2015 Chicago Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride

October 7, 2015

If there is a more Instagram-worthy ride happening in custom motorcycle scene out there today I am not aware of it. The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride blurs the line between charity ride, motorcycle gathering, and fashion show. The charity ride portion of the DGR is great. Within our own Analog crew we set a lofty goal of $2000. We ended up bringing in $1418 for The Prostate Cancer Foundation in order to fund research for finding a cure to a disease that kills 1300 men a day worldwide. Ultimately our contribution is a drop in the bucket for the bigger cause which is the umbrella of all DGR’s across the world. Their goal was $3 Million. Charity is always a good reason to rally the troops and this is no exception – but in this case we also get to have fun helping find a cure.

The motorcycle gathering part of the ride is finding big support in Chicago. This year alone there were 350 riders registered in addition to walk-ups and some extras even beyond that. The support for the DGR is huge here with the local shop Motoworks and Ton Up Club Chicago heading up some of the organizational aspects of corralling 350+ bikers down the streets of Chicago. The Bonneville and Thruxton models were represented HEAVILY in the Chicago DGR, including our pal Brad’s red Thruxton rocking his Analog 3T. Event organizers were happy to have anyone on any bike on the ride. Make an attempt to don some dapper gear, clean your bike and get out to ride. Chicago is a melting pot in both culture and motorcycles. So, if next year you really want to ride but don’t have that vintage bike in the garage… put your helmet on and get out here. We want to see you in the ride.

As part of the preparations for the ride, 9 of us (and a few others) that were lucky enough to ride an Analog build in the event met at Joe’s Barber Shop on Fullerton. A few of us got cuts and straight-razor shaves so as to be as gentlemanly as possible. Joe’s knows what’s up when it comes to hair – having gone there many times before myself – they were gracious hosts and allowed us to get cleaned up, have some coffee and donuts, and ride into the DGR HQ at the Cobra Lounge off Ashland as a crew representing ANALOG MOTORCYCLES. These 9 builds are some great bikes to have in our portfolio. (Check them out here)