Riding 4A Good Cause! ‘Suicide Lifeline’ gets a Helping Hand from Bikers
Mangaluru: The idea of Motorcycle Riders usually come across as mostly youngsters, with fast cash from their parents, who seek the thrills of the fast lane, inspired by blockbuster movies from both Bollywood as well as Hollywood – fast bikes, short cropped hair pulled back in the wind while racing at break-neck speeds, jaw-dropping stunts – and to top it all off, the image of bad boys that they feel girls would adore. Yea right, keep dreaming! Well, there is always a different breed of everyone. And then there are those who understand what Motorcycle riding is all about – the passion, the knowledge, the feel – the BROTHERHOOD!
The 24th September, every year gives a chance to those serious bikers to get together with the aim of doing something good for the community. Men’s Health is one area that is largely unknown. Globally, men die an average 6 years before women and from mostly preventable reasons. The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride was founded in Sydney, Australia by Mark Hawwa. It was inspired by a photo of Mad Men’s Don Draper astride a classic bike and wearing his finest suit. Mark decided a themed ride would be a great way to combat the often-negative stereotype of men on motorcycles, whilst connecting niche motorcycle communities together.
That first ride in 2012 brought together over 2,500 riders across 64 cities. The success of the event encouraged the founder to consider how it could be used to support a worthy cause. The focus is on gentlemen who have been dealt a tough hand in life. Funds are raised for research into prostate cancer and mental health programs as part of the mission to support men’s health globally. These funds are invested by the Movember Foundation, the world’s largest men’s health organization. The Movember Foundation is the only charity tackling men’s health on a global scale, year round. They have one goal: to stop men dying too young.- Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. The Movember Foundation is the largest fundraiser of prostate cancer programs in the world. Together, The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride and the Movember Foundation are breaking down these barriers that exist in men, but that can only be done with every body’s help and the need for awareness. In 2016, over 56,000 participants in 505 cities in 90 countries raised over $3.6M (USD) for prostate cancer research & men’s mental health programs in partnership with the Movember Foundation.
Influenced by the tragedy of losing one of the ride hosts to depression, from 2016 there has been a change in the health fundraising goals. Now, the funding of men’s mental health programs is a Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride focus, in addition to prostate cancer research through the official charity partner – The Movember Foundation and the support of the title sponsors Triumph Motorcycles and Zenith Watches. This time, 2017 brought together around 92,000 gentlefolk, who participated in 580 cities from 95 countries around the world. And that is just the official rides that were registered. While the ride for this cause is mostly for fun, to bring the different bikers together, the collections and contributions that come in also go a long way in helping out towards the cause.
What to Ride? Cafe’ Racer, Bobber, Classic, Tracker, Scrambler, Old School Chopper, Modern Classic, Sidecar, Classic Scooter, Brat Styled motorcycles – the list of types of motorcycles that are approved as that of gentlemen! While the topic of Prostate Cancer is largely unheard of in Mangaluru and even in India itself, that has not stopped these enthusiastic bikers from joining in to do their bit in helping out a local NGO. In 2016, the bikers of Mangaluru had got together on the similar lines, taken up a collection among themselves with friends and family and then rode together to Vamanjoor to hand over the proceeds to the Ave Maria Palliative Care.
In 2017, the bikers again decided, as part of the unofficial DGR, to help out in the best possible way, but in a slightly different means. The Susheg Charitable Trust, together with the Ave Maria Palliative Care have been planning for a Suicide Lifeline – a 24X7 consultation and assistance operation for Suicide Prevention by Volunteers and back-up Clinicians. Yet to be officially rolled out, a few of the bikers have volunteered and are currently undergoing the training process.
Every year about 8,00,000 people commit suicide worldwide and India forms around 17 % (1,35,000) of those figures. Every hour, about 15 people resort to suicide in India. While the Manguluru City Police Commissionerate provided confirmed figures of 231 suicidal deaths in 2016. a survey on mental health and well-being of students in Mangaluru was conducted in March 2017 and analysis indicate that 4.52 % of students have had a past of past suicide attempt, while around 6.79 % have suicidal tendencies. This shows that providing a lifeline of emotional support to needed people is the need of the hour!
And so on couple of days ago, a good number of bikers all smartly dressed, on their shining rides, trickled into the Forum Fiza Mall Parking Area, much to the amusement and curiosity of the shoppers there. As the numbers increased and all the bikers turned out in full force, it was a realization that these boys were up to something. There were riders from the different clubs, who all loosely come under the United Bikers of Mangalore banner :NH 66 Moto Club; Mangalore Classic Scooter Club; Wanderers On Wheels; The Mangalore Bikerni; Mangalore Jawa & Yezdi Motorcycle Club; BOMBers; Mangalore Bulls Motorcycling Community; RX CLub of Mangalore; Moto Clownz; Naked Wolves; Rev Limiterz; and Flying Bandits
At 5 pm, sharp there was talk in the basement by Dr. Eugene Rent, Dept of Oncology, A J Hospital on all about Prostate Cancer, followed by Dr Santosh Prabhu, Dept of Psychiatry from K S Hegde Hospital. While the Mangaluru City Traffic Police was also invited to be a part of the event, so that the public would be aware of the hardships they face on a daily basis, while on the road day in and day out, often leading to health issues, they became slightly podium-shy and instead preferred to remain outside, to get ready for the city rally. Finally, all the contributions by the bikers were handed over to Sr Marie Evelyn AC, who teaches Psychology at St. Agnes College-Mangaluru and plays a major role in the Susheg Charitable Trust.
And then it was time to roll out. With the contribution already handed over at the Mall, and the realization that all the bikes roaring to the Palliative Centre at the wrong hour, would definitely wake up all the patients, it was decided to cut short the rally and just ride to the beach, from where everybody would disperse. The Traffic Police were briefed about the route and then the entire neighborhood came alive, as around 75 2-wheelers of different capacities ranging from the modest 100 cc Scooters to 1000 + cc Superbikes, started their engines. The resounding growls and roars of the engines as the vehicles lined up in sequence, was enough to draw the crowd.
And then with the larger bikes leading – the Super Bikes and the Royal Enfields, the RXs and others in between and then the Jawas & Yezdis with the Scooters sweeping the rear – the Gentlemen were off, riding prim and dapper, toward Tannirbhavi beach! A jolly good evening well spent indeed!
Report by: Shawn C. Fernandez of United Bikers of Mangalore (UBM)