The Love Ride was a charity

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

ride held annually in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

and in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Its organizers bill it as "The Largest One-Day Motorcycle Fund-Raising Event in the World". The American Love Ride was active between 1985 and 2015, but Swiss Love Ride persists.

Harley-Davidson of Glendale, California

The Love Ride was founded by Oliver Shokouh, the owner of a

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...

dealership in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

. Comedian and motorcycle buff

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

served as

Grand Marshal Grand marshal is a ceremonial, military rank, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "marshal" with the first usage of the term "grand marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. ...

every year since 1985. Other celebrity participants have included

Lorenzo Lamas Lorenzo Fernando Lamas (born January 20, 1958) is an American actor. He is widely known for his role of Lance Cumson, the irresponsible grandson of Angela Channing—played by Jane Wyman—in the soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1981–1990), for ...

and

Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera, ''Dal ...

Robert Patrick Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked ...

, and musicians

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

. The original ride in 1984 raised $1,500. In 2004, the ride raised over one million dollars. The 2009 Love Ride was cancelled due to poor ticket sales and problems with sponsors, both attributed in part to the recession that began in 2008. The final US Love Ride happened in 2015. Organizers said they had raised a total of more than $24 million in previous rides, and hoped to use the final event to top $25 million.

Love Ride Schweiz

In 1993, Erwin W. Wyrsch brought the idea of a motorcycle charity event, inspired by the American Love Ride, to Switzerland. On May 1st, 200 people on 99 motorcycles raised 7,500 Swiss francs in donations for the Swiss Muscular Dystrophy Association. Love ride ps

In the meantime, Love Ride Switzerland has become the largest one-day charity motorcycle event in the World. Over 7,000 motorcycles and around 20,000 visitors are expected each year. The proceeds for the foundation more than $8 million dollar. The event take place at the military airfield near Zurich. The Highlights besides the ride out are a popular motorcycle stunt show and the

Patrouille Suisse The Patrouille Suisse is an aerobatic team of the Swiss Air Force. The team flies six Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighter/bomber jets. History The Patrouille Suisse was founded on August 22, 1964 with four Hawker Hunters. Two displays were also fl ...

. Switzerland's elite fighter jet squadron, which is also part of the event. The event is very popular among many fans and is supported and attended by many prominent visitors. Regular guests include, for example, Susanne Klee,

Peter Sauber Peter Sauber (born 13 October 1943) is a retired Swiss motorsport executive. He was the team principal and owner of various motorsports teams, most visibly the eponymous Sauber Motorsport, Sauber Formula One team. Motorsport career After being tr ...

(F1 team boss), the band Gotthard,

Michel von Tell Michel von Tell (8 October 1980) is a Swiss journalist, consultant and racing driver. Life He was a professional baseball player in the Swiss Baseball in Switzerland, NLB league. Miche Von Tell studied economics and was active in the financial i ...

, Freddy Nock, Marco "Büxi" Büchel, and Grisu Grizzly. Since the 2000s, this event has been moderated by Jeanette Macchi-Meier.

References

External links

LoveRide.org

2005 LoveRide Gallery includes photos of Jay Leno and Orange County Chopper Family.
Motorcycle rallies in Switzerland Motorcycle rallies in the United States {{motorcycle-stub