Shedding wheels broadens the mind

THE BEST WAY TO EXPLORE A CITY IS ON A HARLEY

ear Harley Davidson riders, I write this open letter with my tail between my legs, as I thought I knew it all. For the last 34 years, every single time I heard the sound of one of your motorbikes, I looked at the rider with contempt.

I confess to thinking ill of your ilk, as you turned quiet and leafy suburbs into raucous racetracks. I wondered how any sane person could look at that two-wheeled metal and think it is something of value.

I often thought to myself how much of a nuisance those exhaust notes are and what the big fuss was about when it came to the way you can weave in and out of traffic.

As part of last week’s Cape Town International Jazz Festival peripheral excursion, I reluctantly accepted a ride on a Harley, and I will forever regret that split-second decision to spread my legs like that and be a passenger. I regret just how ill-informed I was before I could really know what it feels like to tour a city such as Cape Town on a motorbike.

The tour started at my trendy accommodation, the Capital Mirage Hotel in the city centre, where I chose a Harley Davidson Road King. You might think that a city tour is just a city tour – but not on a motorbike.

First, you are at the mercy of the elements, and this morphs the way you take in your surroundings. All of a sudden, Green Point Stadium is not an attraction, but an engaging monument that celebrates chic African design. It also 010 492-5227

Edited by

means you can downgrade traffic to junk status as you weave in and out of it; take in iconic buildings such as the District Six Museum; you can literally smell the intoxicating odours of the baked goods at Charly’s Bakery; and world-famous attractions such as the V&A Waterfront come alive right in front of your eyes.

Please allow me to apologise for assuming that all motorcyclists – especially Harley riders – are hooligans who just want to get ahead