The 2016 Distinguished Gentleman's Ride

This is exciting. Don't believe me? Would I stretch the truth? See for yourself. I've added some amazingly cool videos at the end of this post.

It promises to be a brand new experience for me. The exact opposite of riding with all the gear, all the time. Well, not the exact opposite, because the exact opposite would be to do that whole Lady Godiva thing, and well you didn't think I'd be up for that, did you?

Please read on. Your curiosity will be rewarded. This is another kind of 'evergreen' post that I continue to update until I post a follow up post once the 2016 Distinguished Gentleman's Ride enters the record books.

I applied, and have been accepted, as a participant in the 2016 Distinguished Gentleman's Ride.

You may regret reading this, because the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride is a fund raiser to fund research into prostate cancer. That means I will be campaigning for moola, your moola.¹

I promise it won't be too painful.

Every little bit helps, and every little bit counts.

I've given myself a modest target to raise $500. My objective is to way overachieve that meager goal. Bear in mind that I have to give myself room to achieve bigger targets in future years.

 Here is a link to my fundraising page. With your help we'll make a little dent in the fight to cure prostate cancer. Contributions to my ride are tax deductible in Canada. The proceeds raised by the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride go the Movember Foundation which will issue Canadian tax receipts to donors.

Here is a running account of my progess: On Sunday evening, on day two of my campaign to raise funds for this worthy cause, I  reached $736 in sponsorship!! I just can't believe the generosity of my sponsors. I am deeply pleased, and truly humbled. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And it gets better and better. I am truly blessed. End of day 4 (Tuesday, August 16) and the $1,278 raised at this point puts me in second place in the Toronto ride. Awesome. And I know, just know, that there is more to come! End of day 5 results: still second in the Toronto ride with $1,318 raised in sponsorships, and now 39th in the global rankings; Not too shabby! The final tally is near: $1,768 raised and I think that I have reached the end of the fund raising road. I more than tripled my modest goal and so far am ranked second in the Toronto ride, and that's something to be proud of. But wait... there is more to come: Generous donations from my stepmother, my cousin, and my son Jonathan and his charming wife Vicky, and my daughter Lauren and her dapper fiancé Harris have propelled me well over the two thousand dollar hurdle and kept me in the running among the top 100 global fundraisers, for now, because the friendly competition is steep. Stay tuned, there are more contributions coming as the campaign shifts into higher gear! September 9, with 14 days to go: I got my 2016 Distinguished Gentleman's Ride official patch along with a letter thanking me for my efforts to date. That means I've got some sewing to do. September 10, 13 days to go: More amazing sponsorships came rolling in, blowing me away once more. Your generosity is truly inspiring. Today my total sponsorship became quintuple my original goal. It's hard to believe. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! Your generosity placed me in 30th position among fundraisers worldwide. That is an amazing accomplishment! September 13, 10 days to go: It's only three days later and with my sponsorships at $2,852, it seems likely that I will succeed in sextupling (SEXTUPLING!!!) my initial fund raising goal. I am so, so thankful for the generosity of my sponsors. I will soon be at a total loss for words. I'm now worried I just may run out of ways to say thank you. September 19, 4 days to go: I apologize in advance to those in my network who have yet to sponsor me but... yes I am sending out another round to fish for funds. It's a good cause folks and every cent helps. Help me break through that $3,000 ceiling with a crash of cash! Sunday September 25: Today was the day. In the end 277 riders participated and raised well over $60,000 for a great cause. It was a resounding success. We rose too early, rode for the better part of the day, stopped traffic, got waves, had many bystanders taking video as we passed by, drank espresso, enjoyed some BBQ, a little beer, and all around had a great time all while helping a great cause. Thursday October 20: This is my last update on the 2016 Distinguished Gentleman's Ride. My final tally in the fundraising extravaganza was $2,892 which ranked me 111th in the world which is an amazing accomplishment my generous sponsors can be justly proud of. I fell just a tad short of the top 100 riders which means no designer limited-edition Hedon helmet for me, which is just fine. I have the mat black 3/4 helmet and goggles I bought for the occasion plus the limited edition Ride Dapper patch which will be my personal prize package to myself for an adventure well-lived. In the end 57,574 riders participated in the global rides, raising $3,571,080 for a great cause. That places my fund raising effort in the top quintile of the top 1% of riders world wide. Without my generous sponsors that feat would have been absolutely impossible.

Those of you who are U.S.-based and who wish to contribute, please contribute to my friend Rob Wilson's ride. Rob will be riding in the Tampa edition of the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride. The funds contributed to Rob's ride will go to support the same cause and you will a receive a tax receipt that will be deductible for U.S. tax purposes. Here is a link to Rob's Distinguished Gentleman's Ride fundraising page. Contributions to Rob's ride are tax deductible in the U.S. The proceeds raised by the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride in the U.S. also go the Movember Foundation which will issue U.S. tax receipts to donors.

I promise to get suitably attired for the ride, maybe some tweed, a vest, certainly a bow tie, maybe a mustache (nah, no time for that), nice wingtips, the whole shebang. There will be pictures. I will wash, wax, polish and detail my Vespa and together we will be extraordinary on the day of the ride.

The route the ride will take looks like this:

As requested by the organizers, I have taken the route map down,  so please visit the site for additional details on  this year's ride. Click here.
Now that the ride is in the history books, here is that route map:

EPILOGUE: On September 25th,  57,574 riders participated in this year's ride worldwide, and 285 riders rode in the Toronto ride, raising $3.6 million to help find a cure and fund treatment for prostate cancer. A stunning success!!

I am truly excited.

I plan to update this page as often as I can so that you can see how I am making out with my objective. Please stay tuned.

Here are a few great videos of past Rides in...

Sydney


Melbourne


London


New York


Bordeaux


Paris


Los Angeles


Milan


and again MILANO!!


and finally... Barcelona


Impossible for me to get enough of this!!!!

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