4th Mangalore Gentleman’s Ride
Mangaluru : The Mangalore Gentleman’s Ride happened for the 4th consecutive year on the 29th September, 2019, in tandem with at least 686 cities around the world, where the rides were planned out, with the number of riders crossing the 1 million mark – definitely a milestone! Bringing all the motorcycles around the world for a common cause!
And what was it about ? “The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride unites classic and vintage style motorcycle riders all over the world to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer research and men’s mental health. In Mangaluru, with the paucity of Corporate Sponsors, the various clubs come together to make this special in their own way.
By 3.30 pm, most of the riders had grouped up together at the Forum Fiza Mall, Pandeshwar, dressed in their best formals or ethnic wear. By around 4.30 pm, the short programme commenced by a song routine, sang by the bikers themselves, together with children from the Hakuna Matata Clubhouse, a beautiful rendition of their version of ‘Circle of Life’ from the movie – Lion King, followed by Michael Jackson’s blockbuster, ‘Heal the World’. Following this, there was a talk by Dr. Karthik, Onco- Surgeon from KMC and Dr. Santosh Prabhu, Psychiatrist, K.S .Hegde College, who gave their insights on what plagues us in today’s world.
The various Motorcycling Clubs that joined hands together for the event and who helped raised a significant amount of the donations were – Lohatech; Mangalore Bulls Motorcycling Club; Coastal Superbikers; Udupi Jawa Yezdi Motorcycle Club; Moto Rack; Flying Bandits; Grease Garage; Mangalore Classic Scooter Club; Wanderers On Wheels; RX Club of Mangalore; Wandermonkz; and Mangalore Jawa Yezdi Motorcycle Club
Another prominent personality to also speak was Mrs. Shilpa, of Halli Mane Rotis. Bringing out her emotions on her true life’s story of the hard struggle, after her husband passed away, she was living proof that anybody can turn their world around, if they put their mind to it. Following this up was Dr. Krithishree, also a Psychiatrist at KMC, who spoke about the different ailments that have cropped up over the years, making it difficult for people to bear the pain and loss, of what would have been so easy to take for granted earlier.
Coming towards the end of this short but informative programme, Mementos were given to all who had helped in for this event, as well as the Resource persons.
But there was another surprise in store for the audience, as an energetic team of professional Zumba trainers, from Zinlife Studio, took to the stage and mesmerized everybody with their high-intense but fun workout. After their medley of peppy numbers, Suneera Heloise Mendonsa, spoke to the audience and exactly in her own words “to show people, how any form of fitness can make you better each day and all of you need to do is to get up and take that step make that move! Either a walk, a run, or to a gym or any group fitness!”
And then it was time for the bikers to ride out to Ave Maria Palliative Care at Vamanjur to hand over their collection. However due to strict traffic restrictions and non-permission from the ACP – Traffic, most of the motorcycle riders had to forfeit their participation and instead head off home. The actual ride, that most riders look forward to, happening all around the world in the various cities, including those in India – Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi among others – also happened in Mangaluru, with only Six riders permitted by the police, heading out to Vamanjur to hand over their collection to Dr. Lavina Noronha, Director of the Centre.
Founded in Sydney, Australia by Mark Hawwa, it was inspired by a photo of TV Show Mad Men’s, Don Draper astride a classic bike and wearing his finest suit. Mark decided a themed ride would be a great way of connecting niche motorcycle enthusiasts and communities while raising funds to support the men in our lives.
Generally the focus is on gentlemen who have been dealt a tough hand in life. And so with this in mind, the DGR is organized worldwide to raise funds for cutting-edge research into prostate cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention programs, as part of our mission to support men’s health globally. These funds globally are invested by, the Movember Foundation, which is the world’s largest men’s health organisation.
Prostate Cancer :
Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. The second-leading cause of cancer deaths for men, about 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. This year, nearly 175,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Approximately 60% of cases are diagnosed in men over 65. The average age of diagnosis is 66; the disease rarely occurs before age 40.That apart, the approximately 120 forms of cancer has become a big threat to human beings globally. As per Indian population census data, the rate of mortality due to cancer in India was high and alarming with about 806,000 existing cases by the end of the last century. Cancer is the second most common disease in India responsible for maximum mortality with about 0.3 million deaths per year. This is owing to the poor availability of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease
The Movember Foundation, globally is the largest funder of prostate cancer programs in the world. And the proceeds of the Gentleman’s Ride goes towards this cause.
Suicide Prevention | Men’s Mental Health :
Three out of four suicides are men. 510,000 men die from suicide globally each year. That’s one every minute. This has to change. The causes of suicide are complex. There’s no single reason why men take their own lives, but we do know that by improving overall mental health we can reduce the risk of suicide. We need to address untreated mental health conditions among men.”
A job well done! For More information log on to : www.gentlemansride.com
