Motorcyclists ride for National COPD Awareness Month

ASHLAND, Ore.– November is National COPD Awareness Month.

So for the first time ever, local motorcyclists rode from Ashland to Medford to raise awareness. Hosted by Lincare and D&S Harley Davidson, riders wore orange ribbons to signify chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

According to the CDC, COPD is usually caused mostly by cigarettes and air pollutants in the workplace or at home.

“A lot of people don’t know about it. They get caught in the hospital with it in stage three or four and they’re on nothing to 24-hour oxygen,” said Patrick Bates, one of the riders and a patient care coordinator with Lincare. “Having to carry tanks with them all the time. It’s devastating to them and their families.”

According to the National Institutes of Health – around 12 million Americans are diagnosed with COPD every year. This is the first year the two groups have put on this event. Over a dozen riders showed up for the inaugural ride but the group hopes to see an increase for the next year.