The Lloydminster community will be donning their leathers and kick starting their engines this weekend for the inaugural motorcycle charity event, Treads of Life.
“Treads of Life is a motorcycle run that is raising funds for the families who suffer from workplace tragedies,” explains Jennifer Keach, Chair of the Lakeland RSC.
The event is a 350 kilometer, poker run-style charity ride. Motorcyclists and motorcycle enthusiasts are invited to show up Saturday, June 18, at Lethal Motorsports (5101 62 St. Lloydminster, AB) to register at 10:00 a.m. The cost is $20 per bike and $10 for ghost-riders (cash only). The riders will be leaving at 11:00 a.m.
“The event is leaving Lloydminster…the first stop is Lethal Motorsports, where you’ll pick up your first card, the second is Marwayne, the third is the Yamaha dealership in Bonnyville, and then we’re coming back around to the Vermilion Co-op Gas Bar, and then finishing it off back in Lloydminster at Lethal Motorsports for a barbecue and live music.”
The event is being put on by the (ACSA) Alberta Construction Safety Association’s Lakeland Regional Safety Committee (Lakeland RSC), mostly aimed at raising awareness about the families of workers who have been injured, disabled, or have lost their lives to work-related incidents or occupational diseases, but the Committee also has a goal of raising $3,000.
The wrap-up celebration at the end of the poker run, back at Lethal Motorsports, is a family event open to the public. Local band, The Zone, will be providing the musical entertainment. There will also be prize giveaways and several keynote speakers, including Keach herself; Dan MacLennan, Executive Director of the ACSA; and Rick Keach, the Lead Ride Marshal.
“I actually am the chairperson also for the ‘Steps for Life’ walk that fundraises for workplace tragedy. And being chair of the Lakeland Regional Safety Committee, we’re always trying to add some diversity to our committee and how we can affect our local community. And I’m a motorcycle enthusiast and I ride for a lot of the charities that are local, near and far. So I really enjoy combining my sport and being able to help a community. I started to talk to a few people around town and seemed like there was a lot of interest for it. It just kind of started to come together: the more I talked to people, the more people were getting interested, the more ideas that came up, and within a year, it just appeared,” says Keach.
Keach also says that the turnout will determine whether or not the group continues with this event and makes it an annual. There is no pre-registration available for the poker run.
Organizers hope for 100-150 bikes, which will put them on target to reach their $3000 goal.