Madrid
Updated:05/08/2022 18:58h
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The city of Madrid could well look like any street in the United States. The fault is that one of the greatest icons of the North American country has flooded the avenues of the Spanish capital this Sunday, May 8. The engines roar loudly. Yes, the Harley-Davidson They have arrived in the city.
Two years of hiatus. Two years without being able to shine those mounts with chrome exhausts and engines, high handlebars, helmets with colors of the American flag and stereos with AC / DC playing at full volume. The KM0 parade Organized by Harley-Davidson, it returns in 2022 and does it in the purest American style, in style and without holding anything back.
The harlistas were summoned to Complutense Avenue, a street close to 900 meters long that when noon came was overflowing with these spectacular motorcycles.
The members of the chapters (chapter in English) are concentrated there, the groups in which the owners of Harley-Davidson are organized according to their autonomous community. From the moment you buy a Harley you already belong to a chapter, and at the same time, you are completely hooked on the Harley universe. «I have been with the chapter since 2019, when I bought the Harley. I’ve been to other clubs, but in this one you have a great time because there are many of us, we share fans, they are people with whom you connect a lot from the first moment», assures ABC David, one of the parade participants and in charge of getting journalists who want to cover the event on his Harley-Davidson Fat Boy.
David is also one of the hundreds of proud owners who confirm that when you buy one of these bikes you also buy a different way of living. “Riding a Harley is my real life. I always say that I have a life during the week in which I dress up and then the weekend comes in which I ride my motorcycle and I’m happy. Going on a motorcycle is the best thing there is, it’s a feeling of freedom that you can’t find any other way, choosing the road I want to go on… it’s something unique. Going on a Harley is another story, when you get on one for the first time at the dealership and take a ride with it there is no going back, it has something that is inexplicable. Also when I was little I saw the movie Terminator and I said “I want the Terminator bike” (a Fat Boy) and there I have it. It’s a dream come true, “concludes David as a nostalgic smile escapes him.
It’s twelve noon and it’s time to leave. Chapter members start their mounts, shift into first gear and off they go. The route of the concentration goes from Ciudad Universitaria to the central Alcala Gate. A journey of about half an hour in which Madrid does not hear anything other than the characteristic hoarse sound of the Harleys.
Pedestrians take out their cell phones to immortalize the spectacular moment of seeing the parade of, in principle, 340 Harleys that were summoned. And the few passers-by who show indifference to the parade cover their ears so as not to be deaf to the thunderous roar of the engines. The people of Madrid are speechless, smile and do not hesitate to ask the participants to speed up.
The parade ends at the Puerta de Alcalá. There, the different chapters from all over Spain put their feet up and gather to take the traditional family photo with the flags of the chapter of their autonomous community. Among them are Alberto and Teresa, a Valencian couple who do not hesitate to show off the insignia of their land. «We have come to Madrid to see a relative and since we were there we have taken the opportunity to participate and bring out the Valencia flag. In Valencia this is not doneOr at least not at these levels. The City Council there is very ‘special’”, they affirm with a certain vindictive sarcasm. “We’ve been in the Harley universe for about 10 years and it’s amazing. Riding a motorcycle for us is a gift because we are used to stress, going from one place to another running and riding a Harley is completely different. It is seeing the landscape, contemplating the surroundings… It is a world apart where unique things are experienced. We don’t have the US highways to do long routes but we don’t fall short either.
In the same way that in the concentration come from all corners of Spain, women have also made a hole in this matter of motorcycles, and not as ‘packages’ in the back seat, they also accelerate and very strongly, like Nuri, who has traveled the more than 500 kilometers that separate Malaga from Madrid to attend the concentration. “I have come just to participate in the event. After two years without concentration there was more desire than ever. We are harlistas to the core and I as a woman live it a lot. In Malaga with the sun we go out a lot of routes and events of this type », she tells ABC excitedly.
The world of motorcycles has traditionally been for men, but it is indisputable that women also love motorcycles, and if they are Harleys, even more so. “I’m trying attract more women for the biker world, let the cards be taken out and fully launched. I am ‘Lady of Harley’ (female ambassador of the brand who is in charge of attracting followers), so I have to encourage the girls to join this spectacular universe, “adds the woman from Malaga.
Just as the two wheels do not understand gender, nor nationalities. Lovers of American motorcycles wear different emblems on their vests, whether they are events they have attended, the club they belong to and also their origin, such as Jonathan, who has pasted the American flag on his garment. Venezuela. “In my country I never rode a Harley. When I came to Spain I met the president of the Valencia chapter, who was the one who founded the chapter in Venezuela. In my country there is a small world, but not at the level here. Two years after arriving in Spain I decided to get my license and it was clear that I wanted a Harley, I bought a Sportster 1200 and two years later I bought my Sportglide », says Jonathan as he proudly observes his shiny machine.
340 Harleys have departed from Ciudad Universitaria, but many more, almost countless, have arrived at Puerta de Alcalá. The organization estimates that some 2,500 motorcycles have invaded the capital of Madrid, Well, along the way, more unconditional supporters of the Milwaukee firm have joined. «The objective of the concentration is to gather the maximum number of lovers of the brand. It is a mixture of emotions. This nineteenth edition is very special after what we have been through. Today is unforgettable”, concludes Ángel, one of the organizers of the successful event.
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