Lupus Ride

September 28, 2003

Our ride started at Motorcycle Michael’s in Torrance at an early 7 am. Michael was out there early to open up and serve coffee and doughnuts and a extremely pleasant attitude for that early on Sunday. Riders started showing up one at a time and then in bunches. The weather was a little overcast but not enough to cause any problems. While we had only about 50 riders show up for the actual ride, it was still quite a number to see as we took a leisurely ride around the Palos Verdes Peninsula. There were quite few police cars out, but only one approached and only to find out what was going on. The haze stuck with us and we even got a slight wisp of fog, but it was not enough to dampen our spirits. The ride stopped at Ports of Call long enough to allow everyone to catch up before we headed down the freeway in formation for the last 30 miles of the ride into Garden Grove. We arrived at the Kiwanis Park in time to catch the Gold Wing Riders practicing for the event. A little fancy maneuvering from both the Gold Wing Riders as well as those of us on the ride itself, but we all managed to get parked without incident. We enjoyed the music, food, vendors, and one of the most beautiful parks you’ve seen. There was a waterfall, trees and grass everywhere, a playground for the kids, ping pong, horse shoes, etc. We watched the precision drill team do things we could only oo and ah at. We gave away lots of raffle prize and a 50/50 drawing. Bike games included the slow race and the weenie bite ride. All in all one of the best rides I’ve been on. When you consider the entire day was just to support those that have been afflicted with Lupus and that everyone there donated their time money and efforts, well I can only say it was a perfect ride. Thank you all for coming. I hope you enjoy the pictures. And I hope you tell your friends and bring them with you next time.