Vroom to grow

Alicia Robinson

By motorcycle, Newport Beach looks a little different than it does

from the enclosed bubble of a car. There’s something fluid and

harmonious in the movement of the traffic, and in the morning you can

smell the vegetation or the restaurants beginning their day in Corona

del Mar. Cars and trucks don’t look as potentially deadly when you’re

rushing past them with the wind in your face.

The attraction of motorcycles isn’t lost on Mike Silvernail. He’s

been riding them for about 16 years, after starting out on dirt bikes

as a child. Silvernail, a resident of Huntington Beach, rides about

once a month now, but he says he’d go every day if he had the time.

“It’s like a therapy session,” he said. “It relieves all your

stress and headaches. It’s relaxing.”

Even though he doesn’t ride much, he lives something of a biker’s

lifestyle through his job as a bouncer at Margaritaville, Newport

Beach’s main stopping point for people from all over Southern

California who want to park their bikes and grab a bite or a drink.

IT TAKES ALL KINDS

The motorcycling community in Newport-Mesa is a diverse crowd. It

includes the two main segments of the biking community --

Harley-Davidson riders like Silvernail and those who ride sport

bikes, which are mostly made by Japanese companies such as Kawasaki

and Honda.

“The sport bike scene has grown tremendously,” said Mike

Boelhouwer, who is in charge of parts at Mach 1 Motorcycles in Costa

Mesa. “Every year it gets bigger.”

Motorcycles were Boelhouwer’s first mode of transportation and now

he rides one to work because it’s a cheaper and faster commute.

“It’s like a big toy,” he said. “It’s a big toy you can speed on,

if you don’t get caught.”

For some riders, motorcycles are a break from the daily grind

rather than a business. William Burke is one of those. A retired

corporate lawyer who lives in Costa Mesa, Burke bought his first

motorcycle nearly a decade ago, and one of his first rides took him

to North Dakota to visit the grave of his wife’s grandfather.

“It was a very adventuresome ride,” Burke said. “I went through

about six national parks; I got caught in a blizzard.”

THE CALL OF THE OPEN ROAD

In Orange County, Coast Highway is the preferred ride because of

the scenery, but riders also travel inland to Trabuco Canyon to stop

at Cook’s Corner, which on weekends attracts hundreds of bikers to

eat, drink, socialize and look at the bikes.

Newport Beach restaurateur Dan Marcheano likes to take his

girlfriend and his Harley south along the coast to Laguna Beach and

Dana Point or north to Malibu, stop somewhere for lunch and ride

back. He often rides alone in the mornings to clear his head before

starting a busy workday at his restaurant, The Arches, where he’s

surrounded by people.

“You have a lot of doctors, dentists, attorneys [who ride

occasionally],” Marcheano said. “I’m more ferocious with it. I ride

almost every day.”

His rides around Newport Beach are practically one long social

call, with Marcheano spotting business people and other bikers he

knows on his rides and when he stops.

The long rides are what Burke prefers. His wife doesn’t like the

motorcycle, but she bought him a Harley Road King -- a touring bike

-- because she knows how much he loves riding, Burke said.

When he’s on a long trip, he avoids chain restaurants and eats in

local joints to experience new things. He stops when he wants and

changes course if he feels like it.

“I love to just get out, and [on a bike] you don’t have anything

between you and your surroundings,” he said.

TRANSPORTATION, THERAPY AND ADVENTURE

Every motorcyclist has their own reasons for riding, but many

riders say it’s the most fun they’ve ever had.

If your job is straight-laced, having a motorcycle can express

your bad side, said Brad Olshen, who lives in Costa Mesa and works

for a custom bike painting shop in Orange.

Bikers also use their bikes as a hobby to spend their money and

time on, he said.

“It’s like customizing your house for a guy,” Olshen said. “Women

like to put up new drapes. Guys do that to their bikes.”

While a motorcycle provides a lot of freedom, it also requires

concentration and attention to safety. A rider has no protection from

a flying rock, something tumbling off the back of a truck, or a

careless car that veers too far out of its lane.

Marcheano took a bike safety course when he started riding about

10 years ago, and he’s never had an accident.

“I’m not riding a motorcycle to wind up in a wheelchair,” he said.

“I’m doing it for different reasons. I like the challenge. I like the

camaraderie. Some people play golf. I ride a motorcycle.”

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.