Beach Ride ’97 Brings Out Bikers by the Thousands

It could have been any other outdoor festival held on a sunny day at San Buenaventura State Beach Park.

But with a leather-clad beauty queen, a contest for the most unusual tattoo and a dunk tank featuring a pair of bathing beauties, Sunday’s Beach Ride ’97 was more than a day at the beach--it was the perfect biker get-together.

It also marked the sixth time the Culver City-based Exceptional Children’s Foundation, which provides services for developmentally disabled children and adults, has held the fund-raiser at the state beach park off Harbor Boulevard. Foundation board members Grady Pfeiffer and Allan DeShon could not have been happier with the turnout.

Overall attendance, estimated at about 10,000, and the number of bike show entrants were up over last year, Pfeiffer said.

Added DeShon: “We even doubled the bike show entry fee from $5 to $10, and we still had more entries.”

Last year, there were 52 Harley-Davidsons of all shapes and sizes vying for the judges’ and festival attendees’ approval.

The Best of Show award went to Andy Leeka of La Canada Flintridge and his red and white 1964 Harley-Davidson FLH. “Both the judges and, I think, most of the people thought that this was the best bike here today,” DeShon said.

Ginger Ward, 25, of Century City was crowned Miss Beach Ride.

Actor Robert Davi, who plays FBI agent Bailey Maole on the NBC-TV series “Profiler,” was the ride’s grand marshal. He praised foundation organizers for spending 86% of the foundation’s revenue on the people it serves.

For many of the participants, just being able to mingle with other Harley enthusiasts made the day worthwhile.

“For me, it’s watching all the people, watching the bikes,” said 31-year-old Scott Edwards, a Hells Angels member from San Diego.

Marty Segal of Simi Valley was voted the day’s Best Overall Male in the tattoo contest. The 43-year-old plumbing contractor got his first tattoo when he was 14, and says he has about $25,000 worth of body art on his chest, legs, arms and back.

His back artwork, the futuristic “Sexy Robots” by San Diego tattoo artist Gary Hoag, won the most unusual tattoo award.

Judges also made special note of Segal’s leg art--renderings of women, and a dragon, both in an Oriental theme--which were done by Steve Smith of Ocean Beach.

“I’m used as their canvas,” Segal said.