Visalia man takes cancer fight across the country on motorcycle
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VISALIA — Believing one man can make a difference, Ralph “Sonny” Arbitelle said he is ready to prove it.
“I used to think one person could not make much of a difference. But I was wrong,” Arbitelle said. “You don’t have to live a long time to do something and leave a legacy.”
Arbitelle, who turned 75 on Saturday, will be making a 7,500-mile round-trip motorcycle journey from California to Connecticut. He plans to raise significant funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer, while celebrating breast cancer survival and honoring those who have lost their battle to the disease.
Having lost his father, mother, sister, two aunts, an uncle and cousins, including one who was only 18 years old, to cancer, Arbitelle was still stunned when his daughter, Melanie Roth, developed breast cancer three years ago. After chemo and radiation, she was declared a survivor. But recently, Arbitelle said he learned her cancer had metastasized to her bones. Miraculously, it was ruled out. That is when Arbitelle said he remembered a promise he had made her.
“She was a fighter and I saw how tough it was for her,” Arbitelle said. “I told her that one day I was going to get out there and do something.”
Arbitelle said he intended on keeping his promise. After brainstorming ideas, he decided on a road trip. He purchased and donated a new 2007 Yamaha V Star 1300.
After dubbing the bike “Pink Lady” for its pink and white custom paint job by Darwin Ward, Arbitelle has been asking for a donation of $25 each per ticket, or five for $100. The bike, on display at D & E Yamaha, 1745 E. Mineral King in Visalia, will be raffled when he returns. And because of Arbitelle’s professional connections, it may happen on television’s “Deal or No Deal” reality show.
Arbitelle, a 38-year professional illusionist, author of numerous books, a poet and ordained minister, started planning his trip last March. He will leave Visalia on Tuesday and plans to return Aug. 31 or Sept. 1.
But that is just the beginning. Two cameras will be installed on Arbitelle’s motorbike, and he has been collaborating with Brooks Wachtel, a writer and producer of the Discovery Channel, for a documentary on the road trip.
With the support of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the journey will begin in Visalia, with stops scheduled for Reno, Nev.; Salt Lake City; Davenport, Iowa; Louisville, Ky.; Cleveland; Scranton, Penn.; and Hartford, Conn. — where Arbitelle has scheduled a few days of rest.
On the return trip, he will stop in New Jersey, North and South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Las Vegas before returning to California.
“I will limit my riding to an average of 310 miles a day, six hours a day — with four layovers built in,” said Arbitelle, who recently broke a couple of ribs during a fall. “Everyone has been so supportive.”
Along the way, several bikers from each region will join him for some portions with the motto: “We will not give up, be turned back, nor stop riding hard until breast cancer is history.”
Still, Arbitelle is also asking for the public’s support, locally and on the road. All proceeds from the ride, excluding meals, gasoline and occasional paid shelter, will benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
