"The Good Companions:"
I won't compare our happy band to the malcontents of JB Priestley's 1929 novel (written coincidentally in Deal, Kent, where Sylvia spent her childhood, all those years ago). Admittedly, his characters were also middle aged and seeking adventure on the road!
Harley riders since 2008, Craig is a Royal Navy officer and submariner, currently posted to Virginia Beach; and I am a GP in Hampshire. Craig has a lot of biking miles under his belt. Me, I am barely a "born again biker," having ridden a moped for a couple of years as a medical student, and never a "proper" bike until I did the Direct Access course in 2008. However, we have done two superb Organised Harley tours with Ron Brett, and can strongly recommend Brettours to fellow Harley riders looking for an organised tour in Europe.
Mandy-Jane is a nurse, and Sylvia does Company Secretarial work for a firm of accountants.
We met at a local Prep school in Gosport that our children were attending, and have been good friends ever since. Indeed, I dare to believe that Craig and Mandy's previous postings to Scotland and Washington DC have been spiced up by our visits to see them! Well, we certainly enjoyed them.
Many have mistakenly assumed that Sylvia and Mandy are sisters. However, their resemblance - as seen in the attached photo (if I can get it to attach) - is deceptive.
The Bikes:
We have each bought Harley Davidson Elecra Glides this year - Mandy and Craig viewed theirs on the day of their arrival in Virginia, no less. Coincidentally, they are both Ultra Classic "Glides" and both 2006 models. For this tour, the bike Sylvia and I are hiring is the Ultra Limited model. I got a bit of a shock this morning when I compared the spec of the Ultra Limited with our bikes. For, while the Ultra Classics are jolly heavy bikes at 819lb (372kg), the Ultra Limited is nearly another hundred weight heavier at 911lb (406kg). No doubt a large part of that is the bigger engine - 1690cc as compared with 1450cc - but then a bigger engine means bigger brakes and so on. It's not as if the older bikes are underpowered! Anyway, Harleys are just the ticket for a tour like this.