Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Riding Dad’s Road King from Marina Del Rey to Malibu—Memories of Dad Along for the Ride

On Sunday, September 22, riders will gather at Bartels’ Harley Davidson in Marina Del Rey, California for The Greatest Escape Motorcycle Ride. The ride marks the 50th anniversary of The Great Escape movie starring The King of Cool, Steve McQueen, whose life was cut short by malignant peritoneal mesothelioma at the age of 50. Proceeds from the event will go to support mesothelioma research conducted by the Pacific Meso Center in Los Angeles. Our firm is proud to be the title sponsor of this first-ever event.

Chuck Jarvis, Sr.
For many, the event will be an opportunity to experience the sheer freedom and exhilaration that comes from riding a motorcycle along the southern California coastline on a perfect late-summer day. For others, the event will also be a time to recognize the freedom lost by the thousands of Americans that are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year.

One of the driving forces for the Greatest Escape Motorcycle Ride is Chuck Jarvis Jr., a Los Angeles police officer who lost his father to malignant pleural mesothelioma in May of 2012. Chuck’s father, Chuck Sr., was an avid Harley rider and Steve McQueen fan.

Chuck Sr. grew up as the youngest of five kids in close-knit rural community in Indiana. He started riding motorcycles when he was a kid and rode all over the countryside. His family taught him the importance of hard work and being a good neighbor. Chuck Sr. would go on to instill the same values to his own children. In his son Chuck Jr., he would also go on to instill his passion for riding big American V-Twin Harley Davidson motorcycles.

Chuck and Sonia
“My dad offered a helping hand to anyone who needed it. He mowed yards and checked in on elderly neighbors,” Chuck Jr. shares about his father. “If a kid in the neighborhood didn’t know how to ride a bike, he taught them, and when the family went camping he invited the whole neighborhood. It was just who he was.”

While Chuck, Sr. was serving his country in the Vietnam War, his new wife Sonia saved money from her job and bought Chuck a brand new Harley Easy Rider and surprised him with it when he came home. Sonia’s brother even taught her how to ride the bike by herself, so when Chuck got home she was a pro.

Over the years, Sonia and Chuck occasionally traded Chuck’s motorcycles for cars when a baby was on the way. They sold their prized Easy Rider when Sonia was pregnant with their daughter, but by the time she was three, Chuck and Sonia were riding again on a Honda with their daughter squeezed between them. They rode “three-up” with their daughter to Disneyland, she even had her own little helmet.

Chuck, Sr. and Chuck, Jr.
Chuck and Sonia had a number of bikes over the years but, Chuck’s pride and joy was his Harley Road King. They originally purchased the bike with plans of riding it all over the country, but when Chuck’s health began to fail those plans were postponed. The Road King is now Chuck Jr.’s pride and joy and he will be riding it on September 22, in memory of his father and to help raise money for the Pacific Meso Center.

“The Pacific Meso Center gave us a lot of hope before my dad passed away and a great effort to the end. My motivation is to give hope to those that are diagnosed now and the possibility of treatment to prolong life and ultimately to find a cure. My hope is to bring light to this serious problem and to discontinue the use of asbestos related products around the world.”

We invite you to come out and take part in this memorial ride to raise money for mesothelioma research and spread awareness of this rare and aggressive cancer.

The ride will take place on Sunday, September 22, 2013

  • Registration begins at: 8:30 a.m.
  • Ride begins at: 10:00 a.m.
  • Lunch & Concert begins at: 12:00 p.m.
RIDE BEGINS AT:
Bartels’ Harley-Davidson
4141 Lincoln Blvd.
Marina Del Rey, California
RIDE ENDS AT:
Sycamore Cove State Beach
9000 West Pacific Coast Hwy
Malibu, California
Registration for single riders is $45 and $35 for passengers, which includes lunch, concert and a commemorative pin and bandana. Registration for children under 12 is free and if you just want to come out for lunch and a show, tickets are $20.

Proceeds from the ride along with the raffle and auction at the post-ride party will fund the Pacific Meso Center’s ongoing research into cures for mesothelioma being conducted at the Punch Worthington lab on the UCLA campus and the Pacific Meso Center’s own lab in West Los Angeles.

For more information, sponsorship opportunities and to register please visit http://thegreatestescape.org/Home.html or contact Clare Cameron, Executive Director at 310-478-4678, or via email: ccameron@phlbi.org, or Cherry Hepburn, Project Leader at 818-505-1104, or via email: cherry@putnam-smith.com

For more on Steve McQueen:
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