On Sunday, March 29, the only annual event to bring together the champions and legends of the motorcycle world in one day, in one place, to ride for a cure for cystic fibrosis will be staged in Old Town Temecula at 10 a.m.

The informative event brochure lists legendary riders such as Darryl Atkins, Broc Glover and Jeremy McGrath among others taking part in the 100-mile scenic street, sport, tour-bike ride or a dual-sport (combination of dirt and street) ride throughout Riverside and San Diego counties.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a life-threatening genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide).

The disease causes mucus to build up and clogs some of the organs in the body, particularly in the lungs and pancreas, causing difficulty in breathing and susceptibility to infections that leads to permanent lung damage.

The Breathe Easy Ride was inaugurated last year by American Motorcycle Association Hall of Fame motocross champion Broc Glover shortly after his 6-year-old son, Dayne, was diagnosed with the disease.

Ron Muir and Carl Hoffman, co-owners of Slap-N-Leather Motorcycle Gear, are extremely pleased to help host the Breathe Easy Ride.

"We’re donating our parking lot again to help with the staging of the ride and post-ride fundraising activities," Muir said. "Last year was a mix of all kinds of cool bikes and riders. Everyone was helpful and had a good time, young and old. The event kept everybody happy."

In recent telephone interviews several of the legends were more than willing to speak about the event.

World-famous motocross announcer Larry "Supermouth" Huffman will emcee the event again. "I think last year we got really lucky with the weather," he said. "Yeah, it sprinkled a little bit here and there in the morning, but that didn’t dampen our spirits.

"The nicest thing about this event is that the public can mingle with the legends in a very casual and friendly atmosphere, like with four-time World Road Racing Champion Eddie Lawson. And, there’s no admission charge to hang out with us after we come back in from the ride."

Current Supercross competitor Grant Langston said, "This’ll be fun. I’m not racing that weekend so Broc asked me to participate. I’m not sure which bike I’ll ride. I have a cruiser, a road bike and a dual-sport.

"I think I’ll keep it a surprise on which bike I’ll show up with. Either way it’ll be a good time for sure."

The Legendary Scot Harden, a resident of Menifee, is leading the dual-sport tour.

"We’re going to get down and dirty seeing Mother Nature by taking a long route through the back country on a mix of motorized trails and pavement," Harden said.

"We’ll meet up with the sport bikes and cruisers in Warner Springs to complete the final leg of the civilized portion of our dual-sport tour," he added. "There’s going to be a lot of good stories to share."

Paul Flanders, a longtime dual-sport rider and race competitor, mentioned that "Kieth Huff, the president of our American Motorcycle Association, District-37 dual-sport club, will be there with Don Nay, the D-37 rider representative, along with Brian Tinker, a member of the Orange County Dualies."

Media relations specialist Larry Langley, founder of the Orange County Dualies, stated, "We don’t need no stinkin’ pavement."

Pamela Couvignou, the director of special events for the San Diego Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), said, "This year we’re running the Breathe Easy Ride by following the guidelines of our national chapter. Last year was great; this year will be awesome.

"[CFF has] been a model for other nonprofits across the nation and part of that includes how efficiently we raise funds and get the money straight to research to find a cure. We have very little overhead.

"We do our fundraisers person-to-person and we have a great volunteer base. We don’t waste money on unnecessary overhead."

What to expect

According to Glover, "Everybody is welcome. If you’re going on the Breathe Easy Ride you must be registered and wearing the event wristband at all times, and to be part of the after-ride meal.

"Our opportunity drawing is top-notch. This year everyone can shoot for a $10 chance ticket to win the grand prize, a beautiful root beer-colored Roadstar custom designed by Cobra Special Projects director Denny Berg. Many, many other opportunity prizes will be available.

"Where else on the planet can the public go for a three-hour ride with a group of legends that combines a total of over 70 national championships and 17 world championships, and then come hang out and be feet apart from them for as long as six hours?

"This is a very sport ride-oriented group of people. Encounters with these greats routinely involve a quick handshake, sometimes an autograph or snapshot and storytelling.

"The point to really drive home is that CF gets zero government funding to discover a cure for this child-killing disease, yet they fund other research programs that aren’t life-threatening.

"Because of that we have to work twice as hard, and it’s the motorcycle community that proves time and again to be very philanthropic. Thank you, everybody, for helping out."

To register for the Breathe Easy Ride or make a donation to CFF, visit www.breatheeasyride.com.

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