Brummies on the road again

Rally fever has gripped the Birmingham Chapter, who are delighted to be venturing out into the big wide world after a hiatus, says their Director Lee Brown

So, after struggling to get back on our feet after losing our Harley-Davidson^® dealership during Covid-19, we are finally back in the saddle and raring to go!

Last year was all about boosting numbers, growing enthusiasm and riding more miles to different places. And at the end of the year we pulled our numbers back to more than 100 and were having fun again. That meant in 2025 we were ready for the next step – a tour to a European rally and we decided on the Harley-Davidson Euro Festival in Saint-Tropez, France.

Everyone was on board, so organising the trip was easy. But just before that 40 of us headed down to Somerset for the Bridgwater Chapter’s Cider Rally. We had an absolute scream with the other H.O.G.^® chapters and put around a dozen bikes in the parade ride too.

So, at 6am on the Monday morning, the group I was riding with headed to the Channel Tunnel to meet up with the others. Two groups had left a day before and we each took routes that suited our riding styles and the time we had available.

My group took four days to reach the rally, going via Abbeville, Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire and Sévérac-d’Aveyron. No toll roads, just beautiful French countryside and small villages.

The rally itself was awesome. We were all staying quite close to each other and met up on a regular basis. There were 17 of us Brummies on tour, and it had been a long time since we had been able to do anything like it. We also took part in the parade ride, which was quite the experience!

The route back home was a little more direct, having to use toll roads for the last day to make up some ground, but we took in major towns via Valence, Dijon and Arras.

Twelve days and 2,300 miles of absolute brotherhood, riding bliss, great food, great people and one great big party! It seems that the success of 2024, followed by the great turnout and fun for us as a chapter at the Cider Rally and Euro Festival, has ignited “rally fever” for lots more of us, and we’ve been booking our places for the 2026 European H.O.G. Rally in Cascais, Portugal. To say I’m looking forward to it is an understatement, because riding with the men and women of the Birmingham Chapter is an absolute privilege.