The Ride Is Calling Charity Ride: Go riding, support riders

With that in mind, RevZilla, Cycle Gear, J&P Cycles, Rever — and hopefully you — are teaming up to support the people who are helping fellow riders in our small corner of the grand scheme of it all. It’s not meant to save the world, but it is a way to help support the motorcycling community that matters so much to us all.

There are two ways you can do that. First, during the entire month of June, we're encouraging donations to the Motorcycle Relief Project, Kurt Caselli Foundation, and the National Motorcycle Safety Fund to help support these three non-profit 501(c)3 organizations that do a lot of good in the world of motorcycling (and in the world as a whole, for that matter). Just follow those links any time during June to make a donation. The other way you can participate is by riding your motorcycle. Does that have your attention?

The Ride Is Calling Charity Ride

As motorcyclists, we want to be on the road (or trail) as much as possible, and now more than ever! So, if you’re like us, and you want to contribute to these great non-profits while also getting your miles in on the bike, great! There is an option for that, too.

On the weekend of June 19 through 21, you can join your fellow motorcyclists around the world, digitally, by downloading the Rever app and logging your miles on The Ride Is Calling Charity Ride. Over those three days, RevZilla, Cycle Gear, and J&P Cycles will collectively donate $1 for every 10 miles ridden (up to $30,000) that will be split evenly among the selected charities above. In addition to that, five percent of all sales at every RevZilla, Cycle Gear, or J&P Cycles store across the country on June 20 will be added to the donation fund, as well.

The charities

There are a plethora of organizations doing great things for the riding community. For this year, as we looked to the foundations that we wanted to support through The Ride is Calling Charity Ride, we selected three non-profits whose reach ranges far and wide across the spectrum of riders, causes, and areas of influence.

Motorcycle Relief Project

Based in Evergreen, Colorado, the Motorcycle Relief Project was founded as a way to provide therapeutic motorcycle experiences for military veterans and first responders. Having been through treatment for trauma in his own life, Tom Larson founded MRP after learning about PTSD and the massive effects it has had on the people who sacrifice so much on a daily basis.

The primary purposes of the MRP are to:

• Honor and encourage military veterans and first responders
• Provide recreational activities that enable participants to experience some relief from the struggles of life and reintegration
• Provide a positive environment where participants can connect with peer who’ve had similar experiences
• Offer useful tools for stress management and overcoming trauma
• Help steer participants toward further treatment for their injuries

For more on the "why" behind the Motorcycle Relief Project, check out the donors section of their website or hear from the riders in their own words.

The Kurt Caselli Foundation

After Kurt Caselli passed away following an accident in the 2013 Baja 1,000, his friends and family established a foundation in his memory that would work to help make off-road racing safer for all who shared a similar passion. As an extension of Kurt Caselli’s legacy, the foundation works to mitigate the dangers associated with off-road racing through a wide-variety of partnerships, policies, and procedures aimed at improving the lives of those who partake in the sport.

From adding in sweeper vehicles to clear the tracks before races, to the work that they do hand-in-hand with medical professionals, the foundation focuses on a three-part mission:

• Before racing: Encouragement, development, and standardization of safety precautions that help to minimize risk that is outside of the rider’s control
• During racing: Development, establishment, and encouragement of the use of safety equipment and policies to increase the safety of riders
• After racing: Support that allows former racers to further their education and reach career goals for themselves and their families

You can read more on Kurt Cassell’s legacy and the foundation established in his name (and possibly win an FMF CR125 project bike) on their website.

National Motorcycle Safety Fund

If you learned to ride a motorcycle, it’s highly likely that you’ve experienced at least a little bit of the work done by the National Motorcycle Safety Fund. Created in 1980, the NMSF was designed to supplement the work of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, and as such, continues to support the MSF’s mission to eliminate motorcycle crashes, injuries, and fatalities through research, training, and motorist awareness efforts. In providing a tax-deductible avenue for riders, families, friends, corporations, and other organized groups to contribute to the MSF, the National Motorcycle Safety Fund works to continually better the lives of all of those who make their way on two wheels.

When you donate to the NMSF, none of the money goes towards general overhead or administrative costs, which means 100 percent of your contribution will be used to support research and development initiatives. From large-scale studies to the dissemination of educational materials, the sole purpose of the NMSF is to help improve the lives of fellow riders.

You can find out more about the NMSF, and the wide range of work they are doing for all motorcyclists, on their website.

Get out and ride

We’re all here because we have a shared passion for motorcycles. While that passion comes in many different forms, we also share the sense of community that we feel with others who feel the same way. Whether it is improving the safety of those who enjoy racing with the throttle pinned off-road, or enabling long, leisurely rides as a way to provide a bit of tranquility to those who deserve it immensely (and every sort of riding in between), one of the organizations featured in The Ride Is Calling Charity Ride is working to help support it.

So from now until the end of the month, if you are so inclined, you can stop by one of the donation pages on RevZilla, Cycle Gear, or J&P Cycles and contribute to a fund that will go directly to helping a few great causes.

And if that’s not your style, you can contribute in your own way by downloading the Rever app and logging some miles of your own between June 19 and 21 on our weekend charity ride.

Either way, as summer rolls into town and the riding days become longer and more frequent, hopefully you will be able to take part in this opportunity to help support safety, education, and life on two wheels for our community.