Bikers hit the road for marine environment

Andrew Edwards

It was a small start, but it was also a fun ride, with hopefully many

more miles to go.

The Margaritaville Mexican Cantina on Coast Highway was

transformed into a biker bar Sunday when 20 motorcycle riders rolled

their chrome-plated beasts into the parking lot at the end of the

inaugural Ride for Waves fundraiser -- a ride through Orange County

to collect money for the Newport Beach and Laguna chapters of the

Surfrider Foundation, a group that works to preserve oceans, waves

and beaches.

The quick ride started in Trabuco Canyon, where the motorcyclists

gunned their engines and headed along El Toro Road and then onto

Laguna Canyon Road before they reached Coast Highway, the home

stretch.

“It was just gorgeous outside,” rider Lisa Secco, 28, of Irvine

said. “It was a perfect day for a ride. It was just fun to be a part

of something that was bigger than ourselves, bigger than then

ride.”Riders from all over Orange County paid $40 each to join the

ride, and organizers also gained sponsorships for the event, which

raised $1,500 for the Surfrider Foundation, organizer Jennifer

Horspool, 35, of Costa Mesa said. The money will go into the local

chapters’ general budgets.

“Coming off of those rains, I think there’s a lot that’s going to

need to be done at Newport Beach,” Horspool said.

Doug Searcy, a 36-year-old motorcycle and scuba diving enthusiast

from Rancho Santa Margarita, had the original idea for the ride,

Horspool said. Searcy called her around October with the idea, and

followed up by getting in touch with Surfrider to find out if they

would be interested in a fundraising ride.

“I just tried to put together two things that I love doing: scuba

diving and motorcycle riding,” Searcy said. “I’m down in Laguna

Beach, Newport Beach diving almost every weekend, and there’s so much

trash in the water.”

Searcy traveled across the county to promote the ride, passing out

fliers at motorcycle shops, biker hangouts and even grocery stores.

“I spread the word anyway I could think of,” he said.

Le Wentz, a 53-year-old rider from Costa Mesa who learned about

the ride when he saw a flier at Orange County Harley-Davidson in

Irvine, came down with a friend to go for a ride in the clear

weather.

“It stopped raining -- a nice day to get out,” Wentz said. “We

like to do the charity rides. It’s kind of fun.”

Sunday’s event may have had only a few comers, but that was not at

all discouraging to the organizers or Surfrider members, who see the

day as a beginning from which to grow.

The annual Love Ride from Glendale to Castaic Lake draws thousands

of bikers each year to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Assn.,

said Raymond Halowski, vice-chair of the Newport Beach chapter of the

Surfrider Foundation.

“We know from experience that things start small,” Halowski said.

Halowski considered the event a success for two reasons: Searcy

and Horspool put it together, and the riders had a chance to get

their message out to people who didn’t go along for the ride.

“There must have been 30 other bikers who asked us about Ride for

the Waves and Surfrider,” he said. “Any time we can do that, that’s

good.”

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards@latimes.com.