EDITORIAL:Bikers take up Surf City cause

Who knew?

Who would have thought that the battle over the name Surf City could be smoothed over by of all things — Harley riders!

Well, maybe we are overstating things a bit. The fight is hardly over. But let’s give some credit where it’s due.

For the second year in a row, a consortium of bikers got together last weekend to do a coastal jaunt with the sole purpose of smoothing the waters between the cities of Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz over who has the right to be called Surf City.

The Huntington Beach bikers met up with the Santa Cruz bikers in the Central Coast town of Morro Bay and completed the ride from there. Rumor has it, Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Matthews was scheduled to greet them at the ride’s end.

Too bad Mayor Gil Coerper couldn’t be there in full biker regalia as well.

A little Surf City background here.

Both Santa Cruz and Huntington Beach have laid claim to the moniker for years, both have their own surf museums and both have a rich history in the world of surfing.

And last year, things got a bit testy as Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau officials were able to lock up the Surf City, USA trademark.

Now, enter the bikers.

“We didn’t care about the politics,” said Surf City — er, Huntington Beach biker — Dan Traxler, one of the ride’s organizers. “Bikers like to show goodwill no matter where they go.”

OK, that’s not exactly the image we had of bikers. But heck, we’re willing to break down those stereotypes. If bikers can be peacemakers and put this whole Surf City argument to rest, then we’re all for them.

In truth, it’s probably going to take more than a peaceful motorcycle rally to end this saga, as the legal guns promise to hash this out for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, we join the bikers in hoping that calmer heads prevail.

Of course, we can’t help but root for our own Surf City to win the day. There’s plenty of room for Santa Cruz in the rumble seat.