Motorcycle-Riding Taiwanese Seniors In LA For 'Go Grandriders' Tour
MONTEREY PARK (CBSLA.com) — A band of motorcycle-riding Taiwanese seniors roared through Southern California on Friday.
Ten of the seventeen original "grandriders" featured in the Taiwanese documentary film, "Go Grandriders", rode their motorcycles from Ventura down to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, then onto Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood.
The group - comprised of those in their 70s, 80s, and 90s - has been touring the state since August 15 as part of a release of that documentary and to bust stereotypes about aging.
Starting in 2007, the group - some of whom are battling arthritis, cancer, and heart disease - completed a 730-mile journey in 13 days around Taiwan with the assistance of the Hondao Senior Citizens Welfare Foundation.
Their story was first captured in a television commercial produced by a Taiwanese bank, which went viral on YouTube with over 5 million hits worldwide.
The Taiwanese grandriders rode together with their American counterparts. Hoping to inspire others to live active lifestyles, they visited senior and nursing homes from San Francisco on their way down to the Southland.
But there's one small hitch: the riders - who started their journey on Highway 1 down the California coastline before taking the 101 Freeway into L.A. - weren't riding solo.
Because the group could not apply for driver's licenses in California, each member rode into town on the backs of American counterparts from a BMW motorcycle club, according to Bay City News.
"Go Grandriders" kicked off its first U.S. theatrical run in Los Angeles on Friday at the AMC Atlantic Times Square in Monterey Park. The documentary will run through August 29.
