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Economy Gets the Best of the Love Ride
Photo by DeusXFlorida via Flickr
The large annual Harley Davidson ride and charity from Glendale to Fairplex has been canceled this year. Although 25,000 bikers attended last year, topped off with performances by ZZ Top and Foo Fighters, the reality of pulling off the event meant to raise money for various charities just wasn't there for organizers as pre-sales were way down.
“This was a gut wrenching decision for me,” said Oliver Shokouh, who founded the Love Ride in 1984, in a statement. “I want to make clear that this has absolutely nothing to do with the Love Ride staff, volunteers or organizers. Everyone has worked hard for the past 25 years. Our problem boils down to one thing, the economy. The bottom line is that the Love Ride is a victim of the recession. We did a very careful analysis over the last several months, and realized that ticket sales weren’t enough to offset costs. Simply put, there would be no money left to help the kids, the sole reason for the Love Ride.”
Over the years, the event has raised money for over a dozen charities including Muscular Dystrophy Association and Austism Speaks.
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