantially over the years.

“Prostate cancer is such a killer and we’ve also noticed that men have an extremely high suicide rate so we thought we should dedicate some of our fundraising to both of those causes and help men with their mental challenges,” he said. 

“It’s become a pretty popular event because it’s so much fun, everybody dresses up, you get to show off and we always get a chance to meet each other through a social event at the end.” 

More than 1,500 riders across Canada participated in this year’s event.