Hello loyal Lady Liberty Riders. I think that it’s high time I listed the “shout outs” that are so important to those who play an integral role in the execution and success of the LLR. First and foremost we must thank all of you for participating in the LLR. Whether it was your first year, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th. only makes the ride that much sweeter.  

Hogs & Heifers Saloon, Michelle Dell our co-founder has been a devoted sponsor and generous supporter of the LLR and LOVE. Those brassy sassy girls from Hogs’ all have hearts of gold just like their fearless leader. Michelle’s entire staff and huge clientele have rallied support around us and so many of the H&H regulars have attended the LLR every year. Hogs’ also supplied plenty of newbies this year.  

Lighthouse Harley Davidson- played a HUGE role in the 2007 LLR. Lighthouse Harley was responsible for supplying the 2008 883 Sportster. Lighthouse also helped to garner the attendance of 200 riders from their customer base and HOG chapter in Long Island. Thanks to the Lighthouse staff including but not limited to Rob Schneider, Bill Blackford,  Donna, Ann Marie and the entire LHHD Team supporting this year’s LLR. Plus Lou Vaccarelli along with his pals from their HOGS Chapter provided not only the beautiful turquoise Lady Liberty Ride Mini CD Discs he also rallied those HOG members and all of his riding buddies which added to tremendous attendance for us.  

Dinosaur Bar B Que’s, John Stage has been a loyal supporter of ours since the very first LLR in 2003 where we had 61 intrepid riders (including the 11 PAPD MU cops) with 31 degrees temps’ with sleet and hail. He continues to feed everyone no matter our size- dishing out yummy BBQ right beside his smiling staff. Jon, you never hang around long enough for a thank you! 

NYNJ PAPD Motorcycle Unit. These men are our valiant escorts every year as a gift! They come to work on their day off and keep us safe and orderly. There are no words for their continued support, generosity of spirit, time and heart. Period. 

Bear Mountain State Park, continues to welcome us with open arms and host our rest stop with their organized staff and positive attitude towards the motorcycle community. Under Ron Peters and Frank Boger’s supervision we always experience a seamless entrance and exit. They even let our burly men and dainty women ride on the historical restored carousel gratis!  

Trama Motorcycle School and Bea Trama. The ride is not permanently dedicated to Gasper Trama who dies prematurely in July 2006. Gasper taught countless motorcyclists in the tri state area how to ride safely and get a proper license. We are all forever grateful to him. 

JRAD and Jerry Canotta. JRAD literally rocked the house and the block this year! They came with tons of equipment and figured out how to fit a square peg into a round hole. Try putting stadium size sound system, entourage and roadies with a 50 x 20 foot stage onto a 40 foot wide street. Not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination! A great band. 

Q104.3, the classic rock station of Clear Channel supported us by making PSA’s for 2 weeks prior to the LLR and then had a van present at the block party playing tunes in-between the JRAD sets. They were terrific! 

Lou Vaccarelli from Shape Media made mini discs for the LLR with links to all of our sponsors, a film about LOVE, information about the ride and made an attractive give away as well as a perfect Press give away that each registrant received upon arrival. That was fabulous. 

Now for the winner of the 2008 Beautiful Black Sporty!
Stan Salata, a firefighter with the Chicago Fire department, was on a visit to the Big Apple from the Windy City this summer. His fabulous fiancée Chris (soon to be Salata) had just been in a motorcycle accident and had totaled her bike. Stan figured what the heck; wouldn’t it be terrific if the one raffle he purchases at Hogs’ was the winning ticket for his sweet heart back home? The answer was a resounding YES! They won the bike, drove to NYC one week, after the ride, picked the bike up in front of Hogs’ put her up on a trailer and drove her right back home in time for Chrissy to get plenty of Fall riding in. Congratulations to you two. Happy Trails on your new bike and on your impending nuptials! They totally deserve the win, the love and the kudos for supporting the Lady Liberty Ride and in turn LOVE. FYI, Chrissy told us that her new plates have arrived for her bike and they read; LADY LIB. Take a look at the photo. How about that for a nod to NYC and the LLR? 

(there's a great set of picutres in the photos section with Chris, Stan and their new Sportster - check it out!)

Thank you all again for being there. It’s impossible to thank the dozens of devoted volunteers that make this event happen. You know who you are; all of your photos grace the pages in our photo albums. Whether you as volunteers took those hundreds of photographs (Adrian and Susan), shot the video, registered the attendees, directed traffic, sold raffle tickets, were a road captain, computer technician both on the day of and for the months leading up to the event, worked on this web site, donated raffle items, food, paper goods, encouraged me when I was overwhelmed, you each make the Lady Liberty Ride the best organized, fun and most favorite ride of the season every year. For the record, this year we were able to give Leave Out Violence (LOVE) a $25,000.00 donation thanks to you!  

With LOVE,
Claudia