Mineola’s first ever organized Portuguese motorcycle group, the Luso-American Riders officially launched this past summer. Formed in May 2012 as part of the Mineola Portuguese Center, this collection of neighborhood motorcycle riders has already grown quickly, with almost two dozen members.
This past weekend the group participated in Long Island’s largest ride, Dee Snider’s 10th Annual March of Dimes Bikers for Babies at Lido Beach, where over 2,000 bikers came together to raise upwards of $100,000 to help premature babies. The group has already taken weekend rides to places as far away as Connecticut, Pennslyvania, New Jeresy and has also recently planned a trip to meet up with other Portuguese bikers in Yonkers.
Recognizing the need for an organized group in the Mineola Potuguese community, inaugural President Antonio dePinho stepped up, calling together what he describes as “a collection of motorcycle enthusiasts who enjoy riding and meeting up with other groups and riders of the same inclination.”
DePinho and the group have already made over a dozen organized rides.
“We are still in our infancy, organizationally speaking; [our] board of directors,” he said, “are basically, step-by-step, putting everything together.”
The club’s inagural board of directors includes vice president Domingos Barros, secretary Frank Xavier, treasurer Tiago Cunha, and “Sergeant-at-Arms” Silva.
For more information about the Luso American Riders stop by the Mineola Portuguese Center on Tuesday nights.
