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Episode 146

Bikers Against Breast Cancer

Date
October 11, 2023
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Summary

Charles Christy discusses his journey of discovering the widespread impact of breast cancer through social media stories and his initiative of rallying almost 500 bikers to fundraise for The Rose, leading to their unique honor of riding on Beltway 8.

Transcript

Dorothy: [00:00:00] Imagine the noise of 500 motorcycles revving up to start a 60 mile journey. That was a day filled with bikers, headbands, boots, and heaps of testosterone. At least that’s how the fundraiser, Bikers Against Breast Cancer, was described. An event that broke all records and made history for the Rose. Thank goodness Charlie Christy, chair of the Bikers event, has never finished raising money for the Rose.

Let’s Talk About Your Breast. A different kind of podcast presented to you by the Rose, the Breast Center of Excellence and a Texas treasure. You’re going to hear frank discussions about tough topics and you’re going to learn why knowing about your breast could save your life. Join us as we hear another story, and we answer those tough questions that you may have.

So we’re here today to talk with [00:01:00] Charlie Christy about Bikers Against Breast Cancer. This was one of the most fun events we ever had, and Charlie, you were there at the very beginning, back in 2010?

Charles: Yes. I, uh, actually got started riding the first one in 2011. We knew about it in 2010, uh, got involved in 2011, uh, rode the first ride in 2011, uh, because I just bought a bike at San Jacinto and, uh, ended up, uh, riding that ride the next year.

Dorothy: So that first year you came out and just watched or listened or you knew about it that it was happening, right?

Charles: Correct, yeah.

Dorothy: And how long had you been a biker?

Charles: Oh forever. I had dirt bikes as a kid So I’ve been riding since I was a youngster.

Dorothy: And now we’re talking about bike bikes.

Charles: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Dorothy: We’re talking about Harleys and—

Charles: uh, Harley’s probably for the last 15 to 20 years, uh, but we rode dirt bikes and other types of bikes, but, uh, Harley’s probably for the last 15 to 20.

Dorothy: So this idea of [00:02:00] having bikers against breast cancer, and we’re talking about the big bikes.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: Uh, was kind of a brainchild, I think, of some of our original folks that were involved with it.

And. And had you done this before for breast cancer or done anything like that before for breast cancer?

Charles: Well, we, not for breast cancer, but as bikers, we do a lot of charity rides and different type of rides. So, like I said, once I saw that, that, that posted at San Jacinto and met D’Etta and Brahana back then.

I was like, Oh, you know, the next year we’re going to, we’re going to ride and get involved. And then that’s how that kind of started.

Dorothy: So when’d you take over as chair?

Charles: Chair was probably three or four years down the road. Because that next year we posted all about being on bikers and everything. And that’s when we started hearing from friends and family about how breast cancer had affected them.

And so that next year I had a huge group of people come out. And that’s when D’Etta came up and said, okay, [00:03:00] Charles, like, uh, it’s time you, uh, you put your expertise to work. So that’s when we joined the committee a couple of years after that’s when we took over as the chair.

Dorothy: Okay. Now I’m going to show my ignorance.

Were you in a biker’s group at that time?

Charles: No, no. I’ve been asked many, many times to be a part of a organization and I just, I’ve never felt comfortable. So I’ve had many, many biker friends and, and. Been a part of a lot of groups, but never officially a part of anybody.

Dorothy: Did you know any of these people that had breast cancer?

Were you ever, was breast cancer ever a part of your life?

Charles: Personally, I’d never knew anybody that had breast cancer. Uh, but as soon as I started mentioning it and posting about it, people I went to school with, people that I knew actually came to me and said they had breast cancer and some had actually had double mastectomies and I had no idea.

That any of that was going on, and then you meet some of the survivors at the event and you realize how much it affects everybody in their lives. Not only them, but everybody in their lives. [00:04:00] So it was, it was really impactful once people started talking to me about it.

Dorothy: And I remember one of the events we focused on our young women.

Yes. And that was probably the most. meaningful one we had. It was just so apparent that some of these women were not going to make it.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: But they were there to help in any way they could and some were in treatment and, but they were bikers and they wanted to be a part of it.

Charles: Yes. And then, and that was one, I’ll just tell a quick story.

That was one that kind of got me the most. There was a, there was a young lady there that year. She was probably in her early twenties and she had already had. Double mastectomy. I got to know her, her husband. He actually had a band they performed one year. And, um, he was performing somewhere on the north side.

And we went up to see him. And she had been in remission, like she had already. And, uh, went up to see him. They came to sit down and looked over. And you could see a tube coming out of her sleeve. [00:05:00] And I just looked over and was like, and she was like, yeah, it’s back. And I was just like, I was, I was so hurt and so blown away at the same time.

You know, it’s just like, is there anything we can do for you? Like that’s, that’s when it really hits you, how much it affects people and how it affects their lives.

Dorothy: Do you know if she beat it that second time?

Charles: Yes. Facebook. So she’s, she’s pulled through, but it’s. It’s tough like you really understand how tough it is at that point.

Dorothy: Oh, yeah, how many people? Signed up for this event.

Charles: So over the years early on we had usually between 100 and 200 bike show up and my goal as a biker was to get as many people as possible at the event and So we started getting between two and 300 and one year, we actually got 400 and something, almost 500 bikes in San Jacinto Harley- Davidson.

It was [00:06:00] the most amazing sight. I had people come up to me and just say, that was just amazing seeing that, that many people. And, uh, it was, it was, it was our biggest year. It was, it was a lot of fun that year.

Dorothy: And where did, where did this bike ride take you? So,

Charles: um, luckily we were grandfathered in. We were the only bike ride allowed to go on Beltway 8.

The only one. And so we would leave San Jacinto and we’d go around and we’d go across the big Fred Hartman Bridge. Uh, everybody loved that part. And, uh, then we’d circle around Baytown and come back over it again, 225. And then we would actually be able to get on the Beltway. And come back down the Beltway to San Jacinto and, uh, found out years later that we were the only group allowed to do that. Nobody else. They wouldn’t shut down the beltway for anybody else.

Dorothy: Oh my.

Charles: Yeah.

Dorothy: So we’re talking about, uh, Sanderson and Harley Davidson.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: In Pasadena.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: Yes. So that, that is quite a ride. Was it [00:07:00] 60 miles or?

Charles: It was, it was right at 60 miles and it was police escorted. Uh, we also had, as we grew, we had to get Uh, more road guards.

That’s when the warrior bikers for charity stepped up. We couldn’t have done it without either group without passing the police department or the Warriors. We would never could have pulled it off. And they’d be great, huge group of people and they would road guard force, which means as you start getting on the road, they would go and block the road to make sure everybody got through safely.

As you’re going down a highway, they wouldn’t be at entrance ramps and exit ramps. And with that many bikes, there’s no way without how we could have done that. And, uh, but they were, they were just great assets to the organization and really appreciated everything they did for us.

Dorothy: Oh, yeah. They were all that volunteer work and being out there year after year. That was amazing.

Charles: Yeah. Yep.

Dorothy: So you shared something earlier about how some folks think charity rides are a way to get into the biking world or get some [00:08:00] experience.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: In your opinion, that’s really not the best way to get that number of hours or time on the bike.

Charles: Right. It’s, if you’re new to riding, uh, I would suggest you go out on your own for a while and ride and get used to your bike, get used to stopping and starting.

Because a lot of folks buy a bike and they think, oh, I’ll go ride this charity ride. And what they don’t understand is if you get Three, 400 bikes, there’s a lot of speeding up, slowing down, speeding up. And if you’re not used to that, you can end up getting yourself in trouble. And it’s, it’s like what they call the accordion effect.

So, so my advice to all new riders is get used to your bike, go out somewhere and ride first, uh, get away from people and ride. And get to know your bike before you jump into a charity ride that’s got three, 400 bikes in it.

Dorothy: Right. And so now the biggest brag of all, this event over 10 years raised.

Charles: Uh, we were over [00:09:00] $400,000.

Dorothy: And, and, you know, when, when I hear that number, I go, Oh my gosh, you know, that that’s more than most of the grants we ever got, even year over year. That was a. Amazing and this thing started in 2010 and it ran through about 2020.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: Um I guess the last one was Uh 2019. We didn’t really have one in 2020 obviously.

Charles: I think 19 was officially the 10 year. Yeah So that’s that’s what it was. It was a good place to stop at 10 years. So it was it was a good anniversary I’m glad we made 10.

Dorothy: Oh, yeah, we were too that money went to help us take care of so many uninsured women because Many of our uninsured women, we simply don’t have the funds for.

We, we don’t have enough grant money. We don’t have enough uh, event money. We don’t have enough individual money. So this, this event used to be held in May.

Charles: Yes, Mother’s Day weekend.

Dorothy: Mother’s Day weekend. And uh, we’d have people come out carrying kids and [00:10:00] Babies and strollers, and oh my gosh, it was just a fabulous event.

But it was also something that the family could come out and watch, and food was there. Uh, we were very, very sensitive about never having any alcohol after the event. People could go do whatever they wanted to, but we were real sensitive to that, because we didn’t want any of our folks to get hurt.

Charles: Yes. Now we, we had, we had great vendors, great folks come out to help. Uh, one year we actually made, uh, my group made shirts. So we all had the same shirts and, uh, I put a logo, logo together. He even had it painted on my bike at one time. It said “Rocking the Tatas.” Sold shirts. And I went to get that image. Uh, what do you call that?

Uh, I can’t think of the name of it, but I went to get it, um, just for me. And they came back and said anything that has “ta tas” on it, cannot be. I got a lawyer, a letter from a lawyer saying you cannot use that for anything. So we had to [00:11:00] stop making shirts, stop using the shirts, everything.

Dorothy: Oh my goodness, I didn’t know that.

Charles: Yeah, we sold shirts, all the profits went straight to the Rose at the event, and they came out and said, nope, can’t do it, can’t do it.

Dorothy: And we had a lot of great sponsors.

Charles: Oh, yeah.

Dorothy: Individuals, companies, many people got their companies to come out and match whatever their group did.

Charles: Yeah, the company I work for, they would actually match anything, the volunteer hours, money donated, they would just match 50 50.

Dorothy: And you know, a lot of people forget that. Many companies have that. You just have to turn in your volunteer hours and the company will. Compensate the charity with actual cash.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: So, yeah, that was a great way to do this.

Charles: Yeah, absolutely.

Dorothy: And was it a day long affair?

Charles: Oh yeah, like it was, you’d show up, you know, or at least for us that were there, we’d show up at 7 o’clock and you wouldn’t leave till 3, 4 o’clock in the afternoon.

Dorothy: Oh yeah.

Charles: Uh, the ride itself was usually from 10:30 to like 2:30. You’d come [00:12:00] back, we’d have a band.

Dorothy: Raffle.

Charles: Raffles, all kinds of stuff.

Dorothy: Any way we could sell anything to make some money.

Charles: Yes. Yes. Yes. No, it was, it was a great time. Everybody had a great, everybody really enjoyed the event and then, uh, San Jacinto would have their open house spring event the same day.

So they would have specials and then, so it just, it brought people in from everywhere.

Dorothy: And for our listeners, you have to realize what a contrast this was. Now, yes, we always had a shrimp boil and that was another family event. Have a band and lots of great food to eat. Or then we’d have, uh, one of our more hoity toity luncheons.

And, you know, those would be very girly. I hate to use that word, but they were girly.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: So here we are out there on a Saturday morning, hot, tents up, and all of these bikers. And the noise. And frankly, how, what, how I used to describe it was, it was all this testosterone running around. You know, we just weren’t used to that.

I mean. And you’d have people show up with, uh, their biker clothes. [00:13:00] Some that were professionals and usually in a suit when you met them, but here they were in their biker outfits. And oh, it was just such a different atmosphere and such a contrast to what they were raising money for. You know, you, you’d see the young women there with.

Going through treatment and then you’d see them be on a bike and maybe they, they wouldn’t go the whole thing or maybe it was just there to support their mate or whatever. But yeah, it was a very special event.

Charles: And that’s, and at Bikers League, we do a lot of charity events, a lot of charity work. And then a lot of folks find one that’s this close to their heart.

And they just, you know, that’s it. They, they, they, they’re all in on that one. And that was bikers. Like every year you’d see a lot of the same people, the same folks. They just, they were there to help and do whatever they could. So, uh, but that’s, that’s a biker community. So that’s what we do.

Dorothy: Perfect event at that time of. of the Rose’s Life and for you.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: And we were so [00:14:00] grateful that you always were willing to chair. So you took a couple of months, years off there, and now you’re back helping with the shrimp boil.

Charles: I am. I am, yeah.

Dorothy: You’re, I mean, you’re the logistics man now.

Charles: I am now, yeah.

Dorothy: And you were kind of that for the bikers too.

Charles: Oh yeah, for the bikers it was, for me it was, once I took over it was like my baby. So I was hands on. All the time, what we needed, whatever we needed. And now that I’m moving, coming back in, you know, I, I feel the same way, you know, like once we start going and I’m in, like, I’m, I’m in and like, whatever we need, you know, whatever you need, I’m in.

So.

Dorothy: So do you ever see any way of connecting the bikers with the shrimp boil or with anything else?

Charles: I think about it all the time, you know, that was, it was hard for me to let that one go. It really was like, it was, it was so much fun and so much community, so much help. Um, it was hard for me to let it go.

So I think about it all the time. I think, you know, could we do a ride that [00:15:00] day or could we do an anniversary ride on a mother’s day, you know, kind of thing and not—

Dorothy: That gave me chills.

Charles: Yeah. And not have a And not necessarily the same way, but at least have, you know, just tell people, Hey, you want to show up, let’s, let’s do a ride an anniversary ride.

So those. Always crossing my mind how we can, you know, kind of integrate that back again.

Dorothy: Right. Well, it was a great event. It brought a lot of young people to us as well as the oldies.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: Yes. And Dr. Melillo was even one of the riders.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: Most of those years, right?

Charles: Yes, she got to ride the leader of the pack.

Dorothy: Oh, I know. She wasn’t really, I mean, you know. Would they start with a pink one or a purple one? I forget. And then they went to that one that had the seat on the side.

Charles: Yeah, yeah.

Dorothy: But she loved it. That was one of her favorite events.

Charles: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it was, it was fun. You always had the folks up front that, you know, with Dr. Melillo. It was, it was a great time.

Dorothy: And sometimes we’d have that pink, Uh, [00:16:00] convertible leading us on. Do you remember that?

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: We have different, different folks that would come in and be part of that starting off and just, just participating.

Charles: We always try to find somebody new to, to lead the pack and give us the way.

And it was Pink Motorcycles. People dressed up or pink cars, you know.

Dorothy: It seems like we always had a blessing before y’all left.

Charles: Yes. Always, always a warriors brought their, their, um, their pastor with them and would always do a blessing of the bikes and the blessing of the ride before we left.

Dorothy: Yeah. And we were very lucky.

We never had any accidents or real issues. We just had 10 years of raising money.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: And having fun.

Charles: Absolutely.

Dorothy: So Charlie’s always interested in finding other ways to help The Rose and to make more money for us. So if you have ideas, we want you to send them to us and if he sees a way he can make it happen.

I mean, you’re like a legend around here, Charlie, really, because we know if we need something we can. We can [00:17:00] call on you and you’ll be right there.

Charles: Yes.

Dorothy: You’re one of our “Rose Misters”. I don’t know if you know that, but we go, now who can we call? Who will help us with this? And it’s always Charlie’s on the top.

Thank you for so many volunteer hours, so many years of being with us. And thank you for helping us serve so many women that we would not have been able to serve.

Charles: Oh, absolutely. It’s been my pleasure and look forward to many years to come.

Dorothy: Yes, we do too. Thanks again.

Charles: You’re welcome.

Dorothy: So that wraps it up for today and don’t forget we’re doing a episode every single day, you’re going to get your daily dose of Let’s Talk About Your Breasts during the month of October.

Post-Credits: October is the month of pink and for The Rose, a Breast Center of Excellence, that means we’ll be airing podcasts every day in October to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We’ll be sharing everything from men who have had breast cancer to what happens when you are pregnant and diagnosed with cancer.

Be sure to share with family and friends because there’s a little something [00:18:00] for everyone. To find out ways to help the Rose visit our website at therose.org. Remember, self-care is not selfish. It’s essential.

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