Wild ‘Ride 2 Cure’ thrills Saipan crowd

Hundreds of motocross enthusiasts and supporters had a taste of a professional stunt show when the “Ride 2 Cure Professional Motorcycle Stunt Show” was held at the Puerto Rico highway yesterday morning.

Seven professional bike riders flew in with their bikes from Jackson, Florida, and put on a show that wowed the crowd who trooped to the Puerto Rico area to witness the first ever motorcycle stunt show on Saipan.

To provide the setting for the stunt show, a stretch of the Middle Road was closed off to traffic, from the Smiling Cove Road to the Lower Navy Hill Road. Traffic was re-routed and vehicles had to take the dirt road along Smiling Cove Road to Lower Navy Hill.

James Wallace organized the event with his wife, Agnes Aldan-Wallace.

Wallace said the event was actually her husband’s idea. She said her husband has a passion for motorcycle and he was a professional biker in Florida.

The couple felt that such a show could expose the CNMI community to what an actual professional motorcycle stunt show is. Her husband has been practicing some stunts in Florida with his friends.

She said the event and the title “Ride 2 Cure” were conceptualized last year by putting together her husband’s passion for motorbikes and her passion to help her ailing father who is suffering from diabetes.

The audience did not mind the dreadful heat of the sun and the entrance fee to witness the show, said Wallace, because the proceeds of the show would go to the Diabetes Cause, Cancer Society and students of the Northern Mariana College Audio-Visual Department.

Wallace said they were very happy with the huge turnout of the event and hopefully they could put up another event next year. She said the event would not have been successful without the assistance of various government agencies such as the Department of Public Safety, Marianas Visitors Authority and Marianas Public Lands Authority.

But she also said without the volunteers who helped them organize and secure the venue of the event, the motorcycle show would have failed.

The professional bikers from Florida included Joe Dryden, Aaron Brunelle, Jacob Brunelle, Kyle Woods and Robert Marley, the son of the legendary reggae icon, Bob Marley.

The show started at 11am with a parade of local bikes. From 1pm onwards the bikers thrilled the large audience with their amazing stunts and acrobatics, using only their bikes. The Brunelle brothers used their Honda CBR 900RR stunt bikes.

Other sponsors of the event were: Saipan Shipping Co., Younis Arts Studio, Matson, Triple J, SaipanCell, Shell Marianas, Pacific Trading Co. Ltd., Marianas Cable Vision, Island Apparel, ERICO Equipment, Budget Car Rental, Aquarius Beach Tower Hotel, DETRY Pumping Services, Verizon, Saipan Photo Lab, Taro Sue and Marianas Printing Co. Inc.