25th Annual Love Ride Rallied to Raise Over $1,000,000 for Charity, With Festivities at Pomona Fairplex Capped by Foo Fighters and ZZ Top Show
Press Release:
GLENDALE, Calif. and POMONA, Calif., Nov. 10 CA-Love-Ride-Charity
GLENDALE, Calif. and POMONA, Calif., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ –
20,000 motorcyclists from across the U.S. and around the world rode in the
25th Annual Love Ride, which convoyed from Harley-Davidson(R)/Buell of
Glendale to the Pomona Fairplex on October 26. With Jay Leno as Grand
Marshall, their efforts raised over $1,000,000 to benefit Southern California-
based charities. Since first revving up in 1984, Love Ride has become the
world’s largest one-day motorcycle fundraising event, donating over $21
million to non-profit organizations. Following the 2008 Glendale kickoff with
the Georgia Satellites, Cydney Robinson and Magda Hiller, festivities rolled
to the Fairplex in Pomona, CA for a concert with the Tubes, Foo Fighters and
ZZ Top. Highlights included an all-star jam with the Foo’s Dave Grohl and
Velvet Revolver’s Duff McKagan joining ZZ Top for classics including “Tush”
and “La Grange.”
Love Ride Founder & Chairman Oliver Shokouh, owner of Harley-Davidson of
Glendale, said, “Love Ride is all about helping those less fortunate — and
having a good time while doing it. I am so grateful to all of our 25th Annual
participants. During truly challenging times, having such a strong year really
demonstrates the heart and commitment of everyone that makes Love Ride
possible. We’re looking forward to the next 25 years.”
In addition to Jay Leno — who’s presided over almost every Love Ride –
celebrity riders for ’08 also included: Harley-Davidson legend Willie G.
Davidson — along with wife Nancy, son Bill Davidson and daughter Karen
Davidson — Neile Adams (the former Mrs. Steve McQueen); two-time X-Games
Gold Medalist and action sports standout Mike Metzger; Kiss’s Gene Simmons
(Family Jewels); musicians Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan (both Velvet Revolver
and Guns N’ Roses); Miss USA Runner Up and Miss Indiana Nicole Rash; actors
Peter Fonda, Robert Patrick, Rutger Hauer, Larry Hagman, Mark-Paul Harry
Gosselaar, Michael Trucco (Battlestar Galactica), Carmine Giovinazzo (CSI:
NY); cast members from FX’s outlaw biker club drama Sons Of Anarchy including
Charlie Hunnam, Mark Boone Junior, Tommy Flanagan, Johnny Lewis, Kim Coates
and Theo Rossi; and Cassandra Hepburn, star of the forthcoming Quentin
Tarantino-produced motorcycle gang film Hell Ride.
At a post-concert ceremony, the Top 10 Love Ride fundraisers were awarded
prizes. Eric Schmoranzer, scoring #1 with a $31,025.00 bounty for charity, won
a trip for two to the Swiss Love Ride 17 in Zurich, May ’09. #2 fundraiser,
Rick Roussin ($6,017) won “Grant 50,” an original silkscreen/painting by
former Andy Warhol assistant Steve Kaufman, and #3 winners Jim and Kitti
Carnes ($4,445.00) took home a Stand-up 1 Bike Trailer by Kendon. The other
Top 10 fundraisers are: Kirby Yale ($3,246), Melanie Postell ($3,035), Scott
Siegel ($2,960), Rick Young ($2,935), Rodney Houle ($2,751), William Speeg
($2,725) and Gerard McKenzie ($2,576.00). The top three fundraisers also
received travel prizes from Southwest Airlines, and all ten received a signed
& numbered limited edition artwork by Vinc and a FairChild Sports leather
backpack.
Raffle winners were also awarded prizes, with Muscular Dystrophy Goodwill
Ambassador Jared Schultz selecting the ticket for the top prize — a 2009
Harley-Davidson Softail Crossbones motorcycle — which went to Rachel Olmos of
Arleta, CA. Other winners included: a 2009 Ducati Monster motorcycle going to
Paul Reeves of Stanhope, NJ; a Vanson “Captain America” jacket signed by Peter
Fonda to Ami Schenck of Little Rock, AK; and a Duane Ballard-designed Love
Ride belt and silver and diamond belt buckle to Steve Cohan of Henderson, NV.
The Best Buy Musical Instruments raffle raised additional funds for Love Ride
and awarded a Fender guitar signed by both Foo Fighters and ZZ Top to Frank
Jordan.
Beneficiaries of funds raised by the 25th Annual Love Ride include:
Muscular Dystrophy Association, Autism Speaks, Children’s Hospital of L.A.,
Reading By 9 Child Literacy Initiative, Providence Saint Joseph Foundation,
Catholic Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Special Olympics of Southern California,
Frostig Center, Scleroderma Foundation, Glendale Community College, Rett
Syndrome Foundation, Optimist Youth Homes & Family Centers, Diabetes Institute
for Immunology and Transplantation, Friends of Castaic Lake and the United
Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. 2008 Sponsors included: Harley-Davidson
Southern California Dealers Association, Harley-Davidson Corporation, Best Buy
Musical Instruments, Sparkletts Water, Coca Cola, Anheuser-Busch, Spyder,
Southwest Airlines, 95.5 KLOS-FM, 106.7 KROQ-FM, Thunder Press, FM94.9, LA
Weekly, OC Weekly, Event 360 and 101 KGB.
Love Ride is also the climactic event of California Bike Week (CBW), a 3-
day rally and motorcycle lifestyle event that enjoyed its second annual year
in 2008 (Oct. 24-26). CBW is jointly presented by the Love Ride Foundation and
the Southern California Harley-Davidson Dealers Association, and is on track
to become the West Coast’s answer to legendary bike events such as Daytona
Bike Week and the Sturgis Bike Rally.
  For more information, log onto: http://www.loveride.org
SOURCEÂ Love Ride
