BIXBY, Okla — More than two hundred bicyclists attended the 8th annual Blazing Saddles race at the Bridge Church in Bixby.
It aims to raise awareness about suicide prevention. The event offered races at varying distances —- from 7 miles up to 107 miles.
Owner of Bixby Bicycles, Buster Brown, took part in this year's longest race. "This is the first time I was able to ride in my own event," he said. "I think we all completed it under five hours."
While humble about his accomplishments, Brown is a two-time national cycling champion and won a world silver medal.
Participating in this event for a good cause was really important to Brown.
Like many at the race, he had experience with losing someone to suicide.
"It is important simply because of the awareness," said Brown.
He said being able to talk about it more can save lives.
"Suicide can be prevented," said Brown. "Not all the time but to some degree."
In 2020, Brown met Bill Taitano.
He is the founder of Team Suicide Prevention, another one of the organizations that helped make the event happen.
"We had a good group of people, Bill has stepped up to the plate," said Brown.
Taitano lost his daughter to suicide several years ago.
He's made it his mission to help people who may be thinking suicidal thoughts honestly. He said many factors contribute to suicide.
"Oklahoma is ranked right up there in the top for domestic violence," he said. "What we're trying to do is raise money to help those at the forefront to come back from those difficult situations."
He said mental health is also a huge issue and destigmatizing the topic of suicide can allow others to seek help.
"When a person is struggling with mental health, and wanting to take their lives, there's a lot of times that we don't know what's going on with them," said Taitano.
Individuals who would like to support the cause or donate can visit the Team Suicide Prevention site for more information.
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