By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

NORTH SMITHFIELD — For North Smithfield Fire Captain Norm Malboeuf there's nothing better than a summertime motorcycle ride down a winding country road, the wind at your back and the open road ahead.

It's even better, he says, if you're doing it to raise money to fight neuromuscular diseases.
That's what Malboeuf and his firefighter colleague Steve Provost will be doing this Sunday when they join dozens of other motorcycle riders for the North Smithfield Professional Firefighters Local 3984 4th Annual Muscular Distrophy Association's Ride for Life.
Ride for Life participants will thunder through northern Rhode Island on a 45-mile ride that begins at about 11 a.m. at the fire station on St. Paul Street. Riders who want to participate in the run can come down and register on the day beginning at 9:30 a.m. The run will take place rain or shine.
"It's great fun," says Malboeuf, a North Smithfield firefighter for the past 20 years. "Steve (also a North Smitfield firefighter) and I are are the only guys in the department who ride, but every year we're joined by friends and members of different motorcycle clubs who like to take part in this event."
The first year Malboeuf and Provost hosted the ride there were about 40 motorcyclists. Last year, more than 100 bikers went along, including members of the Rhode Island Christian Motorcycle Club. "They're a bunch of big burly guys, but they have hearts of gold," says Malboeuf.
The riders will leave the St. Paul Street fire station at 675 St. Paul St. between 11 and 11:15 a.m. and head up Rt. 102 towards Scituate and the Scituate Reservoir and the back side of Coventry and back again through North Smithfield ending at Gator's Pub on Route 102.
"It's a real nice scenic route with mostly country road, which makes this a great ride for an inexperienced rider because it's safe and there isn't a lot of traffic to deal with," Malboeuf says.
The registration fee is $20 per motorcycle and single rider and an additional $10 for a second rider. The registration fee inlcudes a free t-shirt (first 100 riders) and admission to a post-ride barbecue at Gator's Pub where there will be volleball games and raffles.
"This is our main fundraiser," says Malboeuf, adding the event has raised more than $3,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association over the past three years.
One-hundred percent of the money raised through the regisrations benefits the services and research funded by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, he said.
The North Smithfield ride is part of a larger fundraising effort by the  International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), which is a national sponsor of the MDA, raising several million dollars each year. Firefighters in Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts alone raised over $200,000 for "Jerry's Kids" though various fundraisers last year.
MDA is a non-profit voluntary health organization dedicated to the research and defeat of more than 40 neuromuscular diseases. The monies raised by the motorcycle run will remain local, going towards the purchase and repair of wheelchairs, support group sessions, clinic visits, summer camp tuition, and of course, the hope provided by extensive medical research.
Anyone wishing to participate in the ride or make a donation should contact  Provost at 401-762-1135 or the MDA office at (401) 732-1910. Donations should be made payable to Muscular Dystrophy Association. They can be sent to: North Smithfield Fire Department, Local 2984 675 St. Paul St., North Smithfield, RI 02896.