This is my second year doing the Victory Ride to Cure Cancer. I ride not only to help raise money for cancer research here in the Triangle, but to help raise awareness of the V Foundation and the work the Foundation funds. I ride in remembrance of close friends I have lost to cancer. I ride for someone in my family and close friends of mine that are currently facing this disease. And I ride to honor the family and friends of my family and friends that are still fighting cancer or have lost their battle with it (hence the picture attached of my ride-day jersey that has been signed with the names of those who we have lost and those who still fight this terrible disease).

This will be my third century ride (100 miles) to go along with the several other long-distance rides I have done over the last couple of years. The Victory Ride is the first real distance ride of the season for me, as I have several more charity distance rides scheduled through the spring, summer and fall in North Carolina, Florida and Wisconsin.

I am very lucky to have an amazing network of friends, family and extended family here in North Carolina that allows us to raise a lot of money for causes that we are passionate about. I was the second highest fundraiser last year for the Victory Ride, and as it stands today, I am in the top spot for individual fundraising. I wouldn’t mind being knocked out of that spot because that means we raised even more money for cancer research!

We raise money through a combination of individual donations (some as small as $5 and all the way to $100), social media pushes, small events like poker tournaments and beer tappings and our annual Rudy’s Charity Golf Classic at Lochmere Country Club. This event is hosted by the neighborhood restaurant Rudy’s Pub & Grill in Apex, N.C., that I have the privilege to be a part of. The amazing people that work and frequent Rudy’s comprise a huge part of the network of people we have that help us raise money for charitable causes. Case in point: This year’s golf event raised almost $6,500! We are supported by several well-known local companies that donate food, drinks and raffle prizes, which allows us to keep our expenses down and make sure we can give the most money to the charity.

You can join Matthew on Saturday, May 18 at the Victory Ride as a rider or volunteer. For more information, visit https://www.thevictoryride.org.