39 CBG HQ - News

Army kicks off fundraiser with a bang

By Cpl Kendra Steinbring
39 CBG Public Affairs

Members of 15th Field fire the C3 105mm Howitzer to start the Westcoast Motorcycle Ride for Dad.

Over 1800 motorcycles rode around Metro Vancouver on May 31st in the 2nd annual Ride for Dad, a fundraiser for prostate cancer research. Among them, several members of 15 Field Regiment of Canadian Artillery (15 Fd RCA) were there not only to ride, but also fire a round to kick things off.

“We’re doing a salute to the CF, its near and dear to my heart,” said Peter Groenland, ride chairman, of Westcoast Motorcycle Ride for Dad. “My son and daughter-inlaw are both members, and have been overseas. We want to salute these people, they keep it (Canada) free so that we can ride here.”

The massive line up of riders took off shortly after 9 a.m. to the thundering sound of a blank C3 105mm Howitzer. While some members of 15 Fd RCA were busy firing off the round, others were jumping on their bikes ready to get going. Among them were, Bombardier (Bdr) Ken Keene, Bdr Robbie Hill, and Master Bombardier (MBdr) Roy McKenzie.

More than 1,800 motorcycles rode around Metro Vancouver on Sunday, May 31 for the second annual Ride for Dad, a fundraiser for prostate cancer research. Among them, several members of 15th Field Artillery Regiment not only rode, but also fired a blank 105mm Howitzer round to start things off.“My morale is revved up!” said MBdr McKenzie. “I’m extremely happy to just have the Regiment taking part in this event.”

The ride started off at Trev Deeley Motorcycles at Boundary Road in Vancouver, and went as far as Fraser Downs Racetrack in Cloverdale. The route was certainly not a straight line, and allowed the riders to keep off the main highways. MBdr McKenzie was one of the 15 Fd RCA members to complete the entire ride.

“You definitely felt the love from the public, (during the ride) they saw the green team and they would honk their horns and we’d be waving. Every stop people would say thank you. That was a lot of fun having an army team. We had six guys from our unit.”

This year’s ride raised $140,000 in pledges for prostate cancer research, and while this is only the 2nd annual ride in Vancouver, the fundraiser has been taking place across Canada in 23 cities for the past nine years raising over $3,500,000. Several local civilian companies, as well as the BC Sherriffs, and the Royal Canadian Legion sponsor the event.

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