The Saskatoon Motorcycle Ride for Dad was a huge success in Humboldt even though the weather was less than ideal.
Three hundreds and fifty-six participants were registered for the event and over 200 bikes participated in the poker rally from Saskatoon to Humboldt on June 18.
"Considering the weather, it was an excellent turn-out," said Mark Diehl of the Ride.
Rider pledges brought in $107,727 for prostate cancer awareness and research.
Twelve people raised over $2,000 and the top three earners were Larry Bleile who raised $8,282, Bernie Martens with $6, 720 and David Jessimon with $5,636.
The event started out in Saskatoon with a parade through part of the city and ended at the Bella Vista Inn in Humboldt, where the riders were treated to some entertainment and a hot meal.
"I want to thank you for what you do and for bringing this event to our city," said Mayor Malcolm Eaton at the ride.
Along with Eaton, Humboldt MLA Donna Harpauer and prostate cancer survivor Len Jeffries also spoke at the event.
Harpauer has been impacted by the disease because her friend and one of the founders of the Saskatchewan Party, Ben Heppner, died of the disease.
"On behalf of the Government of Saskatchewan and in memory of my friend, I thank you very much for raising money for this disease," said Harpauer.
Jeffries told the crowd a small part of his story.
When he was told he had prostate cancer, there were three options available for treatment - surgery, seed implantation and radiation.
"None of these sounded that interesting to me," joked Jeffries.
He asked his doctor for more information about each option. He chose to go with radiation after hearing the side effects of each treatment.
"I did 40 days, straight through," said Jeffries.
During the radiation treatments, Jeffries said at first he thought he was fine, but then it got harder and he found himself sleeping all the time.
"I thought 'something is wrong here (and) this is some terrible stuff'," said Jeffries.
He now encourages men to regularly get tested for prostate cancer, no matter how uncomfortable they may feel getting it done.
"You've got to do it with a smile on your face, otherwise it's a really ugly activity," said Jeffries.
"If you catch it early, you're looking good... It's easier to alleviate issues down the road."
Jeffries appreciates what the rally does for prostate cancer awareness.
"I appreciate that you people would take time out of your lives to support this," said Jeffries.
Diehl thanked everyone who was involved with the event this year, including Judy Plag of the BV Inn.
"A big thanks to Judy (Plag) from the BV Inn for putting this event on," said Diehl. "She's a heck of a gal and we love her."
