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/1542340
A new Chod Reed fon. Happcnlngs in Motorcgcling o o Smile Makers It certainly wasn't a day like any others for the kids at the Loma Linda Children's Hospital in Loma Linda, California, last Wednesday (February l). lnstead of another long and boring day in the hospital, motocross bikes soaring 20 feet into the air out- side their hospital windows and visits by the freestyle riders who were making the bikes fly spectacularly in front oftheir eyes interrupted their day. And that wasn't all, the kids also got the chance to meet with a few famous Supercross and motocross racers and other people from the motocross industry lt was a day that none ofthe kids, nor their parents or the hospital facult/, or even the riders and PeoPle Putting on the show themselves, will soon forget - if at all, The happeninS was the 4th annual Bi8 Air Kid's Fair, an event that has but one goal in mind - to put smiles on the faces of those less fortunate- And when all was said and done, it was obvious that the Big Air Kid's Fair had done its job- The festivities began with a ramp-to-ramp freestyle exhibition held iust outside the front doors of the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital- Freestylers Jeff Tilton, Ronnie Renner and Tommy Clowers got everyone fired up with their heart- stopping trick before spending the rest of the afternoon visiting with kids and hand- ing out industry-donated toys and autographed Posters and stickers. Red Bull fiM's l'like Alessi took time out from his usual busy midweek testing and training program to aftend, as did former Supercross and National MX Champi- on Jeff Emig, No Fear's Marty Moates, Supercross announcer Erin Bates, and Miss Supercross Brittney George. "This is for the good of the kids," Clowers said. "l know I've been in the hospital a couple of times and you get sick of sitting in that room. To come out and give the kids some entertainment, get them outside a liftle bit, hope- fully it brightens up their day." According to Zareh Sarrafi- an. the administrator of the Children's Hospital, it does. "This is ,ust so incredible," Sarrafian said. "You can see the smiles on the faces ofthe kids. Most of them are here for long Periods of time, and it's an opportunity to break up their day, and to lust come outside and see laugh- ter and joy, we really, really appreciate it. The kid5 will talk about this for days, if not weeks - if not months. It truly has that kind of impact. You go into some of the rooms and you'll see posters - some ofthe kids end uP being with us for over a year - and we have posters from the previous year, so it truly is an impact that lasts way longer than the few hours that the teams are here with us." For l.'loates this was his third time attending the fair. "lt's special when you see all these kids - and the time that they're having - suf- fering, and they're eyes light up when they see us," l'4oates said. "They're happy to get some toys and stuff. lt's a real good feeling, and when you leave here you really appreciate what you have. lt's such a small thing for me to do, and it opens uP their hearts, so it's pretty special," Erin Bates, who has aftended other charity events in the past, was making her first visit to Loma Linda after having caught a 6:30 a.m. flight out of Salt Lake City that morninS. "l'm very excited to be here and partake in this," Bates said. "lt's a phenomenal event that these guys are putting on for these kids. A lot of these kids that are here at this hospital are ter- minally ill, and if you can bring a smile to their faces just for one day, I think it's so important." Even though Alessi is currently ri8ht in the middle of the AMA Supercross Lites Champi- onship, he dropped everything to attend, and spent a lot of time with as many kids as he could. "l think this is really good, coming out here and seeing all these kads," Alessi said- "lt makes the kids happy. At the end ofthe day, making the kids happy - that's what it's all about, No problem with me, I'm happy to come here." Renner was outstanding with the kids. His ouwardly cheerful manner got them all to laugh, or at least produce bi8 smiles on their faces. "lt helps when you have kids of/our own," he said. The fair was the brainchild of Steve Bauer, a former motocross racer and co- founder ofWonder Wanhog Racing, an organization that benefits the Privateer motocross racer, and he explained how all ofthis came about. "This is the founh year doing this, and I iust couldn't be more happy," Bauer said. "The support from everybody is unbelievable. People come out of the woodworks. Originally, a friend of mine work in this unit, Mary Hannah, and I was here one night visiting hec and the Supercross was in town, and I started thinkinS that there are a lot of long faces in here, you know parens, too. I feel as much for them as I do for the kids- A lot of them are here 24-7, so I ,ust had this idea to bring some ofthe riders here. "some of my friends from the industD/, l4arq/ Moates from No Fear, Fl'4f, Live Nation, they all kicked down, includinglosh Hansen, Jeff Emig, Danny Smith and E 3 5 il rI r il il 1r ( f J J Iommy Clowers oirs it out in frsnl of the Lomo lindo Children's Hospirol. 68 FEBRUARY 15,2006 . CYCLE NEWS (> -! t .\ ; L. t id l. t n I L ! r n I r il! t, , , _t t L_l f E1t I- ., t, I I I I : I I .-!_I fl n rl I 1 ) [" tr I t,