BONNYVILLE - The Rolling Barrage made its way to Bonnyville this month, hosting a beach bash on Aug. 12 at Shaw House, along Moose Lake.
Warren Cave, a director with The Rolling Barrage PTSD Foundation, said Bonnyville was just one of the many stops on The Rolling Barrage annual cross Canada motorcycle ride to combat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The group started in St. John's Newfoundland on July 27 by dipping their rear tires in the Atlantic ocean and will be ending their ride in British Columbia. During their stop in Bonnyville, the community - including local first responders - were invited to meet the group, and share a pig roast, along with family games and activities.
The event is an annual fund raiser to help support the group's mission, which is to provide support to veterans and first responders of all types, creating awareness around PTSD and helping people recover from it.
Cave stated people can register and join the ride for one or several days - depending on their individual schedules. This year they had several hundred people attend the ride.
Cave said they are anticipating a bigger number for next year, since it will be the 10th anniversary ride.
"We should be back in Bonnyville again next year," he said.
Linda Olsen was one of many people who had a booth at the event. She attended The Rolling Barrage Coast to Coast Ride to Combat PTSD event as one of the volunteers with Boots on the Ground Alberta, a peer support group for first responders established by first responders.
"It is volunteer driven, and one hundred per cent anonymous. We have had 390 calls in under two years," said Olsen.
Karen Harvey and Donna Morgan helped with registration and sales at the Tuesday event, and stated they were the two drivers of the truck and trailer for The Rolling Barrage. They drive across Canada from British Columbia to Newfoundland for the duration of the event. Their trailer carriers gear and swag and anything the riders may need during the cross Canada trip.
