The local organizer of the annual Syd's Fun Run for Muscular Dystrophy motorcycle ride has changed the date and route and, given the weather predictions for this weekend, he's glad he did.
“We used to make the run on Good Friday but we ran into snow a couple of times,” said organizer Les Schultz.
“That was hard on some of the novice riders, hell, it was hard on the experienced guys. This will be much better. The point of the whole thing is to raise money for MD and we might get more people out and raise more money when the conditions are better.”
The MD fundraiser was initiated in 1980 by Syd Bates, who owned a Harley Davidson dealership locally for years, and was taken over by Schultz when Bates closed up shop and moved away in 1993.
“I ran it for a couple of years but then got too busy at work and couldn't manage it anymore,” Schultz said. “Then four years ago me and a few friends were talking about it and how much fun it was and I picked it up again.”
The ride has also changed its route from previous years when it would travel down through the U.S. and back into Canada.
“We went south because we didn't have to go over any passes and we had some riders from down there,” explained Schultz.
“But the border has gotten so tight they insisted on stopping every single rider and it took forever to get through.”
The new 280-kilometre ride starts at Leather and Steel in Fruitvale, travels through Trail to Warfield, then through Castlegar, and onto Nelson where more riders join.
The ride continues from Nelson to Kaslo and back to Nelson before circling through Ymir back to Fruitvale and ending at the Warfield Firehall.
The run is expected to take up to six hours finishing up with a silent auction and draw for a leather riding jacket at the firehall.
“Andrew Bligh, a young man with muscular dystrophy who lives in Warfield, always joins us at the firehall,” said Schultz. “He pulls the ticket for the door prize and seems to really enjoy coming out.”
Registration for the ride starts at 8 a.m. Sunday morning at Leather and Steel and hits the road at 10 a.m.
For more information, or to make a donation to the Fun Run, contact Les Schultz Autobody at (250) 364-2639. Geoff Tellier at (250) 365-2901, or Leather and Steel at (250) 367-6222.