Surfing and motorcycles may seem like two different worlds, but in coastal Southern California, they are pastimes that can co-exist and are being enjoyed together this weekend just steps from the ocean.

The Moto Beach Classic, which started in 2017, is back at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Huntington Beach on Saturday, Oct. 14, an event that combines motorcycle enthusiasts with beachgoers in a unique setting.

“We’re going to throw a big party on the beach,” event creator Roland Sands said.

Sands grew up in nearby Long Beach, surfing anywhere between the Huntington Beach Pier and Seal Beach, but he also found a passion for motorcycles, developing a big following in the two-wheel culture as a racer and bike designer.

Roland Sands poses for a portrait ahead of the “The Moto Beach Classic” at Bolsa Chica State Beach in its inaugural year in 2017. The event returns this Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, with a race track, art installations, a vendor village and music at SeaLegs on the Beach. (Photo by Josh Barber, Contributing Photographer)

“And I would have never dreamed we would have been doing motorcycle races at Bolsa Chica, I’ll tell you that,” he said.

Sands said it was Dana Point filmmaker Bruce Brown – he created the surf-cult classic “Endless Summer” and “On Any Sunday,” a motorcycle film nominated in 1972 for an Academy Award – who showed the two are harmonious because of their sense of adventure.

“We’re just living out that fantasy, still,” Sands said.

Thousands of people are expected to show up for the races on Saturday at the north end of Bolsa Chica State Beach near Warner Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway.

Last year’s event was held further south at Huntington State Beach and was combined with the Red Bull Straight Rhythm, which brought dirt bikes that did flips and tricks alongside Sands’ event.

“It may happen again in the future, maybe every other year,” Sands said of the massive undertaking pulling off both events.

This year’s Moto Beach Classic, which is free to the public, involves an oval flat track where the Super Hooligan street bike race will be held, an area called the Moto Classic Bike Show where custom motorcycles will be showcased, a vendor village and an art area called the Architects of Inspiration with live muralist painters and both surf and moto-themed art installations.

There will also be LiveWire motorcycle demos, giving people the chance to try out new electric bikes.

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A Super73 wheelie contest will let e-bike riders showcase their skills on the racetrack “in this electrifying showdown of balance and style,” organizers said.

The top rider for that contest will walk away with $500, while second place will nab $250 and third place $100. Signups happen on the sand between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., with the contest held at 3:30 p.m. – helmets are required.

“I want people to come out and have a good time with their family and friends, enjoy two-wheel culture and walk away saying, ‘Hey, that was a great day at the beach,’” Sands said.

Restaurateur Alicia Cox, who operates SeaLegs at the Beach, is also participating in planning festivities, hosting music concerts throughout the day and bringing in food trucks. It is one of the last events before the beach concession closes for the season at the end of the month.

Cox said she’s known Sands for 20 years and this is one of her favorite events of the year.

“It is just the coolest of the cool,” she said.

Not only has Sands made bikes for A-list celebrities such as Brad Pitt, he also created the bike that Travis Pastrana used in 2018 to recreate Evil Knievel’s 1973 jump in Las Vegas, she said. “If you’re in the motorcycle world, to have a Roland Sands motorcycle, it’s a big deal.”

Many of Sands’ own personal collection, which lives in his Long Beach showroom, will be transported to the beach.

The moto action kicks off at 10 a.m. The music line up at SeaLegs is 1 to 5 p.m., before a break for the awards ceremony. The after-party at SeaLegs continues until 10 p.m.

The event is free, but VIP tickets can be purchased for $60 that include stadium seating, VIP bar access and restrooms.

More information: motoclassicevents.com