Southwest Riverside County 'Ale Riders' Bike Along The CA Coast For Arthritis Awareness

TEMECULA, CA — Four longtime Temecula friends have put pedal to the pavement this fall for the 25th Annual California Coast Classic Bike Tour, a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation.

They are currently on the iconic 8-day, 525-mile ride down the Pacific Coast in the event that has raised millions to support the 60 million Americans living with arthritis, the nation’s number one cause of disability. "This year’s milestone ride takes place through September 13—a timely opportunity to spotlight the strength, resilience and purpose fueling these everyday heroes," a spokesperson for the event said.

The Ale Riders team, fundraising for the foundation, consists of David Guinn, Lorenzo Villafranco, John Kohrmann, Marc Rossoff, Sai Veraepalli, Brian and Ellen Chen, and David Lu. Many are parents of Temecula Ballet Studio graduates, who first threw their collective cycle helmets into the ring in 2022 on their first ride in the California Coast Classic. All in the 2025 group love to drink a beer together at the end of their fourth trek across the Golden State. The group has raised $17,351 toward their $10,500 goal for the year.

"As you get older, you have to decide, are you going to get busy living? The other way is not a good option," Guinn says.

The group is in the midst of their journey from San Francisco to Malibu by way of Highway 1. They will once again tour 525 miles, scale 26,000 feet in elevation, riding for eight days from the Golden Gate Bridge, through Monterey, Big Sur, and across the Central Coast. They complete the journey by way of Solvang into Malibu.

Guinn, a Temecula resident, soccer referee, and lifelong cyclist managing post-traumatic osteoarthritis (after eight knee surgeries), rides alongside friends who first bonded cheering for their kids at ballet.

Once they called themselves the Ballet Dads, they are now known as the Ale Riders, who ride, eat, and finish each stage of the journey together — living by the motto: “Nobody gets left behind.”

Every mile is a tribute to the arthritis community they ride to support. They hope to take time and enjoy the ride, they told Patch.

The tour supports the Arthritis Foundation in finding a cure and treatment for various types of arthritis. Each rider must raise over $3,300 to participate in the tour, according to the California Coast Classic website.

Though a few were used to cycling, Kohrmann didn't have quite as much experience. They took rides close to home and trained together. One day, they learned about the Arthritis fundraiser while on a ride in San Diego.

"I thought (the others) were out of their minds," he said. "It goes to show you can do anything you put your mind to," he said.

Cycling along the coast of California was one of Guinn's "Bucket List" events, he told Patch in 2023, but riding with three of his best friends made it even more meaningful.

Guinn first met Villafranco, Kohrmann and Lu at their daughters' ballet classes over ten years ago at the Temecula Ballet Studio, he said. The girls all had the same teacher, Svetlana, and grew up on those hardwood dance floors. Guinn's daughter, Rachel Guinn, danced at San Francisco State University. The other girls have gone on to college or gotten married, Guinn said.

"We would sit in the waiting room for hours while our daughters danced and maybe complain a bit, but that's where we became friends," he said. When the four men decided to join the tour and create a team of riders, "Ballet Dads" seemed a natural team name. Still, they worried about excluding future team members.

"We all work in all different professions, but we do share a mutual love of our daughters, cycling and beer," Guinn said. Thus, they settled on the all-encompassing "Ale Riders" team name. Once they decided to do it, they trained as a group.

According to Lu, what started out as four dads supporting their daughters as they pursued their passion for ballet and dance became lasting friendships.

"We bonded over countless hours and years our girls spent in ballet training, rehearsals and ballet performances," Lu said. "As fathers, we came to appreciate the beauty of ballet and the confidence, discipline, creativity and teamwork that developed in our daughters through dance."

While their daughters grew up together through ballet, the four dads discovered a mutual interest in improving their personal fitness by purchasing bicycles during the pandemic.

"What started out as recreational cycling quickly developed into a new purpose," Villafranco said. "Now, having participated in the CCC in support of the Arthritis Foundation, it was clear that we dads had embarked on a new, fulfilling journey to help millions of Americans battle arthritis."

Lu described the journey through training, even as the four stepped out of their comfort zones toward the "larger than life" eight-day cycling adventure.

"We began by cycling together," he said. "Then we started training for triathlons, and then one year later we embraced the challenge to cycle 525 miles over eight days from San Francisco to Los Angeles to help raise funds and increase awareness for the Arthritis Foundation."

Guinn described what it was like to finish the race after spending over 40 hours in the saddle in his previous rides.

"As I came across the finish line at Malibu, I was overcome with emotion and had a steady stream of tears for at least 15 minutes, seeing my wife and friends," he said. Those tears continued, he said, as he watched other friends finish the race.

"It was an amazing experience that changed us all in so many ways," he said. Joining the cause to help fight America’s number one cause of disability has been especially rewarding as a physician, according to Lu.

"Personally, I see the profound and daily impact arthritis has on my patients," he said. This has been an amazing journey that has brought the four of us smiles, sweat, laughter, and leg cramps, but most of all, an amazing sense of fulfillment."

As the races have added up, it's more about enjoying the journey, Guinn says.

"We all want to enjoy the ride a little bit more," he said. "(In 2022) we thought of the ride like athletes, trying to finish each leg. There is a particular ride on day 3 when you pull into the river at Big Sur. There's a place to sit and relax with your feet in the water, and we saw people doing that but just went ahead and rode on, like we had to get to the finish. That night, people asked why we didn't stop, drink a beer, rest, and soak in the view. I learned that this tour is a journey. Nobody cares who finishes first. It's not a race. It's a ride."

Villafranco added that the deeper purpose of the race, which is to help those battling arthritis, is worth the pain of getting up those steep hills. Plus, at the end, the Ale Riders know how to enjoy an ice-cold brew and reflect on the journey.

"We rode because we could, and it was the right thing to do," Villafranco said. "The CCC is such an epic cause and event because of the camaraderie derived from its 20+ year history of fundraising and support for the Arthritis Foundation. Everyone, from volunteers to participants, was so amazing they made us feel like we’ve been participating and supporting this cause for over 20 years. They were so appreciative of us and made us feel like family. It’s just such a great feeling to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves.”

Don't forget to donate! visit events.arthritis.org to support the Riverside County team's donation drive.