Why I Stand Behind Ride 2 Remember

Forty-two years ago, I put on a Canadian Armed Forces uniform for the first time, as a young Private with The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada. I could not have known then where that decision would take me — through the ranks to Chief Warrant Officer and Regimental Sergeant Major of the 48th Highlanders of Canada, into a commission as Captain, and through service alongside the Royal 22e Regiment, the Canadian Airborne Regiment, and the Royal Canadian Regiment.

Over those years I deployed to Somalia, to the former Yugoslavia, and on multiple rotations to Bosnia-Herzegovina, where, as a Patrol Pathfinder with the Canadian Airborne Regiment, I helped reopen Sarajevo Airport during one of the most dangerous periods of that conflict. I later deployed multiple times to Afghanistan. Each of those missions taught me something about service, but one moment stands apart. In May 2000, I was selected to serve as Guard Sergeant Major for the repatriation of Canada’s Unknown Soldier from the fields near Vimy, France. Standing guard over that soldier, bringing him home to rest at the National War Memorial in Ottawa — remains one of the greatest honours of my career, and a solemn reminder of what remembrance truly asks of us.

Service did not end when I transitioned from the Regular Force in 2008. Today, I serve as Chief Operating Officer at Qohash, a data security company, where I’ve carried forward the same commitment to duty and service that defined my military career. In 2012, I was honoured to serve as Team Captain of the first True Patriot Love expedition to the Himalayas, a team that trekked into the Everest Base Camp 1 (6,065 m / 19,900 ft) region of Nepal and summited both Kala Patthar (5,644 m / 18,514 ft) and Island Peak / Imja Tse (6,189 m / 20,305 ft), raising vital funds and awareness for Canadian veterans and their families along the way. Being part of that first TPL expedition team, the CBC documentary (March to the Top 2012) and everything it raised for veterans and their families, gave me an experience and a TPL family I’ve carried with me ever since. It is a privilege to still be connected to that mission all these years later, and it is exactly the kind of larger-than-life, selfless undertaking that Ride 2 Remember now carries forward.

That is why I said yes when I was asked to lead veteran outreach for Ride 2 Remember 2026. This September, Vivek Khindria will cycle 765 kilometres over seven days from Dundas, Ontario to the summit of Mount Royal in Montreal, asking nothing for himself and directing every dollar raised to Canada’s veterans and their families. The route will pause at two places that matter deeply to me and to every veteran I know: the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, and the Black Watch Armoury in Montreal, home of Canada’s oldest surviving Highland regiment. These are not simply stops on a map. They are touchstones of everything this country asks of those who serve, and everything we owe them in return.

I have spent more than four decades in and around the uniform, in the Reserve and Regular Force, and in the veteran community since. I have learned that the true measure of a mission is not its distance, but its purpose. Ride 2 Remember carries that purpose in every kilometre, from Dundas through Pickering, Peterborough, Tweed, Perth, and Ottawa, into Rigaud and on to Montreal, each pedal stroke a quiet tribute to service and sacrifice.

I am asking my fellow veterans, regimental families, and every Canadian who has ever felt gratitude toward those who served: stand with this ride. Share your story. Share a photo. Make a gift, however large or small. Reach out to a regimental association near you and ask how you can help. This is a larger-than-life, selfless undertaking, and it deserves a larger-than-life community behind it.

Canada does not forget. Let’s prove it, one kilometre at a time.

With respect and gratitude, “Nemo me impune lacessit”

Captain (Ret’d) Ray Joseph, CD

Toronto Black Watch Association (TBWA), President

Greater Toronto Royal Canadian Regiment Association (GTRCRA), Vice President

Canadian Airborne Forces Association (CAFA), Vice President, Toronto Chapter

Treble Victor Group (3V), Member

Mobile: 416-795-4824 · Email: rjoverseas@yahoo.com