When Riders Rally for More Than the Road
I’ve been with Cross Country Powersports and Cross Country Cycle for many years. We’ve been here for about 25 years. Over that time, we’ve grown into one of New Jersey’s largest powersports dealerships, and for the past 15 years, we’ve been hosting the Metuchen Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR). The DGR is an annual charity event that raises funds for the Movember Foundation through a motorcycle ride that brings riders together to support the cause for men’s health, suicide prevention, and prostate cancer. It’s such a cool event that brings together all the participants’ passion for motorcycling with the ability to raise funds for a great cause.
Each year we start the ride here at our dealership, Cross Country Power Sports in Metuchen, and we drive to downtown Somerville. We had about 297 riders participate in our last event. We were actually able to get a police escort too, which really helped with keeping the ride organized and timely. The Metuchen Police Department provided a great presence for the event. They closed the road for us, arranged parking, and really stepped up to support us, which made all the difference.
At the start of the event each year, participants show up here at our dealership for an hour or two, they meet with the other riders, and everyone is dressed in full dapper. Suits, ties, you know, nice shoes. I mean, everyone has their own unique way of doing it. For example, some people were dressed as cowboys this year. It’s pretty unique. It’s got this old school feel. At the conclusion of the ride, it’s just a hangout, meet and greet vibe.
It’s always very cool to see 300 bikes riding in parade form through the streets with full helmets and suit jackets. We’ve been doing this for so long that people actually set up along the route just to watch the spectacle of it each year. The route is about 30 miles, and we try to keep it tight every year.
This year, our ride raised $130,137.15, which is our largest ride to date, and globally puts us at number six in the world out of 1,071 rides worldwide. We raised more funds than riders raised in all of Los Angeles, and Sydney, Australia too. We started the Metuchen DGR ride in 2015, and to date, we have raised $584,619.20. It’s pretty amazing how our small town can raise these funds, which impact the lives of so many.
Interview by Gregory Andrus