With two weeks of travelling and more than 12,000 Kms on road, the British Colombia based Sikh Motorcycle Club has raised over $100,000 on behalf of the Canadian Cancer Society.
On 12 bikes, 24 members rode about 1,200 per day - through B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, before turning around in Montreal and back again to the base.
"The money raised will go toward the Canadian Cancer Society's efforts to fund research, prevention initiatives and assist those fighting cancer" Jatinder Singh Chauhan said in a conversation with SBS Radio "This is a totally committed and passionate group of community members", Allan Mugford, a regional director with the Canadian Cancer Society, told CTV News.
For CTV video click the link http://bc.ctvnews.ca/big-hearted-sikh-bikers-raise-100k-to-fight-pediatric-cancer-1.2991564
Source: Supplied
Source: Supplied
Source: Supplied
BC Sikh Motorcycle Club is a group of individuals who share a passion for motorcycles.
On March 20,1997 Mota Singh Jheeta typed a letter of complaint on his portable Remington typewriter on behalf of Mr. Avtar Singh Dhillon, and filed a Human Rights Complaint with the BC Human Rights Commission; in this complaint Mr. Dhillon requested that practicing Sikhs be exempt from the requirement of Section 221 of the Motor Vehicle Act of BC. On May 11 1999, this exemption was made for all persons who practice the Sikh religion, have unshorn hair and habitually wear a turban composed of five or more square meters of cloth. This historical moment marked the beginning of the Sikh Motorcycle Club, the one and only club of its kind in Canada.
During the summer of 2002, Surrey radio broadcast host, Harjinder Singh Thind invited a small group of motorcycle enthusiasts to make a documentary about turban-wearing motorcyclists; this documentary raised awareness about the growing number of Sikhs who enjoyed riding motorcycles.
Soon after the documentary, Harjinder Singh Thind, Avtar Singh Gill, Malkit Singh Rai, Kulwinder Singh Khangura and Amritpal Singh Randhawa began meeting regularly to ride under the name of “Royal Enfield Riders”. A few months later, a large number of Sikh motorcyclists met and inaugurated the “Sikh Motorcycle Club”. Avtar Singh Dhillon was specially invited to this meeting along with Baldev Singh Mookar, Bhupinder Singh Uppal, Jaspal Singh Bagha, Ajadwinder Singh Sidhu and Harjit Singh Shira. These founding members joined the original five.
Harjinder Singh Thind, One of the founder members of the club (Photo Supplied) Source: Supplied
Today, in the province of BC, Sikhs are legally allowed to ride motorcyles while wearing turbans. Our club has grown leaps and bounds with membership well over one hundred members! One common bond among us is…. Our love for the motorcycle.
Club Goals:
- Raise awareness about motorcycle safety among members.
- Help injured motorcyclists in cooperation with other organisations.
- Increase awareness in the broader community about SIKHS and TURBANS- The Sikh next door is not a stranger.
