All roads lead to Senigallia – Valentina Giachino, Italy

As H.O.G.^® members across Europe and beyond prepared to make their way to the 30^th European H.O.G. Rally, The Enthusiast^® met a few of them

For young rider Valentina, the Motor Company is a family tradition. Based in the north of Italy, she was raised among motorcycles, with her father Marco a longtime rider and her mother Lucia a longtime passenger. It was therefore no surprise when Valentina learned to ride herself – starting out on a 125cc at the age of 16 – but her university studies soon put things on hold. 

“For some years, because I was working and had to attend lessons, I stopped riding,” she explains. “Then, in 2019, I went to Sicily to see a friend of mine and saw my parents, who were there for a H.O.G.^® rally in Licata. I rode back with them as a passenger with my uncle and said to myself, ‘Why did I stop going on a bike?!’” she remembers. 

From then on, Valentina was fully committed to her riding, and soon afterwards her father presented her with a Sportster^® Forty-Eight^® as a gift. Joining her parents’ chapter, Avgvsta Tavrinorvm, was the natural next step – Valentina had attended meetings previously with her father when she was young, so she already knew many in the chapter and felt part of the H.O.G. family. Fast-forward a couple more years and she has become more embedded: last year, she began working as part of the team at the sponsoring dealer, H-D^® Torino, and in January 2024 she took on the officer role of Webmaster for the chapter.  

For Valentina, working within the dealership has only deepened her passion for the brand. She works on communications, marketing and after sales, and has enjoyed learning more about everything H-D has to offer. There’s also the added bonus of being able to eye up the latest models – she is currently considering a Street Bob^® as her next bike, and jokes that whenever a new one arrives in store, the dealer always looks at her and says, “this is your new bike, you know!”. 

The one downside of her role at the dealership is that it involves working on Saturdays. That can sometimes curtail riding with the chapter, but Valentina makes it out with them whenever she can, and she’ll be part of the group riding down to Senigallia at the end of May. Around 20 riders in total will be joining the convoy, setting off on Thursday 6 June for the 500km journey south from Turin. Although it will take just a day to travel to the event, Valentina is hoping to stretch out the journey if possible. “I don’t really like to get to the destination the fastest I can because I prefer to enjoy the ride,” she says. “I like riding when you can stop for a coffee or look at the map and see there is an attraction nearby to visit. It’s where the bike takes you.” 

Valentina takes the opportunity to ride further afield whenever possible, but there are plenty of beautiful riding spots within easy reach of her hometown. The mountains of Piedmont are just 30-45 minutes away, or for a seaside fix it’s just an hour and a half’s ride to the charming region of Liguria. A personal favourite of Valentina’s is the Panoramica Zegna, a treelined route in the north that is at its best in spring, when all the flowers are in bloom.  

Wherever Valentina travels in her region and beyond, she makes the most of the links that her membership of the Harley Owners Group has enabled her to build. “In H.O.G. Italia I think it’s amazing that you can create some real relationships with people with the same passions and interest,” she says. “If I go to every region of Italy, it makes me proud to think that I can call someone and say, ‘I’m here’, with motorcycle or without motorcycle. It’s a great connection.” Later in the year, she is hoping to attend the Run delle Valli, hosted by several chapters in the centre of the country, and she is proud to be an honorary member of the Licata Chapter in Sicily, having made the long ride down to join their September rally several times.  

It’s not just within Italy that Valentina has made H.O.G. connections. She has been in touch with other female riders in Europe and the US online, and at last year’s 120th Anniversary celebrations in Budapest she relished the chance to meet fellow riders from elsewhere in Europe. More friendships are bound to follow as she continues to travel across Italy and beyond, but the strongest bond will always be with those who originally led her to motorcycles: her parents. “I’m lucky we share the same passion,” she says. “It’s always nice to see them in the rear-view mirror.” 

The Enthusiast also followed the journeys of Angela and Uli Konietzko from Germany, Evert Richter from The Netherlands, Bruno Picchianti and Sylvie Schmit from France, Emiliano Izquierdo del Barco from Spain, and Knut-Bjarne Klaussen from Norway.

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