Passionate about technology, media and chocolate eclairs, I've worked in web and print for over twenty years and now run a digital media consultancy in Scotland.
Over 2500 motorbikes thundered into Strathspey at the weekend for what has now become the premier Harley-Davidson event in the UK.
Thunder in the Glens is a moving experience. I go every year and it gets better and better. I once asked a biker friend if he was going along, and his reply was: “No. They sound like lorries and go just as slow.”
Looks like I touched a nerve with the Kawasaki rider, but nevertheless it continues to draw thousands of people from all over the world to see and hear ‘real bikers’.
Thunder is one of the few Harley-Davidson events that actually welcome riders of other makes, and there are plenty of Suzukis, Yamahas and BMWs to be seen.
And the people are something else. I spoke to the director of Dunedin Harley Owners Group George McGuire and he said the event aims to dispel the myth that they’re all hell-raisers. It’s an easy frame of mind to adopt, the leathers are adorned with badboy phrases and the bikes often appended with chrome-plated bones.
They’re often big, hairy, and the relaxed sitting position adopted by all Harley riders could be one of ‘come and get me if you think you’re hard enough’
But nothing could be further from the truth. Having been at the event for at least five years in a row, I can vouch for them. They are the nicest bunch of people you are likely to come across.
Polite, Well-mannered. They get a rapturous welcome in Speyside and it’s reciprocated.
Pictures from the rally: MorayFirthLive.com
MorayFirth.TV
