Amy Kikkert has a shiny new ride and not one the average 19-year-old girl who has graduated from John Casablancas Makeup Artistry program would normally choose. But that’s the rub, Amy didn’t take the makeup program to learn how to do glamour looks, she took it to learn special effects makeup; and now her choice of rides makes more sense. 

As the relatively new owner of a bright orange 2009 Hyosung Aquila motorcycle, she’s moving up from riding behind her dad in the pair’s favourite fundraising event, to beside him on May 31.

“I was always raised with my dad liking bikes,” she said. “I figured a bike would be affordable.”

Walnut Grove resident Tim Kikkert started in the Westcoast Motorcycle Ride to Live, a fundraiser for prostate cancer research, in 2011.

“My dad had prostate cancer about 15 years ago,” the elder Kikkert said. “Amy has always ridden behind me [in the Westcoast ride].”

It’s an event the duo are proud to be part of and they’ve ranked in the top spot for fundraising each year they’ve been involved. This approximately three-hour ride culminates in a celebration at Fraser Downs where the Fraser Valley and Vancouver riders get together.

“They have a band and a guest DJ,” said Kikkert. “They do a big barbecue and there’s a show and shine. It’s a great bid kind of ceremony.”

Together with Amy, Kikkert has raised more than $30,000 towards the fight against prostate cancer in their five years of participating.

“We’re just over $6,500 this year,” Kikkert noted. 

Amy used her special effects makeup skills to help raise money by hosting an event at her dad’s place of work. 

“I did a beauty demo and a special effects demo to raise money,” she said. 

The pair’s fundraising efforts have been noticed by organizers who asked Kikkert for help in putting together a guide for other riders to make their fundraising more successful.

“We’ve been really fortunate, I start [fundraising] probably in early March,” he said and added that together with the event’s executive, “We wrote up a whole thing with sample emails and that kind of thing.”

The journey hasn’t always been easy though. A back injury in the fall of 2014 had Kikkert wondering if he’d be able to enjoy the ride as he had in the past.

“I was wondering, ‘what’s that going to be like for the ride in May?’” he said. 

So far, it looks like it won’t be a problem. Kikkert has been out with Amy training her on her bike and getting her ready for the Sunday ride which has several stops in a poker run format. 

When asked why the event was important to her, Amy replied, “Well, my grampa had prostate cancer, and it’s something to do with my dad, and I get to ride.”

Find out more about the efforts to raise funds for prostate cancer research in B.C. at vancouver.ridetolive.ca.

Langley Advance