Pink Ribbon Ride – 26 October

“Fight like a girl”

We’re not condoning assault or fisticuffs, in this regard the fight is survival.

On Sunday 26 October 2014, a group of police officers, friends and family will participate in the annual Pink Ribbon Ride raising money for and awareness of Breast Cancer Research. Not only do they ride in tribute to a former colleague, they ride for loved ones and family members.

One rider writes…” The image I keep coming up with is of a car accident. First there is the realisation that something has gone awry, the car is sliding and something that is not supposed to be in the middle of your vision is there and coming at you. You do all the things you are supposed to do, minimal steering, brake or throttle input and none of that works. You gradually increase the reactions and the anxiety, realising at some point that the result is inevitable, you can’t change it, chaos has taken over and you are simply along for the ride.

“My wife first found the lump in her breast in February 2013 and I started to feel the car slide. By March and the biopsy results, the doctor left me in little doubt that the vehicle was now out of control and chaos had taken the wheel.

“After surgery and chemotherapy, I remember an early morning conversation, my wife said that if she didn’t survive I should probably remarry and forget all about her. I told her not to be so bloody stupid. I went and got a tattoo with the pink breast cancer ribbon and “fight like a girl” inscribed around it.”

This story and many more like it are the reason we lend our support to this fundraising endeavour.

During the Pink Ribbon Ride riders dressed their bikes and themselves in all sorts of pink finery and rode with the Ulysses Motorcycle Club to Campbelltown, where bikes from all over Tasmania joined the group from Hobart. In all around 250 motorcycles were involved.

“It was a plethora of pinkishness that raised awareness as well as money,” our rider said.

Last year the ride raised approximately $4,000 through our raffle and the Tasmania Police Charity Trust.

This year another raffle is under way and donations can be made through the Pink Ribbon Motorcycle Ride Everyday Hero webpage.

All the money raised will go to the Cancer Council of Tasmania towards Breast Cancer Research. There are many great support networks for Breast Cancer survivors. Aiming for a cure through research is where we felt our fundraising efforts would be best used.

There are other stories belonging to members of our organisation and many many others. Please help us stop the need for these stories to be told.