Allstate Insurance Company announced its newest initiative under its Rider Protection Project portfolio — the Allstate "Good Ride Grant," a program focused on making the road a safer place to ride for motorcycles. The Good Ride Grant contest will award five finalists with the best ideas on how to advance motorcycle awareness. Each finalist will receive $5,000 to finance his or her idea.
“We want ideas on how to make motorcycle riding safer and how to promote motorcycle awareness,” said Rick Fairless, custom motorcycle builder, Strokers Dallas owner and Allstate spokesperson. “I look forward to seeing these ideas. The worst thing that’ll happen is that there will be 1,000 new ideas on how to make motorcycle riding safer. It’s a great thing.”
Fairless has participated in Allstate rider advocacy initiatives before and created a custom bike for a previous program called Once is Never Enough (O.N.E.). For this initiative, Fairless has built a custom motorcycle named after American rock band Jefferson Airplane’s singer/songwriter, Grace Slick.
“The bike is a Harley-Davidson Street Glide that we stretched and raked. We put a 26-inch front wheel on it,” said Fairless, who is known for his custom paint jobs. “I wanted each piece to look like it came off a different custom painted motorcycle. The rear fender is painted like a zebra. The gas tank is painted like a tattoo. The bearing is painted psychedelic.”
Submissions for the grant can be submitted by anyone, including local governments, dealerships, rider clubs and individuals, on Allstate Motorcycle’s Facebook page.
To promote the contest to Strokers Dallas bike shop customers, Fairless will post links to the contest on Strokers Dallas’ Facebook page.
The deadline to submit ideas is Aug. 31. Once entries are collected, a six-person judging committee will review them. Fairless will be one of those judges alongside Keith Rutman, vice president of Allstate’s powersports unit.
“Riding a motorcycle presents a feeling of freedom, adventure and camaraderie with fellow riders, but we also know the risks that come along with it,” said Rutman. “The Good Ride Grant program allows Allstate to continue our mission of protecting riders while also keeping an open ear to the riding community and what they feel is important.”
In September, the judges will determine the top 15 finalists. The finalists will then be featured on the Allstate Motorcycle Facebook page, where fans can vote for their favorite ideas. The five finalists with the highest overall contest scores by Oct. 31 will each receive a $5,000 grant to help put their ideas into action.
When asked what Fairless thought was his Good Ride Grant idea, he said he would educate drivers more.
“I think it’s about educating the cars that we’re here; watch out for us. We’re not going away,” said Fairless. “We’re looking for ideas like that.”
For complete details on the Allstate Good Ride Grant contest and details on how to submit an idea, visit Facebook.com/AllstateMotorcycle and click on the Good Ride Grant tab icon.
