Hundreds of leather clad bikers and their old ladies are descending on the village of Elbow this weekend looking for a party…and to raise some money for The Foundation Fighting Blindness.
Ride for Sight Saskatchewan–Motorcyclists Fighting Blindness is taking to the streets and Fairgrounds of Elbow June 22 and 23 for their first charity drive since 2010 in an effort to raise “$10,000 to $20,000” for research into macular degeneration diseases, said a Ride for Sight executive.
Rod Broadfoot, co-chair of Ride for Sight Saskatchewan, said they are planning for 100 to 300 motorcyclists to descend on the small community over the two days. He said this is part of a Canada-wide effort by the motorcycling community to add to the over $19 million the charity group has raised since its inception in 1979.
“Our main objective is to raise money for The Foundation Fighting Blindness,” said Broadfoot, who is going to be roaring into Elbow on his tan and gold 2004 Yamaha Road Star. “The event is a celebration of the process. We want to put on a good event that attracts people and encourages them to fund-raise in the future.”
The event, which is free to people who raise $50 in pledges and a $25 charge otherwise, begins with a motorcycle parade through the streets of Elbow Saturday afternoon followed by a bike rodeo at the Elbow Arena and Fairgrounds.
“It’s a bunch of silliness,” he said about the bike rodeo. “It’s really good fun. We set up a small track, usually a 50-foot long track, and we’ll have two lanes with good spacing between them and then we have Slow Races. (It’s) whoever can ride their bike the slowest wins and that is a lot harder than you might think trying to keep your balance on grass going as slow as possible.”
To read more please see the June 17 print edition of The Davidson Leader.