Instead of donning traditional motorcycle gear, J.P. Prichard and some buddies put on their Sunday-morning finest for an event that was part fun and part fundraising while showing off their classic rides.
They participated in the Central Coast segment of the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, a worldwide event to raise awareness for prostate cancer while “smartly dressed gentlefolk” have fun in fine clothing riding classic motorcycles.
Participants, who came from Santa Maria, Santa Barbara and Arroyo Grande, included four owners of Russian-made Ural sidebar motorcycles.
“The whole point of this ride isn’t about going on a long ride,” said Prichard, who lives in Los Alamos. “It’s mobile theater with a purpose.”
As participants parked in front of Corner House Coffee in Los Olivos on Sunday morning, they attracted quizzical looks and spectators interested in learning more about the unique Urals, which featured different paint themes, and dapper riders.
“Told you it was mobile theater,” Prichard added.
Santa Barbara resident Jeff Carroll rode his red Ural in Sunday’s event, which he learned about from a friend.
“It sounded right up my alley,” Carroll said. “I think the sidecar is a gentlemanly way to ride.”
Arroyo Grande resident Mike Byrd drove with his wife, Eve, both decked out in distinguished suits and ties.
“Facebook calls us a group,” he said. “I prefer to call us a motorcycle gang.”
“Three axles of evil,” Eve added.
Riders dressed in their best distinguished attire, which can range from a tuxedo to a three-piece suit to tweed.
“Typically it turns into a tweed-fest,” Prichard said.
Prichard has ridden motorcycles for 40 years but said he has had more fun with his Ural equipped with a sidecar.
Formerly an enlisted airman during the Cold War, he noted the poetry of owning a motorcycle purchased on the commercial open market from a former foe. Fittingly, the civilian who oversees the Space and Missile Heritage Museum at Vandenberg Air Force Base calls his Ural motorcycle Yuri, after the former Soviet Union’s first astronaut.
“I can tell you have I have had more fun in my sidecar than any of those other machines,” he said. “It’s a mobile cultural experience. It really fits the distinguished gentleman theme in that it’s from that romantic lost era. … You can’t take somebody for a ride in a sidecar without them smiling from ear to ear.”
The Distnguished Gentleman’s Ride began in Sydney, Australia, in 2012 before spreading across the globe thanks to social media. It was inspired by a photo from the television series Mad Men.
A friend in Australia forwarded the Facebook link to Prichard.
“He sent it to me and said, ‘Here’s a challenge for you’,” he said.
He participated alone locally the first year and had eight participants in 2013.
“The first year, it was just for fun,” Prichard said. “Last year, it was decided to make it purposeful.”
Organizers chose a men’s health issue — prostate cancer — as the cause they would focus on to raise both awareness and funds while working to end the stigma of the exam.
“The real issue is about awareness about the subject,” Prichard said. “It’s one of the most survivable cancers so early diagnosis is absolutely imperative.”
This year’s event was expected to include 258 rides in 57 countries and 20,000 riders while raising more than $1.3 million. Last year, they raised $277,000.
Among those drawn to the motorcycle riders Sunday morning was Robert Spining, a Franklin, Tenn., resident visiting Los Olivos with his wife, Jackie, to attend a friend’s wedding.
“What a spectacle,” he said.
Attracted by unique motorcycles and dapper riders, he later found out the event’s secondary purpose, timely since September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
“I’m just really excited,” the Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner said upon learning the ride’s purpose for prostate cancer awareness.
The purpose is personal for Spining. A prostate cancer survivor, he is former chairman of the Prostate Cancer Education Committee in his hometown and remains involved in a research initiative.
Since his 2004 diagnosis, Spining has worked to urge men to get the both the digital rectal exam plus blood test to measure the PSA level because each play vital roles in early detection.
“The awareness is not there” he said. “We’re chivalrous. We don’t want to talk about health. And it’s all early detection.”
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
