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Another successful ride for the Long Reach Long Riders

The Long Reach Long Riders are very happy to announce the completion of their 8th annual charity ride. The ride, which benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The ESTA Foundation’s Behind the Scenes program, began in Billings, Montana on July 2nd and ended back in Billings on July 9th . This year the LRLR raised over $36,500.00 bringing the total raised since they started riding in 2004 to just under $300,000.00.

The top ten things  the 14 riders, 5 passengers and 2 chase cars did this year were:

1) Rode 2,114 miles in 8 days.

2) Looked on as two riders asked their passengers to marry them. A first for the LRLR. (Both passengers said yes!)

3) Did not encounter a single drop of rain. Another LRLR first.

4) Experienced no bike mechanical failures. Yet another LRLR first.

5) Saw numerous wildlife including Bison, Elk, Brown Black and Grizzly Bear, Deer, a Coyote (although some argue that it was wolf), Bald and Golden Eagles, several Osprey in their nests and two unidentified animals that ran in front of, but did NOT get hit by, Greg’s bike.

6) Changed altitude by over 7,000 ft. including a trip over Bear Tooth Pass at 10,947 ft.

7) Visited three National Parks and a National Monument.

8) Crossed umpteen flooded rivers and passed more snow covered mountains than they could count.

9) Passed out over 1,000 kazoos.

10) Raised awareness of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The ESTA Foundation’s Behind The Scenes program at numerous gas stations, restaurants, hotels, scenic overlooks and even while waiting for construction traffic to clear.

The Long Reach Long Riders would like to thank everyone who helped make this year’s ride a resounding success. Donations are being accepted up to July 31, 2011. Please visit www.lrlr.org for more information.

The 9th annual (2012) Long Reach Long Rider charity ride will take place in the Pacific Northwest and begin on August 4, 2012. Please check the website in the coming months for route, registration and donation information.

Long Reach Long Riders Ride Again in July

The Long Reach Long Riders are happy to announce the dates and route for their 8th annual charity motorcycle ride. The 2011 ride will begin on July 1 in Billings, Montana and wind through some of the wildest landscapes in the United States before finishing back in Billings on July 9th. Along the way the group will visit a number of National Parks including Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Craters of the Moon and Glacier. Old Faithful and Mammoth Hot Springs are two of the many sites to be visited, and the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and The Highway to the Sun are a couple of the many magnificent roads that will be ridden during the 2011 ride.

What was supposed to be a one time event in 2004 has become an eagerly anticipated annual trip. The ride supports two charities: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The ESTA Foundation’s Behind the Scenes Program. To date the LRLR have raised over $250,000.0.

Greg Williams, who shares 2011 Ride Marshal duties with his wife Alice Neff noted, “Last year’s ride was spectacular. The Sierra Nevada Mountains are incredibly beautiful and the ride up the Pacific Coast Highway was breathtaking. Loren Shreiber set a very high bar with last year’s ride but I do believe this year’s route will be even better.”

For more information about the Long Reach Long Riders, to join the ride or make a donation, please visit www.lrlr.org.

Long Reach Long Riders Complete 7th Ride For Charity

Each Time I read or hear about the Long Reach Long Riders, I want to buy a bike. Not just because it would be awesome to do some of these rides, but also to contribute to a worth while cause while still having some fun.  Of course you don’t NEED a bike to contribute, but as I have heard…”You’d be cooler if you did”. Here is more from Bill Sapsis.

The Long Reach Long Riders (LRLR) completed their 7th annual charity motorcycle ride on July 31st at Alice’s Restaurant in Woodside, California. The ride, which began at The Presidio in San Francisco raised over $38,000.00 for The ESTA Foundation’s Behind the Scenes Program and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The LRLR have raised over $250,000.00 since starting their charity rides in 2004.

Loren Schreiber, one of this year’s ride marshals commented, “From San Francisco and back again, the route took us from twisted, cliff-side roads with azure seas below, through winding giant redwood canyons, around ancient volcanoes, down the sheer face of the Sierra Nevada and up again among Yosemite’s indigo lakes and the hunched shoulders of Half Dome and El Capitan. We crossed over high mountain passes and low valley plains. We wandered down narrow country lanes with only the ground squirrels noting our passing. On the scale of natural pulchritude, this ride was off the charts!”

On any given day there were up to 25 bikes on the road and their riders hail from 8 states, Canada, Great Britain and Sweden. LRLR founding member Greg

Williams noted “I’m always amazed at how quickly our riders’ disparate personalities gel in the face of common beautiful experiences and a shared sense of mission. This year was no different, and certainly ranks among my favorites…so far!

Next year the ride will start in Billings, Montana and wind through some of the most scenic National Parks in the country before returning to Billings. The following year (2012) will find the LRLR enjoying the lakes and forests of the upper mid-west.

Donations for this year’s ride are being accepted up to September 1, 2010.

For more information on making a donation, joining a future ride or sponsoring a rider, please visit www.lrlr.org.

Long Reach Long Riders (LRLR) to Hold Raffle at USITT

The Long Reach Long Riders, the charitable motorcycle ride to help provide funds for the ESTA Foundation Behind the Scenes program has just announced their 2010 raffle at USITT.  On April 2nd, 2010, The Long Reach Long Riders will be holding their annual raffle in the Behind the Scenes booth at the USITT Stage Expo in Kansas City.

During the course of the entire conference you can purchase tickets to the raffle for $5 each or 5 tickets for $20.  As an added bonus, any person that purchases 5 or more tickets will receive a FREE Stagecraft Mailing List Calendar.

Take a look at some of the great raffle prizes put up by lighting manufacturers.

  • Altman Rentals (ghostlight)
  • Apollo Design Technology (Smart Move DMX Rotator)
  • Barbizon (Stagehands Tool Kit)
  • Field Template (SoftSymbols and Field Templates)
  • Doug Fleenor Design (DMX/RDM Coffee Pot)
  • Sapsis Rigging ($250 Gift Certificate)
  • SeaChanger (iPod Touch and colorBUG)
  • USITT (2011 Conference registration)
  • Utah Shakespearean Festival (three pairs of theatre tickets)
  • Vectorworks (Spotlight with Renderworks)
  • Vincent Lighting Systems ($250 gift certificate)
  • Greg Williams (Photo Call and Photography 101 for the Stage seminar)

All proceeds of the raffle go directly to The ESTA Foundation’s Behind the Scenes program, which provides entertainment technology industry members with grants for emergency situations, such as serious illness, injury or death.  So if you are attending the USITT Conference and Stage Expo this year, be sure to stop by the ESTA Behind the Scenes booth and pick up your raffle tickets.  Not only are there great prizes available, but you’ll be making sure your injured peers are taken care of!

Long Reach Long Riders Saddle Up For 2010

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With this past summers ride down and gone in the east, the Long Reach Long Riders are planning their 6th annual ride on the west coast.  I was sad to have to miss this years ride as it went straight through my back door.  Here is a little more info from the 2009 ride on the east coast:

The 2009 ride raised over $42,000.00 for the ESTA Foundation’s Behind the Scenes program and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, making it the second largest amount raised to date. The combined LRLR total raised since the first ride in 2004 has now exceeded $200,000.00

The participants; 18 motorcycles and as many as three chase vehicles, enjoyed a weeklong ride that took them over mountains, past lush farmland and sweeping vistas and through a number of National and State Parks. The 2,500 mile ride, which began in Richmond, Virginia and ended in Dahlonega, Georgia, visited 5 states and rode on many scenic highways including the Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Cherohala Skyway. The group also tempted fate by riding some of the most famous twisting mountain roads in the USA including The Snake in Shady Valley, Tennessee and the Dragon’s Tail in Robbinsville, North Carolina.

This year’s riders and chase car drivers hail from 13 states, the District of Columbia, British Columbia, Canada and London, England.

So are you pumped up about joining the ride?  Here is more information on the 7th annual Long Reach Long Ride.

The Long Reach Long Riders announce their seventh annual charity motorcycle ride.  The ride, which benefits the ESTA Foundation’s Behind The Scenes program and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, begins in San Francisco on July 24, 2010.

The ride, which began as one time event back in 2004, has raised more than $200,000.00 over the past six years.  “We were just a bunch of technicians looking for a fun way to attend a conference”, commented Bill Sapsis, one of the original ride organizers. “Who knew it would turn out like this?” Greg Williams, another founding member added, “The group was so much fun to ride with we just had to do it again.  We’ve seen a lot of really beautiful country in the past six years and this years ride will offer a lot more as well as some of the best riding roads in the west.”

The riders will assemble at the Presidio in San Francisco on the morning of July 24th and head north into the Napa Valley.  Over the next seven days the group will head through Eureka and then west to Truckee and Lake Tahoe.  They’ll ride through Yosemite and down to Hollister, CA, the birthplace of the outlaw biker legend in the US.  Then it’s over to the coast and back up to San Francisco via the legendary Pacific Coast Highway, arriving on July 31st.

As in previous years, anyone who wants to ride with us is more than welcome, either as  a ‘day tripper’ or for the entire ride.  For more information on the route, joining the ride or making a donation, please visit www.lrlr.org.

Long Reach Long Rides Meet and Exceed Goals

The Long Reach Long Riders announce the successful completion of their 6th annual charity motorcycle ride. The 2009 ride raised over $42,000.00 for the ESTA Foundation’s Behind the Scenes program and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, making it the second largest amount raised to date. The combined LRLR total raised since the first ride in 2004 has now exceeded $200,000.00 Donations for the 2009 ride will be accepted until September 1, 2009.

The participants; 18 motorcycles and as many as three chase vehicles, enjoyed a weeklong ride that took them over mountains, past lush farmland and sweeping vistas and through a number of National and State Parks. The 2,500 mile ride, which began in Richmond, Virginia and ended in Dahlonega, Georgia, visited 5 states and rode on many scenic highways including the
Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Cherohala Skyway. The group also tempted fate by riding some of the most famous twisting mountain roads in the USA including The Snake in Shady Valley, Tennessee and the Dragon’s Tail in Robbinsville, North Carolina.

This year’s riders and chase car drivers hail from 13 states, the District of Columbia, British Columbia, Canada and London, England. The ride was organized by Greg Williams, Alice Neff, and Moe and Christine Conn. The bikes represented were Harley Davidson (10), Honda (3), Kawasaki (2), BMW (1), Suzuki (1) and Vespa (1). The oldest bike on the trip was the 1987 K-75 BMW driven by Frank “Mr. Murphy” Stewart. The number of curves successfully navigated by the group exceeded 1,000.

Next year’s ride will start in San Francisco, Ca. For more information on the riders, joining the ride or making a donation, please visit www.lrlr.org.

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