Friday 24 August 2012

Charlie riding back from Portugal

Earlier this year, I rode to Portugal with Ian Solley and my son Charlie.  We went to the HOG Euro Festival and each of us was on a custom motorcycle.  Bearing in mind Charlie had only passed his motorcycle test two months earlier, he did brilliantly well!




















Each of us had an incident on the way down, with mechanical problems and one of our group dropped his bike on a very slippery roundabout.  Unperturbed by this, all three of us entered our motorcycles in the custom bike competition and each of us won our class.  From trouble to success in one step!

This is the HOG video about the custom bike show.  Charlie is at 1:15 and I am at 3:29......



Ian sadly had to leave before the prize giving, but you can see his bike at 0:36  Charlie went up to collect Ian's prize.

It was certainly a trip to remember and on the way back, I made a short video of my son Charlie on his 22 year old Sportster....



We are now looking forward to our next road trip!

17 comments:

GF said...

Nice videos, your bike looks amazing, I love the detail on the side. Congratulations. your son's bike looks good too. It was in Portugal but I think all prizes were taken by foreigners.

SonjaM said...

What a great accomplishment, special kudos for Charlie to make this trip on the Sportster. You all look beautiful - that's me talking to the bikes now... ;-)

BeemerGirl said...

What a great trip. Sun, family, friends, bikes, awards. :). All the bikes are gorgeous!

Unknown said...

Gary:

Your bike is awesome, actually all of your bikes are beautiful.

for a brief moment I actually thought about buying a Harley (gulp!)

those roads look narrower than I am used to

bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube

Canajun said...

Congratulations Gary and Charlie!

redlegsrides said...

Gary,

Charlie looks good riding down those curvy roads, they seem a bit narrower that US side roads?

Congratulations of course go to motorcycles for winning! You riders are just along to keep them polished up and upright.

dom


Redleg's Rides

Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

Bluekat said...

Nice pics and vid! Charlie looks good riding the Sporty. Looks like a nice trip and Congrats on the wins! :)

Trobairitz said...

From issues and dropped bikes to first in your class. Well done gentlemen.

And so great that Charlie is enjoying his riding.

biker baby said...

Looks like a great time. My oldest son is hoping to get a Harley next spring. It must be fun to ride with your offspring. I am looking forward to it.

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Gary:

Neat video and cool road. Did I understand that the rider who dropped his bike still took first place in his class, or was that another?

Your Harley's look like the should be in the Louvre.

Fondest regards,
Jack/Reep
Twisted Roads

Erik Lucien said...

Congratulations on your victory! I’m sure you had an awesome time with the competition. Riding bikes and competing with other bikers sounds exciting. And Charlie did a pretty good job too! His video riding and driving his big bike looks fantastic! I think the way to celebrate this feat is to have another road adventure! Keep us posted!

psextreme said...

Have you happened to go to the Azores while in that part of the world? My wife's family is from that part of the world and said that if you "do" spain or portugal you have to check out the islands.

Great post, I am sure you were pleased with your results from the competition.

Unknown said...

That's a cool looking bike. Great pics! If you are like me you could go on and on about bikes all day long. Here's a cool place I found to talk about similar topics: http://tinyurl.com/8r75rpz

Clare Westby said...

Charlie is looking great riding his Sportster! And it is impressive how he can drive like that even thought he only just passed his motorcycle test. I think riding a bike really runs in your genes. Anyway, the bikes look great! No wonder all of you won in the competition.

Gary France said...

George – I am glad you like the bike. Yes, it seems that Portugal was invaded by foreigners who took the spoils. That isn’t uncommon at European rallies though, where it is relatively easy for people to travel a few days and cross many borders.

Sonja – I was especially pleased for Charlie. What a great first long ride that was together. I like the beautiful comment.... for the bikes that is.

BeemerGirl – Even though it was some time ago now, it is still very memorable.

Bob – The roads are much narrower generally in Europe than in the US and Canada. Perhaps that is why they feel more intimate and exciting. More dangerous too! I have been watching your adventures on your new bike....

Canajun – Thanks!

Gary France said...

Charlie6 – Roads vary in width just about everywhere you go, but generally, I would say that US back roads are a little wider than those in Europe, especially Portugal. Yep, you are right, it is the motorbikes that have the talent.

bluekat – Charlie does look good riding the Sporty. He got lots of admiring looks from some of the women at the rally. Or were they looking at his bike.....?

Trobairitz – It was quite an adventure, made even more fun by Charlie being there to share it.

biker baby – I hope your son gets a bike. It was tremendous fun riding with my son and I am sure you will enjoy it as well.

Jack – Yes, the guy that dropped his bike still won first place in his class at the custom bike show. It was a slow speed affair, which scratched a few parts, but nothing major. The scratches added character and showed the bike was ridden! While my bikes do look great, they ride even better. To me, riding these custom bikes is very important for that is what they are for, not to languish somewhere with owners to worried about getting them dirty.

Gary France said...

Erik – Thanks! It was a fantastic trip. Riding a couple of thousand miles to and from a bike rally, sharing it with friends, putting you motorcycles in the custom bike show and winning is, well, pretty difficult to beat.

psextreme – I have never been to the Azores, but one day....

CBarton1 – I took a look at your site and left a comment....

Clare – He did look good and it was quite a ride seeing as he only just took his test. Great fun all round!