This morning my husband and I witnessed an amazing event. The 16th annual Eurpoean HOG (Harley Owners Group) Rally that was held in Fuengirola, Spain, one town over from ours. The rumor mill told us there were 7000 Harley Davidsons registered. I don’t know if there were that many, but the parade that made its way around the town took well over a half hour to fully pass us by. What a spectacular spectacle! The shine: chrome, polished paint, handlebars, engines, wheels. The black – leather, t-shirts, vests, boots, seats, saddle bags, helmets, bandanas– and orange Harley logo. 
The noise – rumbling, purring, roaring. The riders: old, young, fat, thin, long haired, bald, grey, blond, bearded, shaven, men, women, rugged, polished, Spanish, English, Irish, Scottish (with kilt and all!) French, Italian, German, Danish, Belgian, Finish, Portuguese, Dutch…and those were just the ones I saw. There was a unique camaraderie and uniting thread, that made thousand of people of all ages, nationalities and walks of life come together to show off, admire, spend money on and enjoy the machine of machines.
This Harley phenomenon is a unique one, and not owning a bike, let alone a Harley, we definitely felt like outsiders who wanted in. I wondered if the marketing plan from the early days had pictured this as their objective or if the clever management of Harley Davidson picked up the phenomenon and built on it through remarkable marketing and branding. It is a sight to see, an example to study!
I compared the morning to a visit to the Prado Museum in Madrid: if you were to see a small collection of the masterpieces you would be impressed by each and every one, and spend a long time admiring each piece. But when you are surrounded by thousands of marvelous works, you become saturated and pass them by without paying more than a few seconds attention to each one. It was a remarkable show of masterpieces in their own right that we thoroughly enjoyed. Not to mention an offering of the best people watching we’ve experienced in years.
The noise – rumbling, purring, roaring. The riders: old, young, fat, thin, long haired, bald, grey, blond, bearded, shaven, men, women, rugged, polished, Spanish, English, Irish, Scottish (with kilt and all!) French, Italian, German, Danish, Belgian, Finish, Portuguese, Dutch…and those were just the ones I saw. There was a unique camaraderie and uniting thread, that made thousand of people of all ages, nationalities and walks of life come together to show off, admire, spend money on and enjoy the machine of machines.
This Harley phenomenon is a unique one, and not owning a bike, let alone a Harley, we definitely felt like outsiders who wanted in. I wondered if the marketing plan from the early days had pictured this as their objective or if the clever management of Harley Davidson picked up the phenomenon and built on it through remarkable marketing and branding. It is a sight to see, an example to study!
I compared the morning to a visit to the Prado Museum in Madrid: if you were to see a small collection of the masterpieces you would be impressed by each and every one, and spend a long time admiring each piece. But when you are surrounded by thousands of marvelous works, you become saturated and pass them by without paying more than a few seconds attention to each one. It was a remarkable show of masterpieces in their own right that we thoroughly enjoyed. Not to mention an offering of the best people watching we’ve experienced in years.
I wonder what my father would have thought of his once yuppy, urban-sophisticated daughter, feeling a camaraderie with a bunch of bikers, and wondering what she would look like in black leather and a halter top on the back of a Harley?
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3 comments:
Amy,
Cool article. It looka like you had a graet time at the rally. Feeling like an outsider, does that mean that Paco and you are buying Harleys? I showed the boys your picture with all those bikes, they said: "wow, cool". Anyway, interesting sight.
See ya,
John
P.S. I'm on it!
It took me a couple of seconds to get "I'm on it!" But when I did, I laughed out loud. Great memories, bro! We'll be getting A Harley (vs. Harleys) when we win the lottery, or our dream projects we're working on become outrageously successful. Not sure which will happen first. Love ya'
Amy
We too have found ourselves surrounded by a sea of Harleys while traveling downtown here. They are quite an art work among themselves.
The people and the machines.
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