Riders from as far away as Vancouver Island, Kelowna and Kamloops joined with the Merritt Fire Department on Sunday to raise money for a mother in need.
Some 40 bikers -- more than double expectations -- raised money for Darcie Clarke, whose three children were stabbed to death a week ago.
"I found it tough enough to think that somebody's got to bury one person, and she's got to bury three kids," said Luc Lacroix, who organized the ride.
"Generally I think people are speechless, honestly. People don't have the right words for what they want to say," he said. "We all care about kids, we all want to do something,"
The prime suspect in the murders of Kaitlynne, 10, Max, 8, and Cordon, 5, is their own father, Allan Schoenborn. The 40-year-old Vancouver man is considered dangerous and mentally ill.
All over Merritt, people want to help the grieving mother. One corner store owner says he will match all the donations. And CTV is helping direct supporters to a trust fund that has been set up to benefit Clarke.
"It's emotional. It's very, very emotional," one firefighter told CTV News.
"I just couldn't imagine losing three at once," said another rider.
Among the riders was Chelsea Kane, who went to school with Kaitlynne.
"She was nice, she had a lot of manners," she said. "I miss you and I'm sorry that happened to you," she said.
Two employees at a store near Lumby said that a man who matched Schoenborn's description was there on Wednesday.
But despite two calls to the RCMP, not a single officer came to investigate. It wasn't until CTV News aired the story that police finally showed up.
That's four days after staff members say they called the tip line.
"The credibility of these two people is very good and they told me they believe it was him," said Dennis Dandenault, the store owner.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's St. John Alexander
