Hey! Harleys Aren’t Just for the boys!

She’s an adventurous lady. That’s for sure. But not an adrenaline junkie. Not a barmy thrill-seeking, middle-aged woman who is rebelling against the inexorable slide towards chutney making at the Women’s Institute. It’s just that she’s reached a time in her life when she wants to experience “stuff”. And according to research there are countless women who feel the same and are embarking on great travel experiences as their lives at home start to simplify – and according to some research it it the girls who are more adventurous than the boys! Fair enough, I say. Macchu Picchu, The Great Wall of China, Cambodia – adventurous without being unreasonably reckless. The travel trade, rather patronisingly in my view, dubbed this sort of thing “soft adventure” some years ago.

So there we were the other evening talking about some of the things that Bon Voyage offers to its clients. A glass of chilled Sauvignon blanc may have been involved.

“Hey, I’ve done that, and it was great fun,” she squealed, rather animatedly, when I mentioned Harley adventures across America (click here for info), and in particular the iconic Route 66.

It turns out that she was a pillion passenger on a Harley and did part of Route 66, up to the Grand Canyon and then on to Las Vegas.

“Really?” said I, just a touch too sceptically. “Wasn’t it a bit boring just sitting on the back of the bike for hours at a time, with nothing but desert and tumbleweed to look at? Oh, and the back of somebody’s head?”

“No more so than riding the bike” she replied “but at least those bikes are built for comfortable cruising. And the amazing, breath-taking scenery is constantly changing. But it was sooo much more exciting than that” she gushed. “Riding without a helmet and the strange feeling of vulnerability, yet freedom, chasing a mile-long freight train , joining a group of hairy bikers for part of the trip , eating at the Road Kill Café and experiencing some parts of the Grand Canyon that we might never have seen. The exhilarating sweeps and twists of Red Rock Canyon to Sedona and wanting to exchange the bike for a horse, chaps and a cowboy hat! The ferocious sun burning through my jeans, and even the taste of the dust after a day on the road, and the sweet ecstasy of washing it away with an ice-cold beer. But it can get really hot coming down through the high plains at the Canyon and down into the desert as you approach Las Vegas. What with the sweltering desert temperatures and the heat coming off the Harley, I couldn’t wait to get off the bike and into the pool! Oh and to the shops at Caesars…erm, for the air conditioning, of course”. Of course.

So I guess at Bon Voyage we might have been guilty of thinking that Harley holidays would only appeal to the boys. Maybe living the Harley dream – the open road and bugs-in-your-teeth cruising on a throbbing, classic motorcycle – appeals to a wider demographic that includes the girls too!

If you like the sound of a Harley Davidson holiday in America click here.

About the author: Phil Newcombe is a director of Bon Voyage.

Bon Voyage in 2012.

Alan Wilson, here, Managing Director of Bon Voyage.   I wanted to bring you up to date
on some of the new ideas and happenings for holidays this year to the USA and Canada.

Our Route 66 holidays go from strength to strength.  Since the Billy Connolly TV series last year we have been inundated with people wishing to make this most famous of all American road trips from Chicago to Los Angeles.  For me one of the great attractions of the trip is that it begins in the great city of Chicago, with its music influences, chequered history and amazing architecture and finishes in the fabulous California beach resort of Santa Monica, of Baywatch fame.  Add to the mix the nostalgia of the sights and scenes along the way, the opportunity to take detours to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas and it has all the makings of a truly wonderful adventure.

For many, a road trip is all about your wheels and this is where we have exciting news.  For the first time we’re able to offer the iconic Ford Mustang convertible as a guaranteed option on Route 66. I should emphasise that the Mustang is a two person experience but there’s nothing quite like an open top on the open road.  Well I say there’s nothing like it but actually our next option is Route 66 on a Harley Davidson motorbike, or even a trike like the one Billy Connolly rode in the TV series.  We will tailor-make your own journey or we can arrange for you to join a group departure.  Give us a call for all the details and prices.

Other new or nearly new thoughts for your next Bon Voyage holiday include a bicycling tour in New England, log cabin stays in the Great Smoky Mountains or maybe one of the great North American rail journeys.  For me there is nothing to beat the thrill of a trip like the Coast Starlight journey all the way from Southern California and up through Oregon and into Washington State.  There are the dramatic snow-covered peaks of the Cascade Range and Mount Shasta, lush forests, fertile valleys and long stretches of Pacific Ocean shoreline.  Having feasted on the views by day and dined well you retire to your very comfortable sleeping car and awake to the drama of Puget Sound and arrival into the superb city of Seattle.  Magical.

Finally let me mention some important information for those of you planning a holiday to North America in the near future.  Right now and until close of business next Tuesday 24^th January our prices are based on air fares that have been reduced by up to £200 per person.

In order to get the New Year off to a great start we negotiated these lower rates
for British Airways, Virgin, United, American – in fact almost all the big TransAtlantic airlines.

To take advantage of the reduced prices we have to have your booking in by next
Tuesday.  I don’t want to rush you into anything if you’re at the early stages of planning a
trip but if you have reached or are close to deciding your travel plans for this year, it will make sense to speak to us in the next few days.

The team are waiting to help so call us free on 0800 980 7091 or email Bon Voyage.

Happy New Year to you from everyone at Bon Voyage.

Hog Heaven – Where Eagles Ride.

Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, 46C, busted starter, motor ticking over rock steady. “Hotter than a snake’s ass in a wagon rut”.

This article was written by Bon Voyage customers – Geoff and Ali Cadman – who travelled on an “EagleRider” organised Harley tour of western America in 2004, and is reproduced on TheBonVoyageBlog with their kind permission. The stunning photographs are their own, and all rights are reserved.

I think Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” was much better than their more popular song “Born to be Wild”, which was rather hi-jacked by the media to become something of a cliché when dealing with any story that revolved around the motorcycle `lifestyle`. I suppose it’s just that I am a dedicated biker and have been one since just before the release of the iconic film  `Easy Rider`. I’m also English, I ride a Harley Davidson, but I also own a BMW motorcycle so I’m not the sort that would ordinarily get all misty-eyed when a travel programme does a motorcycle feature and uses the obligatory, `Born to be Wild` as an intro! I reiterate, not ordinarily.