Rocking the Beachside
Hardy Butts 2010
Lloret del Mar, Spain Bike Rally Part One
Story by Horst Rosler and Mark Barnett
Photos by Horst Rosler
Lloret del Mar, Spain is a small beachside city featuring a narrow bay surrounded by steep cliffs. It has been a tourist haven in Spain for over sixty years. Since hosting the European HOG Rally in 2000, the city has been eager to host biker events and welcomes riders with open arms. Originally scheduled to be called the “Harley Butts” rally, Harley corporate wouldn’t sign off on it so it ended up being called the “Hardy Butts” rally. Perhaps it all doesn’t translate well. Some joked that next year they might be able to find someone named “Harley” to sponsor the event. I have an uncle named Harley, so it’s possible.
Promoter Antonio Blanco is well known in the European custom bike scene and his connections attracted some of the best known names in the business: Custom Chrome Europe, Walz Hardcore Cycles, Victory, Motorcycle Storehouse, Saxon, and many more were all in attendance. Custom Chrome Europe put the event on their “Bolt on and Ride” tour and had riders come in from Bad Kreuznach, Germany together.
Unfortunately, a low pressure system came in delivering wind and rain making Friday low in attendance. Late in the day Friday, however, the sun came out and the event came alive. Street cafes and pubs filled with bikers and the 100+ discotheques lit up and started operating.
“We wanted to bring some high class customers to Lloret,” said Blanco, “And this is just the start of an event that we are planning to grow year by year.” The set up was perfect. The main town square housed the tents and pop ups of many vendors and professional builders had a fenced off area at the northern end of the promenade. Space was cleared at about 9pm to let everyone walk freely and enjoy the Lloret night life.
(to be continued Wednesday)