Distinguished Gentleman's Ride
The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride is a global motorcycle fund-raising event to raise awareness of prostate cancer and funding for a cure.[1]
Open to all genders, the ride was founded in 2012 by Mark Hawwa in Sydney, Australia — inspired by a photo of Mad Men’s Don Draper on a classic bike in a fine suit.[2]
The ride provides a loose outline of dress and behavior, the Style Guide, suggesting riders wear dapper clothing, silk vests, tweed suits and behave in an affable manner.[3] Suggested motorcycles for the ride include café racers, bobbers, classics, retro Bikes, flat trackers, scramblers and "quirky, undefinable two-wheeled machines".[3] The ride carries no entry fee, and riders are encouraged to raise sponsorship money.
The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride 2013 was sponsored by Gentleman Jack. In 2014 Triumph Motorcycles started to support and sponsor the ride,[4] together with Dime City Cycles in 2015.
In 2015 one of the three motorcycles ridden by actor Chris Pratt in Jurassic World was auctioned off, with the profits going to the prostate cancer funds.[5]
- 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 $277,000 for the research of prostate cancer.[6]
- In 2014, 20.000 riders in more than 250 cities collected nearly $1,500,000[7] for the Prostate Cancer Foundation in the UK, USA and Australia.
- In 2015, more than 61,746 participants in 410 cities from 79 countries mounted their motorcycles to raise awareness and help fund research into prostate cancer.[8]
Schedule
The event usually takes place on the last Sunday in September each year.
| Year | September | Number of registered riders worldwide |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 30th | 2.500 |
| 2013 | 29th | 11.000 |
| 2014 | 28th | 20.000 |
| 2015 | 27th | 37.262 |
References
- ↑ Distinguished Gentleman's Ride Homepage
- ↑ Don Draper on a Matchless
- 1 2 "Style Guide". The 2015 Distinguished Gentlemans Ride. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
- ↑ Triumph Motorcycles UK
- ↑ Chris Pratt Jurassic World Triumph Scrambler eBay Auction Ultimate Motorcycling, 21 July 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-16
- ↑ https://www.gentlemansride.com/about
- ↑ Huffington Post, 23 September 2014 Retrieved 2014-10-06
- ↑ Gentleman's Ride homepage, Retrieved 2014-10-06
External links
- Manchester Evening News, 29 September 2014 Retrieved 2014-10-12
- Movie by Triumph about the ride in Spain