Sunday 13th September - Saturday 3rd October 2015
Black Dog Ride is heading to the US for the Black Dog Ride across America.
SORRY! RIDE IS FULLY BOOKED
Over 21 days and 7,000kms, Black Dog Ride will hit the highways of the United States to share our home grown mental health project with the USA to raise awareness of depression and suicide prevention amongst our American friends.
MISSION
Our mission is to ride the length of the United States, engaging US Military Veterans and First Responders (Firefighters, EMTs, Police, Paramedics) in open and honest conversations around suicide prevention which will foster an environment where they feel encouraged to reach out for support when needed.
FUNDRAISING
Black Dog Ride will also be fundraising so that Military Veterans and First Responders can apply for scholarships to be trained as Mental Health First Aid Instructors who can then deliver training to their colleagues, giving their community the tools to respond to mental health crisis appropriately and ultimately preventing suicide.
DONATE TO THE CAUSE HERE
The link above will take you to Everyday Hero where you can make a donation to help fund the training scholarships of Military Veterans and First Responders in Mental Health First Aid. Alternatively click the big red button that says Donate Online at the top of this website.
These donations go directly to the National Council of Behavioural Health (Mental Health First Aid USA) which is a a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) association.
Share the link above amongst your friends, family, club or colleagues to help get the word out and start conversations around suicide prevention in your community! Click on the graphic to the right to download a social media-ready sharable flyer of the Black Dog Ride across America. Click here for the hi-res jpeg or here for the print ready PDF.
BENEFICIARY OF FUNDS RAISED
Black Dog Ride is partnering with Mental Health First Aid USA to raise awareness and funds for Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training scholarships for veterans and first responders.
Due to the nature of their work, US Military Veterans and First Responders (police, paramedics, firefighters) are at high risk for developing depression, anxiety and PTSD, and subsequently they have a tragically high rate of suicide. Rolling out MHFA training amongst Military Veterans and First Responders will empower them with the tools to respond to a mental health crisis in an appropriate way which fosters help seeking behaviour, in turn reducing the likelihood of a suicide attempt. The fundraising portal which our American supporters can use to donate to this unique project for American Military Veterans and First Responders is here.
RIDE PLANNING
To get this unique ride on the road, Black Dog Ride enlisted the assistance of Skip from Great American Motorcycling Touring. Skip will be leading over 60 Black Dog Riders across the USA on a mission to raise awareness of depression and suicide prevention from the east coast to the west coast of the United States of America. Since 2014, Skip has been Black Dog Ride's man on the ground in the USA, developing the ride itinerary, accomodation, support vehicles and motorcycle hire.
RIDE ITINERARY
The inaugural Black Dog Ride across America will begin it's journey in New York City, heading west over 21 days. Throughout those action packed days, 65 Australian Black Dog Riders will be meeting community members and organisations, building awareness of depression and suicide prevention right across the USA. Click the image below to zoom in. You can find a more detailed ride itinerary using the drop down menu above or click here.
Day 1 - Sunday 13th Sept - New York City to York, Pennsylvania 304 kms
Day 2 - Monday 14th Sept - York to Front Royal, Virginia 216kms
Day 3 - Tuesday 15th Sept - Front Royal to Roanoke, Virginia 354kms
Day 4 - Wednesday 16th Sept - Roanoke to Hickory, North Carolina 306kms
Day 5 - Thursday 17th Sept - Hickory to Gatlinburg, Tennessee 349kms
Day 6 - Friday 18th Sept - Gatlinburg to Chattanooga, Tennessee 344kms
Day 7 - Saturday 19th Sept - Chattanooga to Memphis, Tennessee 301kms
Day 8 - Sunday 20th Sept - Rest Day
Day 9 - Monday 21st Sept - Memphis to Hot Springs, Arkansas 392kms
Day 10 - Tuesday 22nd Sept - Hot Springs to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 501kms
Day 11 - Wednesday 23rd Sept - Oklahoma City to Amarillo, Texas 416kms
Day 12 - Thursday 24th Sept - Amarillo to Santa Fe, New Mexico 462kms
Day 13 - Friday 25th Sept - Santa Fe to Durango, Colorado 443kms
Day 14 - Saturday 26th Sept - Rest Day
Day 15 - Sunday 27th Sept - Durango to Bluff, Utah 480kms
Day 16 - Monday 28th Sept - Bluff to Grand Canyon National Park, 365kms
Day 17 - Tuesday 29th Sept - Grand Canyon to Kingman, Arizona 302kms
Day 18 - Wednesday 30th Sept - Kingman to Las Vegas, Nevada 275kms
Day 19 - Thursday 1st Oct - Rest Day
Day 20 - Friday 2nd Oct - Las Vegas to Lake Arrowhead, California 381kms
Day 21 - Saturday 3rd Oct - Lake Arrowhead to Los Angeles, California 416kms