Over 80 join Ride For Her

Bikers head out to the course during last Saturday’s Ride for Her. (Kimberly A. Bautista)

The 2nd DFS Ride For Her that was held in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month drew more than 80 bikers who cruised along Beach Road and headed south in San Antonio in colorful pink shirts.

Over 100 signed up for the event and 89 joined last Saturday’s bike ride from the DFS south entrance in Garapan to the Pacific Islands Club Saipan and back.

According to DFS Saipan general manager Billy Cheung, the event turned out much better than expected since it was able to carry out the message about breast cancer awareness with nearly all the riders wearing pink.

“All of us were wearing pink and I think the people in town saw us cycling along the road so I am very happy. The turnout has been great, and we thank the community for their support,” he said.

“Our entire team is happy to be spreading the word in our community and raise awareness throughout the month. I think all the money raised will be put into good use in raising awareness,” Cheung said.

Funds raised from the event will go to Commonwealth Cancer Association to help with its ongoing programs.

When asked about his experience as a participant of the event, Cheung said he enjoyed the ride and encouraged others to participate in the coming years.

“We have the best view for cycling, and I myself enjoyed it greatly. It was a relaxing event and for a good cause. I think it’s very important to support this cause because not a lot of people in the community know about this. I think it’s not only to raise awareness about prevention, but also provide support for people who are going through the disease. This is something that lets them know we are aware and we are supporting them together, as a community. We give them our full support for being so brave and going through such a difficult time, we are all behind them,” Cheung said.

CCA executive director Juan L. Babauta, meanwhile, said the organization is thankful for the amount of help they are receiving from DFS every year through its many programs and events like Ride For Her.

“CCA is a charitable organization in the CNMI and we provide services for people who have been diagnosed and have come back from treatment off island. Funds raised will go to CCA and we thank DFS for raising funds and other organizations that have pledged to help CCA for the past 15 years. We’ve been very blessed,” he said.

Babauta explained the event was held in line with the Breast Cancer Awareness Month because according to their records, it is the No. 1 diagnosed cancer in the CNMI and the word about early prevention and early detection needs to be spread.

“Cancer is a terrible disease and it’s all around us and the best we can do is raise awareness about early prevention and early detection because it saves lives. We just want to help out and we’re very proud to partner with DFS Saipan,” Babauta said.