Sunburn Chopper Rally, Andalucia, E
Some trips never end.
This trip has what it takes to become one of those indelible memories: our dude for all things Swedish steel, Mattias "LeBeeF" Andersson, unexpectedly found himself on the exclusive guest list for the "Sunburn Chopper Rally 3".
An unexpected invitation to a select circle, which could have something to do with the fact that Mattias two years ago had offered the tired gentlemen passing through a place to rest their weary heads when the they were looking for a night stop at their Sunburn premiere San Sebastián - Barcelona and back.
This time, Andalucia was on the cards.
It’s a long way to Andalucia from rainy Belgium, so the Belgian-Dutch tour group had sent their sleds ahead, picking up their Milwaukee machinery (from Knuckleheads and Panheads to Evo-Sportsters) near Valencia, which put them well into balmy Spanish regions. This is also where Mattias piloted his 1998 FXD from Barcelona to meet them, warming up his bike nicely for the upcoming stages.
From then on it was the actual Chopper Rally. The idea is simple: ride, refuel, ride again, take things as they come. There are plenty of beautiful back roads in Andalucia to feast your eyes on, and the landscape is of an almost American scale in some places. Of course, the choppers were packed with everything needed for a road trip like this, including tents. At the first night stop, the ground proved to be an unwilling host: no chance of getting a peg in there. So no tent then. It was warm enough, they were somewhere in the middle of nowhere anyway, so no one bothered and just laid down on the ground, no matter how hard. Luckily there are plenty of drinks in Spain to choose from to help you fall asleep. Or, like Mattias and another sunburner did, they pulled their hammocks out of their sissy bar bedrolls and rocked themselves to sleep.
The days were rolling by in truly relaxed Spanish style,
he bikes chattering, snorting and vibrating sedately through the magnificent landscape, taking extended stops to rehydrate the men and refuel the machines every now and then.
After a few days, Mattias had to break off the planned route in the direction of Barcelona to return to the tough everyday slog of a Swedish iron wrestler. The rest of the V-twin gang headed deeper into Andalusian adventures, keeping their forks pointed to Seville before making a big loop back - but, did they? Mattias has his doubts as to whether everyone has really come back or whether one or two of them have decided that this trip must never end.