The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, for those who may not be aware, is a very particular form of cultural phenomenon. It is, as the name suggests, a motorbike ride (or rather, a synchronised series of motorbike rides across the globe) whereby the great and the good of the motorcycling community come together to share in their joint passion for reconciling an extraordinary sense of gentlemanly style with a passion for remarkable motorcycles.
Apart from its global scale, this might strike the keen petrol head reading this as nothing special. There are regular rides and motorcycle clubs the world over, after all. Don’t be fooled though, it differs in a couple of very significant respects. Firstly, the DGR is exclusively for classic and vintage-styled bikes and for distinguished gentlefolk who enjoy riding them appropriately attired. Everyone is expected to enjoy dressing the part and representing the motorcycling world at its most sartorial. Secondly, the DGR is a remarkable sponsored ride and every penny raised by those individuals riding goes towards either prostate cancer research or else towards suicide prevention.
Both are admirably worthy causes, which Revolution, along with its sister magazine The Rake, fully intends to support this year with a number of our friends and partners (more on that to come shortly, stay tuned) and quite apart from anything else, it’s also an opportunity to celebrate and solidify one’s reputation for being a thoroughly decent guy, a motorcycling aficionado and a distinguished gentleman of taste.
This then, is something of a rallying cry. Anyone reading this with some vintage wheels and even a passing interest in supporting a couple of more than deserved causes should really think about answering the call on September 25th. There are many dozens of rides taking place across the globe – so there really is no excuse not to join one.
Visit www.gentlemansride.com to sign up, or www.gentlemansride/sponsor to sponsor a ride of your choosing. Keep up to date on the DGR Facebook Page here.
Relive the sights of our ride in the London edition of the fourth Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in 2015, as recounted by Simon de Burton here.
