The Eucalyptus Park in Albir was a hive of activity as the annual Harley Davidson Fun Day took place there today. Around 600 leather clad bikers gathered with their gleaming machines, coming not only from the Costa Blanca area but also from Madrid and one biker, Nicolai, came all the way from Kiev in Ukraine!
But it wasn´t just burley Hells Angels types that many expected – there were plenty of lady riders too. One in particular that caught everyone’s attention was Ali, a petite blonde, who roared in on her PINK Harley. It certainly dispelled the stereotypical image of Harley bikers!
Organizer of the event, Peter Emmett of the Costa Blanca España group was “delighted and overwhelmed at the turnout, which each year seems to get bigger and better”. Shortly after 11am they were escorted by around 50 police outriders for a tour – which took them all the way to Benidorm and along the main Levante promenade.
They certainly caught everyone’s attention – honking and revving to great applause from locals and holidaymakers alike as they passed by. Riding pillion were 19 ´Biker Babes´ who had fundraised for the privilege – an initiative sponsored by Gina Marks of GM Promotions.
Each were challenged to raise a minimum of €100 but between them they managed a staggering €13,000 – with Jody Kirby being crowned queen Biker Babe after raising €3,500. A cheque presentation was made to the ´Make a Smile´ charity which supports Emaus and specifically the Relleu self sufficiency project, which was accepted by Lucy and Tony Grande of The Calpe Bed Centre.
Montserrat Fitur - Director of Communications for the Emaus group was also there - giving a helping hand. She is amazed at how big the event has become and forever grateful for the fantastic donation made by the biker babes. The recent Benidorm series kareoke fundraiser also supported this fantastic charity and endevoured to raise the profile of the EuroaMonth.com website.
Thousands attended the event – many coming to admire and take photos of the amazing Harley bikes. I spoke to the owner of one and he told me his was worth €45,000, which explained why he stood fairly close by! It is certainly an investment but many would probably choose to buy bricks and mortar...having said that, they are a definate babe magnet.
There were plenty of stalls selling Harley memorabilia, biker accessories, a bar and food outlet and live music throughout the afternoon which all made for a great party atmosphere. Peter told me that the date for next years event hasn´t been confirmed yet but it will definitely be in June – they just need to make sure it doesn´t clash with any other biker events across Spain. If you like loud rock music then its definately a place for you - ss soon as he lets me know I will pass next years date on.
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Peter Emmett, Press Officer, Costa Blanca Espana