On the 28th of September I and hundreds of thousands of other around the world rode our motorcycles in support of and to raise money for prostate cancer. WAIT that did not sound right let’s try it again… We rode in a “dapper and genteel” manner to raise awareness of and money in support of the fight against prostate cancer. The ride was part of the world wide phenomenon known as the Distinguished Gentleman’s ride.
The Washington DC DGR began in Georgetown at the Exxon gas station near the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the famous “Exorcist” stairs. This was my first ride with the DGR, and I cannot state how different it is from any other event I have participated in to date. Riding in from Leesburg to Georgetown in jacket and tie I received more than a few double takes… but that is part of the purpose of the ride right?
From my research on last year’s DGR in DC I assumed that there would be a similar number of riders and bikes in attendance about 50-60. Well, there was, in my estimation, double that, at one point I noticed a thoughtful gentleman counting the bikes at the first stop (Belle Haven Park on the George Washington Parkway) he was at 102 when I moved to take pictures.
Due to the greater number of participates the organizers had to make a few “on the fly” changes as we progressed. An example of the changes was the revamping of the route to loop around the front of Mount Vernon instead of riding through old town Alexandria. That was a very wise decision as it would have caused a lot of traffic issues, which should not be gentlemen’s first choice. The riders took it all in stride and things worked out well, kudos to the organizers.
For the record I had two items that I was disappointed with during the DGR, both were my issues not the ride itself. First it was at Mount Vernon that I had to drop out from the ride. I missed the stop at the US Capitol and the hoisting of pints. Not something that I will miss next year! Second I am only contributing $100 to the cause, I just did not have time to get out and look for sponsors. I am making a calendar event now to start that process in early August for the next ride.
Please mark your calendars for next years ride!
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 