Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128401
[alifornia and Dregon Big on Kid§ The generosity of West Coast motorcyclists was unmistakable at Ride For Kids events in Sacramento, California, and Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, October 2. Their fund-raising efforts on behalf of kids fighting brain tumors gave the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation $186,864 for its medical research and family-support programs. A cool, breezy morning greeted more than 550 motorcyclists, fund raisers, patient families and volunteers at the 13th annual Sacramento event. From Yolo County Fairgrounds in Woodland, the police-escorted ride traveled the scenic roads of Northern California's "Gold Country." The motorcyclists then returned to the fairgrounds for the very special Celebration of Life program, featuring young brain-tumor survivors and their families. Nineteen Ride For Kids "stars" were on hand for the event, ranging from 5-year-old Dominic to 20-year-old Vanessa. They were joined by Adena, 28, a long-term survivor, who told the crowd: "This is not a hopeless fight. I am proof and I am doing great. I've been in remission for 13 years!" jeff, father of 13-year-old juston, thanked the participants for their fund-raising efforts. "You help to finance this miracle of medical research and also spread the word about the disease and bring hope," he said. He was joined on stage by two children's doctors from Sutter Neuroscience Medical Group, neurosurgeon Cino Ciricello and neuro-oncologist Nora Wu. The Sacramento event raised a total of $170,818. The top individual fund raisers were Ann and Kirk Harry of EI Dorado Hills, California, who brought $22,000 in memory of their son Sam. The top club was GWTA Chapter 0 of Bela Vista, California, whose members raised $37,962, while the customers of jim & jim's Yamaha of Santa Rosa, California, made it the top motorcycle business, with $28,81 I in donations. Pete and Heidi Modeste of Roseville, California, won the grand prize, a brand-new Honda motorcycle. Special thanks went to Sacramento's task-force leaders - Lillian and jack Cushman, and Kathy and jon Carlson - along with their dedicated volunteers, for hosting a great event. North ofthe California state line, more than 160 people came out to Hillsboro Sports Complex in Hillsboro, Oregon, for the inaugural Portland Ride For Kids. Despite hard rain and unseasonably cold and windy weather, the policeescorted riders enjoyed touring the countryside west of Portland. They circled beautiful Haag Lake before making their way back to the sports complex for the Celebration of Life program. Four young brain-tumor survivors took part in the festivities: Kai, 3; Sara and Nick, 8; and Milani, 20. "This is my idea of a perfect day," said Sara's dad, jeff. "I know it's freezing cold and windy, and you're all wet, but seeing all of you here, what you do for families like ours makes such a difference." Dr. Stacy Nicholson, a pediatric neuro-oncologist at Portland's Doernbecher Children's Hospital, represented the medical community. The total raised in Portland was $16,046. Top individual fund-raiser honors went to jerry and Sharon Lenz of Tigard, Oregon, who raised $3,000. The top club was Tigard Touring (HRCA) of Tigard, whose members raised $3,300. The customers of Beaverton Honda of Beaverton, Oregon, raised $5,445 to make it the top motorcycle business. Ronda Sal holm of Portland won the grand prize, a brand-new Honda motorcycle. Many thanks went to task-force leaders Irene and jeff Springston; Barbara and Ron Carver; and Char Messinger; along with their hard-working volunteers, for putting together a fine first-year event. To cast your vote, log on to www.cyclenews.com. WEb INSiYE Cyclenews.com reader poll question of the week Based upon what you've heard or read about AMA Pro Racing's potential revamping of the AMA Flat Track Championship, which response best sums up your feelings on the proposed structure changes? A. AMA Pro is way off base. The current series structure should not be messed with. B. I'm listening. AMA Pro's proposals could be positive, but more details are warranted before any decision to change the series structure is made. C. Any changes to flat track would be good. The series cannot continue to function and will continue to fade if left as is. Online poll results from last week Which 2005 road-racing series do you think was the most entertaining and competitive? 1632 (58.10%) A. MotoGP B. World Superbike (20.54%) 577 C. AMA Superbike 146 (5.20%) 214 (7.62%) D. AMA Supersport 132 (4.70%) E. AMA Superstock 108 F. AMA Formula Xtreme (3.84%) Total Replies: 2809 CYCLE NEWS • OCTOBER 26, 2005 93