LOVE RIDE 26 AND A HALF!

Love to Ride or not to Love to Ride? If that is the question, well then, Love to Ride is the answer! Love Ride 2010, or as they named it, Love Ride 26 & a half did feel a lot like the old days, when the ride was just starting and a lot less complicated. Unfortunately when an event grows as rapidly and consistently as the Love Ride did over 26 years, it is a huge endeavor to continue putting it on in a struggling economy. In 25 years, the Love Ride made $22 million for various charities.

Every year the crowds and venue out grew itself. In an attempt to accommodate the nearly 20,000 annual riders, it peaked out at a 3 day extravaganza at the Pomona Fairplex with big name bands, celebrities, hoards of vendors, and a long list of worthy charities that benefitted.

In our battered economy we have all had to cut back, even on things we didn’t want to. With less than 50% of his usual vendors, sponsors, and attendees, Oliver Shokouh, owner of Glendale Harley Davidson and founder of the Love Ride had to make the difficult decision to cancel Love Ride 26, which still ended up being a small gathering in the Glendale Harley parking lot. Then he planned the Love Ride for this year to be less than half the usual gathering, hence the name Love Ride 26 & a half. The hopes for this year were to be a back to the basics shin dig, to put the Love Ride back on track.

Bikers have long shown their big hearts and compassion for those in need by coming out to fund raisers for worthy causes. For a group of people still stereotyped as trouble makers, the motorcycle community continues to do what they can to help those that are unable to help themselves. The Love Ride has been able to help many great causes over the last 25 years, and it is their hope to be able to do that again in the years to come. In this time of economic despair, the ride had to go back to basics in order to even survive.

Back to basics meant back to 1,000 riders, back to the Malibu Hills, back to the Calamigo’s Ranch, and back to good, simple entertainment and no vendors. About the only thing I can think of that makes any of that a bad thing, is that less money is raised for the charities. Autism Speaks was the chosen charity for monies raised. For more information on Autism Speaks, go to: www.autismspeaks.org. Donations are always welcome. But this year the Love Ride needed to survive, and make future fundraising at the Love Rides possible. They wanted to have 1,000 riders at $100 a head and they did get that. And that seemed like the perfect amount of people out at the ranch.

In the morning Jay Leno with bed head hair, Lorenzo Lamas, and the Willie G. Davidson family all showed their usual support in kicking off the festivities. Jay was the Grand Marshall and led the 40 mile scenic ride through the Malibu Hills. Although most of us 1,000 riders are familiar with the Malibu Hills, so I saw riders getting off at Topanga Canyon, Malibu Canyon, and Kanan Canyon exits. It made for beautiful, open canyon roads instead of the crazy, crowded chaos we were used to on the 5fwy in recent years.

Having recently moved to Colorado, I enjoyed being back on my favorite roads with some of my favorite friends. My friend Masyn came in for the event from Colorado, and my friend Bean’re came in from……..where the hell is Bean’re from? I think he’s from the back of an old Volkswagon Bus, but he won’t disclose where it is actually parked.

Once out at the ranch, the ride featured old favorite entertainment like the “Slow Ride”, an “Egg Toss”, and the Victor McLaglen Drill Team. With everything less spread out, it kept the energy more together. Everyone seemed to really enjoy watching and participating in the games, the BBQ, and the perfect music of the “Doors”, performed by original member Robby Krieger. Members of the “Sons of Anarchy” were in attendance, and I met Emilio Rivera and his beautiful wife, and saw my friend Dayton Callie, who plays Chief Wayne Unser in the series.

Bandit and his better half Nyla of www.Bikernet.com hosted a Hamster pre-Love Ride party at their stylin’ old hotel near the ocean in Wilmington. Many of my yellow shirted old friends were there eating tacos and talking more about replacing hips and knees than motorcycle parts. I don’t know when it happened, but I grew old with these guys, and we had fun doing it, and fun talking about when we did it!

Heavy hitters like Sugar Bear and Hugh King were there, also with their better halves! It was all the cool guys under one cool roof, with their beautiful women and cool collectable bikes. Keith’s place is a motorcycle Hall of Fame, shame and memories. We felt honored to be included!