New York City: Distinguished Gentleman's Ride (September 2016)

My spouse and I saw The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride on a Sunday afternoon in late September 2016. The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride (DGR) is a global motorcycle fund-raising event to raise awareness of prostate cancer and male suicide prevention. Open to all genders, the ride began in 2012 in Australia, inspired by a photo of TVs “Mad Men” Don Draper on a classic bike in a fine suit. The organization provides an outline of dress and behavior for the ride, suggesting that riders wear dapper clothing, silk vests, and tweed suits, and behave in a friendly manner. Suggested motorcycles for the themed ride include café racers, bobbers, modern classics, flat trackers, scramblers, old school choppers, brat styled, classic scooters, and classic sidecars. The ride carries no entry fee, but riders are encouraged to raise sponsorship money for men’s issues on behalf of charity partner, The Movember Foundation.

In 2013, the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride was sponsored by Gentleman Jack. In 2014, Triumph Motorcycles started to support and sponsor the ride. In 2015, Dime City Cycles joined as prize sponsor. In 2016, Zenith Watches joined Triumph Motorcycles as major co-sponsor, with Hedon Helmets supporting the event as prize sponsor.

Look at how the event has grown in just five years:

·         In 2012 over 2,500 riders participated in rides across 64 cities. The success of the event encouraged the organizers to consider how it could be used to support a worthy cause.

·         In 2013, over 11,000 participants in 145 cities around the world raised over $277K for prostate cancer research.

·         In 2014, over 20,000 participants in 257 cities in 58 countries raised over $1.5M for prostate cancer research.

·         In 2015, over 37,000 participants in 410 cities in 79 countries raised over $2.3M for prostate cancer research.

·         In 2016, participants from the following countries participated to raise money for prostate cancer research and men’s mental health issues: Afghanistan, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russian Federation, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Wales.

For more information, see www.gentlemansride.com