Prince George, B.C. – What started out as a plan to show a movie has turned into something much more among the local biking community.

Kourtney Lloyd at Cycle North says a movie entitled “Why We Ride” was hugely popular in the U.S. but didn’t get picked up in Canada so the local business decided to host a screening here this Saturday.  Kourtney says “then a good friend of ours in the industry, Bruce Cook of Kelowna, was riding in the Nitro Circus show in Hamilton about five weeks ago and was attempting the world’s first double front flip on a dirt bike and he ended up crashing and now he’s paralyzed.”

“He’s down at G.F. Strong (Rehabilitation Centre) in Vancouver right now.  He just got his (wheel) chair and everything.  He couldn’t get insurance because of his profession so his medical bills are going to be through the roof and even just his rehabilitation afterwards will be a lot of money.  So we’re trying to raise some money for him and we decided to turn it into a fundraiser for Bruce, as well as the movie premier, and tie it into an event.”

Kourtney says the motocross industry “is pretty small and we all know each other and like to help each other out.  It’s not as mainstream as hockey or football or baseball, but he is a world class athlete and we want to try to help him out as much as we can.”  About the motocross community she says “it’s weird to call it a family sport but it really, genuinely is.  I mean these kids are at the track every weekend, the same group of people, camping with their parents every weekend.  It’s like 6 to 7 months out of the year we’re all spending our weekends together, our spare time together.  It’s a smaller community, a few thousand people per weekend, but the families that are in it, it’s the sisters, the brothers, moms and dads, you know the dog.  And everywhere you go if you need help the racers all help each other.  Even in the competitions they help the next guy out, you rarely see animosity.  It’s really cool to be a part of.”

She notes that Cook wasn’t actually a motocross racer, he was a freestyle rider, one of the guys who does back flips and the Nitro Circus shows.  “But that industry ties into the moto industry and we all know each other.  So we just want to try to help Bruce out and raise some funds for him.  Bruce did a show out at PGARA eight or nine years ago and he had issues with his bike so he came in here to get parts and stuff for it and that’s how I met him.  He’s just known for his positivity throughout the community.”

The screening of “Why We Ride” is Saturday night at the Prince George Playhouse.  Doors open at 6.  Tickets are 20 bucks and it’s best to call Kourtney at 250-964-9091 or 250-961-0410.