The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 76 in Minnow Lake welcomed a group of motorcycle riders on Aug. 10 as they stopped in during their cross-Canada ride.
The Military Police National Motorcycle Relay kicked off on July 29 in Victoria, BC and 22 riders are making the trip across Canada to St. John's, NFLD with the hope of raising at least $60,000 through the Military Police Fund for Blind Children.
This marks the 10th year of the annual ride that has raised more than $650,000 for blind Canadian children since its inception.
"All of the money raised goes straight to the charity," said Lamont French, the national chair for the ride. "We're hoping to raise between $60,000 and $100,000 this year."
With 22 riders taking part in the entire ride across the country, it's the biggest turnout yet for the ride.
"We have a group that makes the entire trip, but we started out in Victoria with about 50 riders," said French. "A group of them rode to Jasper, AB with us and they turned around and went back and we picked up some riders there who rode a leg of the ride with us, and it goes like that throughout the ride."
Riders from around Northern Ontario made their way into Sudbury to meet up with the core group on Aug. 10 and take part in a leg of the relay.
Legions and Canadian Forces bases across the country are an integral part of the relay, providing meals and a place to sleep while the riders are away from their homes.
Riders raise money themselves, but there are also donations made by legion branches across Canada that all goes to charity.
With any ride spanning the 10,000 km coast to coast and back, there are the inevitable hiccups and speed bumps along the way. The Sudbury leg presented its own challenge this year as the next stop is Parry Sound and recent forest firest had the riders on alert.
"We've been watching the news and checking updates on the fire situation," said French. "Thankfully it looks like it's calmed down a bit and it shouldn't cause us any trouble or delays."
The riders will be making stops at CFB Borden, CFB Trenton and in Ottawa before leaving Ontario and making their way to the east coast.
