BIKER NEWS: ‘Sons Of Anarchy’ Cast Together Again For Last Love Ride

Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam, who played Tax Teller on the hit TV show, has been with his girlfriend, Morgana McNelis, since 2007. According to Indian Express, McNelis says it’s very important to maintaining a lasting relationship to allow each other to evolve and grow.

McNelis believes that having a safe space between partners is essential.

“I believe that the key to maintaining a good balance is to create a safe space for both partners within the relationship in which to evolve and grow. It’s very important to participate and be present in each other’s experiences so that falling in love doesn’t happen just once, it happens over and over.”

Eight years is a long time to be in a committed relationship, so while it seems that the Sons of Anarchy star is off the market, apparently he’s not married yet. Perhaps all those women who fell in love with Jax in Sons of Anarchy can still dream a little.

It’s the last Love Ride! According to the Los Angeles Times, the 32nd and final annual charity fundraiser rode into the sunset on Sunday with a huge turnout of celebrities and bearded bikers gathered for the Celebrity Love Ride. They came in the rain by the thousands, riding their Harley Davidsons for the grand finale of the motorcycle world’s most respected event. A whopping 13,000 enthusiasts drove or rode in to the music of the Foo Fighters and other acts. By noon, prior to the main acts taking the stage, more than 7,000 people had made themselves comfortable on the grassy hills of the Castaic Lake State Recreation Area. At the same time, thousands more were still stuck on freeways and surface streets trying to reach the north Los Angeles facility.

For the past 26 years, Jay Leno has co-hosted this event with founder Oliver Shokouh. This year, Jay led the field that included honorary marshals Robert Patrick (Terminator and TV’s Scorpion), Peter Fonda (Easy Rider), and Willie G. Davidson – Love Ride’s Honorary Chairman. Also in attendance were actress Kristy Swanson, Love Ride foundation officer Lorenzo Lomas (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and cast and crew from TVs fabulous biker show Sons of Anarchy.

Several thousand riders gathered in the light rain for the start of this final rally, and Leno, addressing the riders, said that motorcycling was no longer just for members of motorcycle gangs. At the same time, he gladly accepted a $5,000 donation from a Ronald McDonald lookalike on behalf of McDonald’s.

Organizers of this event said they sold nearly 13,000 tickets — most of these at the pre-registered rate of $45. At midday on Friday, they stopped selling advance tickets due to fears that the Foo Fighters’ popularity among motorcyclists would mean more people arriving in vehicles on Sunday and quickly filling available parking spaces. Bikers were given preferred parking at Castaic Lake, and once inside the venue, they lined up for their barbecue and Budweiser while waiting for the musical acts to begin. Attire for the day was pretty much denim, leather, and black boots, but, of course, not all the attendees were bearded and burly. Many women made the special effort to attend this event realizing that this would be the last time the event would be held. And not all riders belonged to motorcycle clubs, although there were members of the venerable Boozefighters Club wearing full colors, plus hundreds of Harley Owners Group members from many California communities.

Leno introduced Fonda as “our founder,” who said between photographs and autographs that he was really sorry this was the end of the Love Ride. However, he was happy that the final Ride was raising money for veterans – in particular, the Wounded Warrior Project. Fonda also said that he believes we don’t do enough for these people.

“We’re happy enough to send them off to fight, but after that, we forget about them. It’s a good cause.”

Shokouh said that over the years, Love Rides have raised in excess of $24 million for charities supporting military veterans, in addition to those who suffer from muscular dystrophy and autism. Organizers this year were very hopeful of reaching the $25 million mark with the final Love Ride.

Interestingly, the original Love Rides were designed to polish up the image of the biker, as Shokouh said.

“We used to be this image, that we were all a bunch of gangsters. Now you stand in line for the Love Ride and you’ll find a college professor or a grandmother or a policeman or an attorney. We’re not all rebel rousers.”

Leno agreed but was actually a little wistful that motorcycling had become so mainstream. Shokouh said it was bittersweet that the Love Ride was ending.

He called this event his greatest legacy, and when speaking on behalf of himself and his army of Love Ride volunteers, this 69-year-old Harley-lover said, “We’ve all gotten old, but I’m going to miss this.”

This annual event is credited with bringing the image of the motorcyclist from the outlaw fringes into acceptable mainstream, and the ride now has dozens of imitators. Leno said that, today, the field has become considerably more crowded with charity rides.

“When we started, there weren’t any rides like this. There are a lot of similar events now, but this is the one that got the whole thing going.”

This article was first published on OCTOBER 22, 2015

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