Glacial Ridge Hospice’s 27th Annual Motorcycle Ride and Car Run is on Saturday, June 17th. The ride and activities have always been a community event with free-will donations so everyone can participate. The full lineup includes lunch at Glenwood City Park, an afternoon ride, a chance at raffles and door prizes, and a night ride – with commemorative shirts!

Engines are revved at 1 pm, leaving from the park and winding through the scenic, rolling hills of Pope County. The afternoon ride is approximately three hours long, including a halfway stop at the Starbuck Fire Hall. When the sun goes down, many participants travel in camaraderie around Lake Minnewaska to wrap up the day.
Jared Swanson has been on the Riding For a Cause committee for about 15 years; “It’s a great cause and rewarding to know the money raised will benefit hospice patients and their families.” He added, “I enjoy everything about the event; helping plan the route, intersection times, and the entire ride day.”

Swany, as he’s known, began leading the ride on a motorcycle years ago. Around the time the committee added cars to the event, he’d also sold his motorcycle, and Marthaler Chevrolet had become a corporate sponsor. Each year they provide a Chevy Camaro for the lead car, and Swany’s family is now along for the ride.

Free-Will Donations Support Hospice Patients

100% of the proceeds raised at the Hospice Ride enhance care for hospice and palliative care patients and their families. Glacial Ridge Hospice Manager Tina Blair gives examples of how donations enable the hospice team to fulfill a particular experience or need for hospice patients that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. “There are so many things we’ve been able to do, like paying for a special meal or flowers on birthdays and anniversaries. One person wanted to read books by Minnesota authors, so we got them for her and/or staff to read to her. Some people can get in-home massages, and this week we got a request for a CD of old-time radio shows.”

Additionally, Hospice staff has purchased lifelike interactive dogs and cats to comfort many patients with Alzheimer’s. The last example Blair gave is being able to buy a shower bench and a bed grab rail when families couldn’t afford the medical equipment for their loved ones.

Blair gratefully acknowledges the community’s unwavering support, the Ride Committee, and the corporate sponsor of the ride, Marthaler Chevrolet, for their annual contribution to this important cause. If you wish to donate, you may send a check to Glacial Ridge Hospice, 10 Fourth Ave SE, Glenwood, MN. All contributions are tax-exempt.

Official Ride Shirts

Get your 27th annual ride gear and wear it proudly even if you can’t attend the event! If you missed the pre-order deadline, t-shirts will be available for purchase at the hospice office before the event and at the registration table while they last.

Details, Maps, and Pre-Registration

More details, including lunch, maps of the routes, and approximate intersection times, are on our event page, Riding for a Cause. You can also pre-register for the ride and car run online or download the form and return it to the office or at the registration table.

What is hospice?

For patients whose illness is no longer responding to aggressive curative therapies, hospice addresses all the symptoms of the disease with particular emphasis on controlling the patient’s pain and discomfort. In addition, hospice aims to improve the quality of the patient’s last days and weeks by offering comfort and dignity. The hospice team also helps people manage the emotional, social, and spiritual impact on patients and those close to them.

The patient’s care team includes physicians, nurses, aides, social workers, spiritual caregivers, counselors, therapists, and volunteers. These specially trained individuals provide pain and symptom management for the patient and support for the family. In addition, because each individual and family have unique needs, a hospice team works with the patient and their family to develop a personalized care plan.

Glacial Ridge Hospice covers a 30-mile radius from their office in Glenwood and has an RN on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.