Riding for men's health

Taking place on Saturday, 1 November, riders on motorcycles of all shapes and sizes participated in 10 parades, which took place at each of Harley-Davidson®’s 10 dealerships in South Africa. I was invited by my good friends at Café Cruze to join in the fun at the dealership in Pretoria East.

Now, I’ve never ridden on a bike before and was privileged to ride with Marius Jansen, one of the safety marshals, on his Harley. Even though I found myself both extremely nervous and excited throughout the journey, it was an awesome experience. The pure, powerful acceleration and famous purr of the bike made my heart race, and I can now fully understand the addiction that comes with owning and riding a Harley.

The camaraderie, passion, exhilaration and pride involved in being a Harley owner are also definitely enticing.

In Pretoria, around 200 big-hearted bikers met at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre. From there, they cruised to the Open Window in Centurion, then south on Old Johannesburg Road past the Voortrekker Monument, through Brooklyn and under the iconic jacaranda trees, to finally finish at the new Harley-Davidson dealership in Pretoria East, on Lynnwood Road.

The trip was incredible, and the traffic officials did an excellent job at setting the pace of the group and controlling the flow of traffic. With so many riders, safety was the primary focus, but awareness through numbers and banners about the #rideforhealth was definitely achieved.

This was truly an amazing event, with smiles all around. However, most of the smiles (including mine) were hidden by helmets!