In 2009 it was the mountains of Colorado. In 2011 it will be the Alaska and the Yukon. Adventures for the Cures is back. And there are still a few spots open.
Organized by Sue Slate and Gin Shear of the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation, Adventures for the Cures is a fund- and awareness-raiser for breast and ovarian cancer research. The 14 riders, plus six volunteer support staff, are each required to raise a minimum of $2,000 for the cause, plus the riders pay an additional $2,000 for their adventure.
This second event, say the organizers, is the first step in taking the concept international. And it is as much about developing leadership as it is about raising money. Because Slate and Shear can't be everywhere, and do everything, they are hoping that many of those participating in this ride will step up to play the leadership roles in future Adventures for the Cures around the world.
"This is really a template for the future as much as anything else," says Sue. "We realize that the WMF, to be sustainable, has to grow, and we have to do things a little bit differently if we're going to grow and have a long-lasting legacy. So we are partnering with MotoQuest Tours and MotoQuest Tours has a presence, literally, all over the world. They do tours all over the world. Their home base is in Anchorage, where they have a rental and tour business, and that's where they started. But they now do tours in South America, China, Russia, Africa, literally all over the world.
"What we're looking for out of all that is not only a great dual-sport ride that also teaches you additional skills for upping the ante in what you'll choose to ride so that you're pushing yourself a bit -- that's the goal of the ride, is to become a better rider, to raise money, have a lot of fun -- but we're also looking at this as a leadership training venue. And we know who we have on board. It's not like we went out actively and said, 'Are you a leader?' But this is a first-time event, and so you tend to attract the healthy risk-takers. And the healthy risk-takers tend not to be shy and retiring people. So we're pretty confident that out of this group of 20 we'll probably get over a dozen leaders that we can put as two-person teams on Adventures for the Cures international tours, where maybe we go on a tour to Eastern Europe or to China or to India or to any number of places."
Using the money
And where does the money go, how is it used?
"All of our funds are now going to the Global Promise Fund. It's a Susan G. Komen for the Cure Global Promise Fund. So what that means is that if a good research idea comes up and they've got their ducks in a row for what they want to do with their research and their grant-writing skills are good, it doesn't matter where they're from. It's sort of like Doctors Without Borders. So if Outer Mongolia has a researcher who is out in a little lab and doing great work and needs funding to take it to the next level, they could get a grant from Komen from the Global Promise Fund. If a clinic exists that can prove it can save lives through a grant for its clinic for, say early diagnostic or education or preventive measures that will either catch it early or possibly even prevent people through their lifestyle choices from even getting breast cancer then they could get funding and they could be anywhere in the world.
"So from now on, we're international. Our plans now are to get onto tours all around the world, and obviously Gin and I can't be everywhere. We know we have good leadership in our organization, but we want our rides to be dual-sport rides because 95 percent of the world is not paved. That's the BMW ad but it's true. That doesn't mean every mile will be in the dirt, but it would be kind of nice to visit some of the communities that actually the recipients of some of the work. We have a few more spots left. It's a women-focused tour but it's not women only, in that we have couples going on it . We have, I think, five couples. And each member of the couples is under the same obligation to improve their riding skills; each has to raise $2,000 and things like that. We want the focus on women, so there will be more women than men, but probably 40 percent of our riders will be men."
The ride runs from Aug. 5 to Aug. 18, and begins and ends in Anchorage.
"Moto-Quest, Kawasaki, and Yamaha right now are providing the bikes. Our bikes will range in size anywhere from 250s to GS800 BMWs. We're sending a proposal to BMW. I have a feeling they'll find a way."
"They did before," Gin interjects, "and there's a great BMW dealership in Anchorage and they are a rental business so we'll find a way, probably, to get BMW involved. Progressive Insurance really is the mover and shaker behind why we get to do what we do. Were it not for their financial support there's no way we could host a ride of this grandeur. This is a $6,000 tour, but because of MQT, Kawasaki, and Yamaha, and BMW . . . providing the motorcycles, and Progressive Insurance providing the cash, we can dial that price down to $2,000 for our fund-raising riders."
To learn more about Adventures for the Cures or the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation, see the website at http://www.womensmotorcyclistfoundation.org/.
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