The Greatest Escape Shows Anything's Possible

Roger Worthington with John Caron (r)

Los Angeles, CA. Riding a motorcycle with a throng of true believers from Marina Del Ray on a sunny Sunday afternoon through Venice Beach, Santa Monica, and Malibu without stopping at a single intersection -- impossible. Right?

Wrong! It is possible if you have a police escort, and the backing of the Pacific Meso Center, the nonprofit dedicated to discovering new and better ways to treat patients with malignant mesothelioma, the same asbestos related cancer that took the life of famed Hollywood icon Steve McQueen more than 30 years ago.

Thanks to the Pacific Meso Center, John Caron and I were able to join similarly enthused and awestruck motorcyclists last Sunday in "The Greatest Escape," an organized ramble up the coast to commemorate the anniversary of the release of one of McQueen's greatest movies. Thanks to the leadership of PMC, and the work of a small army of volunteers, sponsors, celebrities, vendors and CHP "Evel Knievel" officers, the ride went off without a hitch.

With Greg Paulus (c) whose father was
diagnosed with mesothelioma

"What a momentous day," beamed Caron. "We were pleased to honor those who have passed on, give hope to those still persevering, and just have a day of fun on the beach with many of our clients, their friends and families."

"Before today, I never dreamed it would be possible to motor unabated through some of the worse traffic in the world," he continued. "It goes to show you -- anything's possible, if you're smart, motivated, and organized. The same goes for helping mesothelioma patients. To tame this terrible cancer, which has taken down so many for so many years, it's going to take a smart and motivated team of doctors, scientists and researchers, along with politicians, organized labor, patient advocates, drug companies and the government."

The Greatest Escape raised over $100,000, which will be used to fund ongoing research initiatives at PMC's laboratory in Los Angeles. Worthington & Caron, which helped sponsor the event, donated $50,000 to the PMC on behalf of all our clients who have struggled with mesothelioma.  It was gratifying to rumble up the coast with our clients Chuck Jarvis, Jr., Michael Johnson and William Paulus, three young men who each lost their Dads to mesothelioma.

With Michael Johnson, son of John Johnson

Plans are already underway for next year's Greatest Escape. Not only does the event support a worthy cause, it also offers the chance of a lifetime to throttle without stopping through Los Angeles and up the coast to enjoy the sunshine on the beach with friends, dance to live rock ‘n’ roll music, sip a craft beer or two and chow down on great food.

For more about the event, please read the press release posted by the Pacific Meso Center here.  We wish again to thank the PMC, all the volunteers, and the California Highway Patrol for their hard work.  And a special shout out to our friends Clare Cameron, Victoria Adams, Dr. Robert Cameron, Michael Johnson, William Paulus, and Chuck Jarvis, Jr., along with a big kudos to our new friends the Walking Phoenixes, Bartels’ Harley-Davidson, Larry Wilcox, Sheriff Lee Baca, Disc Jockeys Tom & Sandy and Lorenzo Lamas.

Roger Worthington

California Highway Patrol
Thank you!

Lorenzo Lamas on “Good Day LA” to Promote the “The Greatest Escape Motorcycle Ride” for Mesothelioma Research

Actor and lifelong motorcycle enthusiast Lorenzo Lamas appeared this morning on the Fox morning news show, “Good Day LA”, to promote The Greatest Escape Motorcycle Ride which will take place this Sunday, September 22 to raise money for mesothelioma research conducted by the Pacific Meso Center.

Lorenzo Lamas will be riding alongside other celebrities and dignitaries including Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and stars from the 1980s hit series CHIPS, Larry Wilcox, Robert Pine and Paul Linke. Joining them will be riders from many Southern California motorcycle clubs including Eaglerider Motorcycles, Los Angeles Young Riders, The Society of Riders and Free Riders.

The Worthington & Caron law firm is pleased to serve as the title sponsor for the inaugural event. Partners Roger Worthington and John Caron will be riding along with many of their clients and clients’ families and friends whose lives have been affected by asbestos cancer.

Whether or not you are a rider, all are invited to come out and enjoy the beautiful scenic views of the Pacific Coast Highway, starting in Marina Del Rey and ending at Malibu’s Sycamore Cove State Beach where the fun will continue with a barbeque lunch, craft beer, live music, raffle prizes and a live auction.

Bidders will have a chance to win a ride in the soon to be retired Goodyear Blimp, a two-night stay and dinner at the haunted Glen Tavern hotel, a gourmet dinner package on the Napa Valley Wine Train, dinner for four at the exclusive chef’s table at Firenze Osteria, high-end motorcycle gear and much more!

Come out for the ride or join us for a fun day of music, food, and prizes at the beach!

• 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 T-shirt, pin and bandana. Tickets for those who aren’t riding but attending the post-ride party and barbeque are $20. Children under 12 are free.

Proceeds from the event will fund the Pacific Meso Center’s ongoing research into cures for mesothelioma 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

>>> Inspiration behind The Greatest Escape :  Riding Dad’s Road King from Marina Del Rey to Malibu—Memories of Dad Along for the Ride

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:

• Mesothelioma Does Not Respect Fame Or Fortune
• Worthington Honors Memory OfSteve McQueen, Donates Movie Money To Research
• A Candid Interview WithBarbara McQueen 26 Years After Mesothelioma Claimed The Life Of Husband AndHollywood Icon, Steve McQueen
• Benefit Concert Raises$250,000 For Mesothelioma Research

Team FAC Does it For Dad, Wins the Gold

Photo courtesy of Lasala Images

Racing a bike hard won’t cure cancer.  Racing a bike really hard and even winning won’t cure it either. So what’s the point? Why am I so proud and privileged to have won the gold medal with my friend and teammate Michael Johnson in the Masters National Championships tandem time trial last week in Prineville, Oregon?

I’ll tell you why.

Michael – MJ – and I have a bond. It’s not a bond we wanted, because it came about only through unspeakably sad and wrenching loss. MJ lost his father, John Johnson, in 2012.  I lost my father, David “Punch”Worthington, in 2006.  Both were taken from us well before their prime. These two strong and swarthy former U.S. Marines were taken by cancers caused by asbestos.

Like so many others who have lost a father or mother to asbestos cancer, MJ and I miss our Dads.  We remember them for the way they fought back, against the odds, to overcome their affliction with honor and dignity.  We remember how, despite the pain, and constipation, and bloating, and tumors, and emaciation, they soldiered on, never giving up, and never complaining.

“My God,” we silently screamed, “If we had only a fraction of their strength!”  MJ and I were impressed and awed by the examples set by our fathers.  MJ’s a former professional bike racer.  I have a life-long passion for cycling.  About a month ago we decided to compete at Nationals to in some small way honor the life and times – the good and the bad times – of John and Punch, respectively.

We hooked up on a bike built for two, aka, a "tandem."We hadn’t ever ridden a tandem together before. We dialed in the bike (seat height, handle bar position, etc.) literally an hour before the gun went off. Admittedly, we were scared. What if we flailed? What if our rhythm was off? What if we cracked, or crashed, or simply lacked the power?

Photo courtesy of Lasala Images

Fear can be a very strong motivator. MJ didn't’ want to let me down, and I didn't want to let him down.  And neither of us could stomach letting the spirit of our Dads down. We knew we had to give 110%. Neither MJ nor I are wispy crystal gazers but we wanted so badly to believe that by choosing with all our might to go “into the box” of pain we would somehow leave our bodies and connect on that mythic astral plane with our tough marine progenitors.

Our goal was to bond, to connect, to triumph, and more viscerally to smash the 25 mile course record of 51.25.  In short, our mission was to crush. We knew it would come down to the last few miles, when our legs were loaded up and the oxygen was scant and we were in the tunnel hurtling through the blackness fueled by glorious sacrificial suffering.

MJ set a wicked pace.  We went out hard and fast.  MJ said later he kept imagining his Dad, John, looking down with a smile. My thoughts went to the river, the Crooked River, which meandered along our race course through high canyon walls. Punch used to drift down this river in his big flat bottom canoe, fishing, camping, drinking Hamm’s and, as he said, connecting with his “spirit eagle.”

The last few miles, when we entered the tunnel, when the lights went dim and the brain slowed down but the legs kept robotically churning, MJ and I both realized this was a moment we would look back on, forever, whether happily or not.  We wanted “happily." Again, the fear kicked in, forcing us to leave nothing to chance, and blow it all out. MJ could barely breathe, I could barely breathe, but we each summoned the energy to shout into the wind with conviction “John Johnson!” and “Punch!”  This was indeed our moment and we wanted to share it with our Dads.

We crossed the line, wasted, but happy. We knew we left nothing on the course, and if that wasn't good enough to win, so be it.  I checked my Garmin computer. “Holy Smokes!” We had averaged 30.1 mph and recorded a time of 49.15, shattering the course record by over two minutes.  We later learned that we – “Team F.A.C” (F-- Asbestos Cancer] had beaten the second place team by four minutes.

No, we didn't beat mesothelioma, or lung cancer, or asbestosis.  We didn’t raise money for cancer cure research.  And we didn’t bring our Dads back.  But for those 49 minutes and 15 seconds we honored the memories of our Dads in a way we believe they would appreciate. We did it the way that they had taught us -- fight hard for what you believe, go for the gold and give something back.  MJ and I lost our Dads but from their loss we gained a brotherhood that will last forever.

RGW

9/11/13