Cruising for surf détente

Group of bikers plan to ride from Huntington Beach to Santa Cruz in an attempt to end a dispute over ‘Surf City’ claim.It’s a mission that’s part peace, part chopper -- and plenty of exhaust.

Hoping to end the “surf” war between Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz, local accountant and biker Dan Traxler is launching a good-will motorcycle ride from Orange County to the Monterey Bay. Traxler is an active member of the Christian Motorcycle Assn., and said he hopes the caravan of several dozen riders will patch up the decades-old dispute over which city is the true Surf City, U.S.A.

“We want to create a little camaraderie, a little recognition that people in Huntington Beach care about people in Santa Cruz,” he said. “Surfers and motorcycle riders -- no matter where they live -- are companions.”

For decades the cities have tangled over the surfing moniker. Santa Cruz waves are bigger and more frequent, Northern California surfers claim; of course, their beaches are also much colder and require a wetsuit year-round. Orange County die-hards say the Southland’s sunny beaches and concentration of surf companies make Huntington Beach the natural surfing capital of America.

Quietly raging for years, the debate exploded in gnarly rhetoric around November 2004 when the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitor Bureau’s Doug Traub trademarked the phrase “Surf City U.S.A.” Traub planned to use the term to market Huntington Beach as an overnight tourist destination, but the move prompted a backlash from Santa Cruz Mayor Mike Rotkin, who ordered his city’s attorneys to fight the trademark attempt.

The battle between the two lasted for months, culminating in a resolution by Santa Cruz state Sen. Joe Simitian that recognized the Northern California town as Surf City.

Simitian has since dropped his legislation, and Traxler said it’s time to get past the differences.

“Both communities have different ways of handling their surfing communities,” he said, later adding: “I don’t think the surfers care, and as bikers, we don’t care where you’re from. We’ll ride with anybody.”

The “Surf City to Surf City” ride is scheduled for Jan. 7. Riders will take off at 7 a.m. from Rich Donuts at Edinger Avenue and Beach Boulevard. Traxler said anyone with a motorcycle is invited to come along.

Riders will take the 101 Freeway past Ventura, then cut over to Morro Bay to connect to scenic Highway 1, which they’ll ride all the way into Santa Cruz. On the way they’ll pass through Big Sur, Carmel and the famed Moss Landing.

“That’s some of the most premier stretch of road in the country,” Traxler said. “For a rider, it’s all about the journey, not the destination point.”

Whether the ride will generate any good will remains to be scene. Huntington Beach officials haven’t eagerly embraced the motorcade, while Santa Cruz officials are planning a brief ceremony at the base of their pier.

“Maybe some folks will get a better perspective of our friends up north and understand what a great place Huntington Beach is to live,” Traub said. “I understand it is a little chilly up there. I hope they appreciate the difference when they return back south.”

QUESTION

Is it time to call a truce in the Huntington versus Santa Cruz war? Call our Reader’s Hotline at (714) 966-4691 or send e-mail to hbindependent @latimes.com. Please spell your name and include your hometown and phone number for verification purposes.

* DAVE BROOKS covers City Hall. He can be reached at (714) 966-4609.

20051215irgs1yknDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / INDEPENDENT(LA)Dan Traxler and Ken Eastman are two of a group of bikers who will ride from Huntington to Santa Cruz to try to cool a long-running dispute between the cities.