Charity on Wheels : More Than 21,000 Bikers Hit the Highway to Raise Funds to Fight Muscular Dystrophy

It’s the can’t-miss party of the motorcycling world--the largest event of its kind in the nation and a gathering of the good, the bad and the ugly.

It’s the Love Ride.

More than 21,000 bikers--most of them straddling powerful Harley-Davidsons--rumbled into Glendale early Sunday to take part in the 11th annual charity ride from Glendale to Castaic.

Thousands more turned out to see celebrities and to cheer everyone on, mingling with the bikers at ground zero on San Fernando Road or crowding along overpasses of the Golden State Freeway, as folks like Ugly Carl, a Canoga Park motorcycle mechanic on his eighth Love Ride in 11 years, zoomed underneath.

“I just love it. It’s fun, it’s a good benefit, and it’s a great excuse to get together with 20,000 of my best friends,” said Carl, who rides with a group of about 50 entertainers who call themselves The Uglys.

The event benefits the Los Angeles chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. Last year’s ride raised more than $1 million for 11 clinics and two summer camps in the Los Angeles area, as well as money for medical research, said Joan Rovegno, regional director for the association.

Organizers expect to raise at least the same amount from this year’s ride, a magnet for motorcyclists of all ages, shapes and sizes.

“We love the bikers. They represent a wide range of the community, from doctors to lawyers to hard-core riders to celebrities,” Rovegno said.

“Just ‘cause they ride Harleys doesn’t mean they’re not nice guys. The people who ride other bikes, they’re nice too--just a little intimidated.”

Indeed, the rugged-looking men and women wearing leather motorcycle jackets, chaps, caps and boots seemed to enjoy a camaraderie that ignored social class or standing.

Whether a famous television celebrity or just a regular guy, most participants view the Love Ride as a harmonic convergence of Harley riders for a good cause.

“This is a timeless thing,” said actor Peter Fonda, whose performance in “Easy Rider” in 1969 helped mold the image of the nomadic biker answering the call of the open road.

“When we get on the bikes, we’re not bald or fat or old,” Fonda said.

“You get on a Harley and you’re still cool.”

Fonda was joined by dozens of Hollywood celebrities, including actor Lorenzo Lamas, who stars on the television show “Renegade,” musician Axl Rose and actress Pamela Anderson of the TV series “Baywatch.” “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno served as this year’s grand marshal.

But not all the celebrities felt at home on a Sportster or a Softail Harley.

“I’m a Love Ride virgin,” confessed Kris Jenner, who rode with her husband, Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner.

The procession of shiny bikes, which filled half a mile of San Fernando Road, began pulling out of Glendale about 9:30 a.m. and rode north for the next two hours beneath a bright November sun.

The beautiful weather warmed a man who identified himself as Randy Cowboy, a veteran biker from Vancouver, B.C., who came to Southern California with a couple of friends.

“It’s good to get out of the snow, eh?” he said.

“We’ve been down here for a week and who knows where we’re going from here. Maybe Arizona.”

Another longtime rider, Frank Bizelli, 40, of Burbank, once lived the outlaw biker lifestyle. He marveled at how little some riders with expensive bikes knew about riding them.

“A guy asked me to start his bike for him today. I’m not kidding,” Bizelli said. “He forgot to turn the key--you know, to start the bike.”

In his previous life, Bizelli said, he had one charity: himself.

“I never would have done this for charity before,” he said.

“I was in it for myself. In the past, had I raised money I would have kept it for myself and stuck it up my arm.

“But I’ve been clean and sober for the last six years.”