Dear editor,
We are responding to George Peters' uniformed rant (Record, Sept. 21) regarding the recent motorcycle run for the hospital.
Let us correct several comments made by Mr. Peters.
First of all, there were not several hundred motorcycles on the run that day, but 116. We are not anti-social bullies, but retired military, who have served their country with pride, retired men and women from various occupations, business owners, medical professionals, attorneys, pastors, church-goers, volunteers and, yes, police officers.
Many people come and stand on the side of the road just to see and hear the bikes go past, with smiles and a friendly wave. Some, but certainly not all of the machines on the run, have loud pipes.
The Totem Riders had requested a police escort, but for reasons unexplained, the RCMP did not attend this year’s event, possibly due to the small turnout last year due to cold, wet weather. I’m certain the vast majority of drivers were not upset being delayed for a couple of minutes on a Sunday afternoon.
The ride this year raised over $3,000 for the hospital to purchase much-needed equipment. Mr. Peters also failed to mention the large number of very loud, large pickup trucks with four-inch exhaust pipes, boom boxes, etc.
As for the suggestion of running a marathon, this type of event would have a much larger impact on the local traffic patterns than our ride, with dozens of streets needing to be blocked off, and disrupting traffic for hours.
We are proud members of the local chapter of the Southern Cruisers Riding club. Over the past few years we have raised well over $1,000 for Children’s Variety Charity of BC, made Christmas dinner and purchased gifts for a small local church congregation and the homeless and participated in the Breast Cancer Ride and Ride for Dad, which raised thousands of dollars for cancer research.
We are currently organizing a dance and auction to support a family in need. The Totem riders and other groups equally support good causes.
We would invite Mr. Peters to drop by the A&W across from Driftwood Mall where some of us gather for coffee from 10:30 a.m. until noon or so, and spend some time with us “anti-social bullies.” He will discover quite the opposite is true.
Gary and Sue Purvess,
Courtenay