Triumph Ride Across America

Pasadena, CA - The 100th anniversary celebration of Triumph Motorcycles will be on Sunday, June 30, 2002 from 2 PM to 6 PM at the Elks Lodge, 400 West Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California. The event is free and the public is invited to see the official finish of the Triumph Ride Across America which will be at approximately 2 PM. It will be held one block from the original Johnson Motors which was the distributor of Triumph Motorcycles for the Western USA from 1938 to 1967. Entertainment will include Scott Wallenberg from RacerX's Blue Sky Band and also Road to Blue.

This event will honor former dealers and racers who made Triumph the most successful brand of imported motorcycles in the USA for many years. Bud Ekins will be highlighted as an outstanding dealer, competition rider, and film industry stunt man. He was the key person who influenced many movie stars to ride Triumphs. The celebrities included Keenan Wynn, Lee Marvin, Marlon Brando, Ann-Margaret, James Dean, and Steve McQueen. Bud did many of the stunts for Steve McQueen, including the famous jump over the barbed wire in the “Great Escape”. Both classic and racing motorcycles will be displayed.

Other riders that plan to be there are former Grand National Champion Gene Romero, Skip Van Leeuwen, Eddie Mulder, Sammy Tanner, Dick Hammer, Sonny Nutter, Gene Smith, Mike Konle, Keith Mashburn, John Hately, Bob Bailey, Ben Fakkeldy, Ken Clark, and Eddie Wirth, who was the only Triumph rider to successfully race motorcycles and sprint cars. Eddie set records on the Ascot TT Track, held the one lap track record driving a sprint car, and won the Cal Racing Association Sprint Car Championship in 1985.

For more information contact Pat Owens at (626) 443-9630; fax: (626) 442-8683.

THANKS!