Local motorcyclists gathered last weekend for the inaugural Distinguished Gentleman's Ride (DGR), which is an annual worldwide event that first started in Australia.
It has brought hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists together to ride 'dapper' on the same day, all around the world since 2012. "Despite the distance and oceans between them, distinguished gentlefolk have united over a joint passion for classic style, motorcycling, and doing good for men’s health," says the website.
Money also goes to prostate cancer research.
This year there were 111,402 riders, and since 2012 they have raised $69,917,889 (CAD).
Michael Hickey is the host of the North Bay Distinguished Gentleman's Ride and told BayToday that he has a personal reason for starting the local event.
"Well I'm 72 years old, and every time I turn around somebody I know is dying of cancer or is fighting cancer. I thought, 'Well maybe I can give back to the community and sponsor this ride and try and raise some funds for prostate cancer and men's mental health.'"
Thirteen local riders registered, and raised $1,300 according to the group's website. Hickey says he's very happy with the first effort.
"I wish there were more participants, but this is our first year so we will build on that and hopefully next year have 30 riders."
Caitlin Hickey, Michael's daughter, handled publicity and also hoped for more participants but saw it as a good starting point.
"We didn't get too much advertising for this year just getting started, and it was more word of mouth...telling everybody I know. But I'm hoping next year we will be getting more media involved."
Anyone who wants to join the ride can go to The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride website and sign up. You can also click on any country and all the cities to see how many riders they have plus how much they've raised.
"You can do the same for North Bay, so you can either just sponsor North Bay and make a donation, or you can choose a rider and donate specifically to them as well. https://www.gentlemansride.com/sponsor
"Hopefully it'll only get bigger," says Caitlin.
It's not too late to help out. You can donate here.
The worldwide event is sponsored by Triumph Motorcycles.