Aly B.

DGR 2024

It's that time of year where the ride is coming and you'd think, "Oh, it's time to consider men's mental health and physical well being..." but the fact is the reason I ride for such a cause is because there isn't a "month I suddenly think about it" so I can be apart of a really cool event.

Rather, I think about it year round and that's why as a woman, I ride in a "men's ride." My life's cards played out in a way outside my control for a good portion and this clued me into an underlying concept that not many talked about, period: mental health. I realized my life had been adversely affected by the lack of open cultural communication on the topic particularly when it came to men. Empathy was born and replaced anger and a desire for hate. I realized I wasn't the only victim in this equation; the very men who had hurt me were as well. And no one talked about it.

There is a saying that says, "Hurt people hurt people," but I think that's pretty much bullshit. It's more like unhealed people hurt people so maybe there needed to be more conversation around the healing part. And maybe it needed to begin with people listening and making it safe and right for men to speak about it, instead of the strong man persona being numbness ... maybe it could develop to be real talk, knowing this was indeed an amazing quality of masculine health. 

So. That's why I back this organization. It's why I ride too. I wanted to be like my father -- he also rode once upon a time and introduced me to motorcycles. But the parts I didn't want to be like him, I held deeply and didn't know what to do with; until I became a rider too. I ride those parts into healed places and a space for forgiveness. Which is fucking brave and I've seen how riding is one of the literal best means of therapy.

If you'd like to find it in your heart to fund this DGR 2024, whether you ride or not, you can donate here and I promise to represent -- I hope I can motivate and show women should and can be just as much in tune with this as the men. 

Becuase it does us both equally an amazing favor to bring all this to awareness. 

Let's Ride May 19th!

Aly