Photo Gallery: Shimano Moto Ride Day
Jean Turner | January 26, 2016
The morning after Anaheim II Supercross, many of the top riders headed to Irvine, California to the Shimano American headquarters for a day of fun on two wheels—without motors. Shimano hosted a Moto Athlete Ride Day, and over 100 participants from the moto industry including Shimano athletes Chad Reed, Cooper Webb, Cole Seely, Davi Millsaps, Justin Brayton, Broc Tickle and Wil Hahn joined in the fun. A number of former champions including Jeremy McGrath, Jeff Ward and Ryan Hughes also came along for the 18.5-mile ride through the neighborhood dirt paths of Irvine toward the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park area.
“I’ve been a huge motocross fan for years and I love seeing how into cycling these guys are,” said Shimano’s Joe Lawwill. “The Shimano Moto Athlete Ride Day is a great opportunity for us to get all these amazing athletes together for a fun ride with our Shimano staff and spend some time hanging out in our Shimano Business Center at HQ. It means a lot to us that these guys make the effort to come spend the day with us, especially the guys that raced the night before!”
Lawwill presented the Shimano moto athletes with jerseys commemorating Shimano’s 50th anniversary in the U.S. which made it a little hard to tell who’s who on the ride, but flip through the photo gallery to see how many Supercross riders cross-train with Team Shimano (hint: it’s damn near all of them)!
Jeremy McGrath, Ryan Hughes, Chris Fillmore, Josh Hayes, Cooper Webb, Justin Brayton and about 100 others ready to ride!
Chad Reed (L-R), Michael Byrne, Shimano's Joe Lawwill and Davi Millsaps prepare for the ride.
The Shimano Moto Athlete Ride Day saw over 100 riders show up the morning after Anaheim 2 Supercross.
Here comes the cavalry.
Michael Byrne and Davi Millsaps, with Reedy bringing up the rear.
Chad Reed pants for the camera.
Jeremy McGrath and Victor Sheldon
Anaheim 2 250-class winner Cooper Webb.
Justin Brayton and Cole Seely fought the urge to bang bars with each other.
McGrath and Shimano Moto Ride Day coordinator Joe Lawwill.
Ryan Hughes and Jeremy McGrath - still buds!
Reed and Hughes enjoy some post-ride bench racing.
Josh Hayes and Justin Brayton.
Steve Giberson (aka "Guy B") heard there would be free food...
“Shimano has been supporting me for the last five years,” said Chad Reed. “The product is second-to-none and super reliable, which is good since I don’t have mechanics for bicycles like I do motorcycles! We racers use bicycles as a tool, but I enjoy riding them as well, especially mountain biking here in California.”
Cycling isn’t just a tool for motocross racers, but road racers as well, such as four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes who came along for the ride. “I was cycling before it was cool!” joked Hayes. “It’s a staple of my training because it’s low-enough impact that you can do it even with some injuries and since I”m the biggest guy on the road race grid, it’s great for stripping weight. I’ve done this event every year, and it’s always a good time riding with your peers, plus riders from different disciplines and eras.”
