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Events May 26, 2023
A West Coast Thunder ride. | Photo courtesy of West Coast Thunder
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A celebrated motorcycle ride through Riverside and surrounding locations that’s intended to honor members of the U.S. Armed Services will return Monday for a Memorial Day salute that went on hiatus for three years, beginning with the COVID public health lockdowns.
West Coast Thunder is slated roar to life at 9 a.m. Monday — the first ride since Memorial Day 2019.
Riverside Harley-Davidson hosts the events, which began in 2000 when the dealership belonged to Skip Fordyce and operated under that banner.
More than 7,500 motorcycle enthusiasts are expected to take part in the ride, according to event coordinator Jackson Dodd.
“A lot of the riders are excited to be back,” Dodd told City News Service. “Everyone has expressed positive feelings. We missed not doing it those three years.”
The 2020 ride was nixed due to Riverside County’s and the state’s COVID-driven prohibitions on mass public gatherings, and ongoing concerns about exposure risks led to cancellations in 2021 and 2022.
This year’s event will get underway at Riverside Harley-Davison on Indiana Avenue, with motorcyclists bearing American flags leaving the dealership at 9:11 a.m. and proceeding up Alessandro Boulevard to south Riverside, transitioning to Van Buren Boulevard, where some participants will peel off to Riverside National Cemetery to pay their respects, while other riders will continue onto Interstate 215.
The ride will run southbound on I-215 into Murrieta, then swing northbound onto I-15, ending at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore. A car show and concert are planned at the stadium, wrapping up by late Monday afternoon.
Dodd said that last week’s natural gas explosion at the stadium will not impact the West Coast Thunder program because the damage was to a building under construction, not the facilities that will be used by the WCT crowd.
A large share of proceeds raised from the rides and musical shows are donated to the Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee, which relies on contributions to build monuments and make other improvements at the hallowed grounds, where more than 250,000 U.S. military veterans, police officers, firefighters and others are interred.
More than $1 million has been generated over the past two decades, and even when the rides weren’t held, the West Coast Thunder Foundation continued with donation drives to support the cemetery, with $25,000 going to the American Indian Veterans Memorial in 2021.
More information about the rides is available at www.westcoastthunder.com.
