By Jolene Ogle
MORE than 170 riders dressed in their finest gear, mounted their metal steads and roared through Noosa on Sunday to raise over $18,000 for men’s health.
Now in its second year, the 2016 Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride was bigger and better than ever with a wide range of bikes, scooters and riders all taking part in the ride through Noosa Heads and Peregian Beach to raise awareness of prostate cancer and men’s mental health.
Rider Bruce Hamilton, who is due to have surgery on his prostate today Thursday 29 September, said he was proud to help spread the word of early detection.
“I’m riding to encourage men to check their prostate,” he said. “So many men block their ears and don’t want to know about it, but early detection is important and when you get those results, read them.”
Spectator Timothy Nicholas said it was time men got over the embarrassment of a prostate examination.
“Go see your doctor, drop your pants and get your prostate checked,” he said.
“It’s time to forget about the embarrassment. I had my prostate checked on Wednesday and I chose to have the internal exam rather than the blood test just to make sure it was ok and I can report all is well with my prostate.”
The first Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride was held in Sydney in 2012 with over 2500 riders across 64 cities. Last year there were 37,000 riders in 410 cities in 79 countries raising over $3.2 million for prostate cancer research and organisers are on track to beat that record this year.
Were you at the ride? Or just like looking at vintage bikes? See the full photo gallery at www.noosatoday.com.au.
