The Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride

Malle joins the ride in New York City – 2014

One of my favorite quotes from the DGR last weekend “…there’s a lot of dudes at this wedding” – a fair comment when you stumble upon 140 “gentlemen” on a Sunday morning in Tribeca, wearing smoking jackets, tuxedos and three-piece tweed suits – with vintage motorcycles adorned with mustaches.

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride was started in Australia only 3 years ago. A few guys got together for a ride, to raise money and awareness for mens prostate cancer. Now in 2014, with the motto “ride dapper”, the DGR took the form of 258 rides on a Sunday morning (September the 28th), in 57 countries – raising almost $1.5m for the cause, smashing the $1m target.

The only prerequisite for the ride – you must be dressed in your Sunday best (gentleman’s attire – for women too), and ride a vintage, cafe-racer, bobber or custom motorcycle. For the last 2 years I’ve missed this ride in London because I was traveling and again this year I was set to be out of the country – So I joined the New York ride, we had almost 140 riders in the pack.

According to my Malle colleagues in London this was a lot more relaxed than the 600 bikes that took to the London streets last week – apparently many of which broke down and left oil spots and tweed across central London.

It was a great ride around Manhattan – a real feeling of camaraderie, loads of cool guys, wonderful machines – one of the most fun rides I’ve ever taken around New York City. If the NYC Hells Angels had gone to a British boarding school in the 1950’s, this is what their gang rides would have been like – with the insignia of “ride dapper” on the back of their tweed waistcoats.

Here’s a little film we made that morning.

Looking forward to next year!

www.gentlemansride.com