‘Love Ride’ Hits Streets

Glendale residents awoke Sunday morning to the thundering roar of motorcycle tailpipes as a sea of leather and chrome filled San Fernando Road and side streets.

Led by “Easy Rider” co-stars Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 bikers got their motors running and headed out on the highway from downtown Glendale to Castaic Lake Recreation Center for the 10th annual Love Ride.

Customized “hogs” ruled the day, although riders on bikes other than Harley-Davidsons mingled in the parade that rumbled north on Interstate 5 beneath cheering crowds at nearly every overpass.

For some, it was a good excuse to get together with a few thousand friends and rub handlebars with the likes of “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno. In fact, it may have been the only time rock stars Matthew and Gunnar Nelson could be seen on the same side of the road as corporate executive Burt Sugarman, chairman of the Rally’s Inc. fast-food empire.

But behind the renegade look was serious business--raising money for the fight against Muscular Dystrophy. This year’s ride broke the million-dollar mark by $50,000, according to Walter Moore, a partner of Roland & Associates public relations firm that marketed the event.

Yes, in the 1990s in Los Angeles, bike rides are marketed.

“It was fabulous, to see four city blocks in Glendale all full of motorcycles is an amazing sight,” said Moore, who joined in the 50-mile ride up to Castaic.

The twang of country star Dwight Yoakam mingled with the roar of bikes, which sometimes echoed like thunder off the mountainsides surrounding the lake.

Event organizers and police reported no serious incidents during the 90-minute ride or the day’s events, which included stunt riding, music, barbecues and booths offering the latest in hog customizing.

Participants kept pretty cool, despite the wild reputation bikers cultivate, said Moore.

Indeed, a culture that was considered the quintessential expression of anti-Establishment attitudes when Fonda and Hopper made the film “Easy Rider” in 1969, now has gone largely mainstream, with weekend rebels mixing in with die-hard bikers.

“These people, the participants, are very cooperative,” said Moore. “They’re anywhere from 35 to 45 years old. These people have kind of mellowed out.”