A thousand motorcyclists kitted up and took a joyride through Melbourne on Sunday before descending on a single pub to satisfy their thirsts.
It may sound like a recipe for disaster – but this was no bikie gang.
In place of leather vests and torn jeans, the men wore three-piece suits. Instead of gang patches were neck ties. Their beards were manicured and moustaches curled. They wore boaters. The women wore stylish dresses and jewellery.
And in the place of low-rider Harley Davidsons was an armada of classic, custom and vintage rides: Triumphs, Nortons, MV Agusta, Moto Guzzis, Ducatis.
This was no outlaw rally, this was the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride.
But, though he cut a dapper figure on his black Triumph Speedmaster in a “medium blue suit with ink-coloured vest”, organiser Ryan Walker said fashion took a back seat to the “pure ethos of the ride”.
That ethos: to save lives. Mr Walker said they hoped to help prevent terminal prostate cancer and suicide by getting men to get regular and early check-ups and to talk about mental health.
“My grandfather suffered from prostate cancer for over 20 years and I saw the impact it had on family and on himself,” the 41-year-old IT worker from East Malvern said.
“Eventually, it took his life as it spread through his body … but if he had been tested earlier in life, it may have been preventable.
“And that’s the message we’re trying to spread, that prostate cancer and mental health can have devastating impacts on men’s lives, but that they can be prevented.”
The ride started at the Malthouse Theatre and finished up at the Colonial Brewing Co in Port Melbourne. Mr Walker said they raised $115,000.
The annual ride was part of a global campaign which began in Sydney in 2012. Organisers were predicting a turnout of 120,000 riders in 650 cities around the world this year.
They say 17,000 Australian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. Globally, one man takes his life every minute.
“It’s about opening up a conversation, getting men to talk about mental health, to ask each other if they are okay, to feel comfortable talking about all that stuff,” Mr Walker said.
“That can save lives.”
Anyone needing support can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
