Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride Veghel – 17 May 2026

It is Sunday morning, 17 May 2026. The day has finally arrived for The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in Veghel. In the weeks leading up to the event, I had been using social media to raise small donations for the cause. In the end, I managed to raise €277 this year.

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride began in Sydney, Australia. The event was founded in 2012 by Mark Hawwa. The inspiration came from an image of Don Draper from the TV series Mad Men, dressed in a stylish suit while riding a classic motorcycle. Hawwa felt this was the perfect way to challenge the often negative stereotypes associated with motorcyclists while bringing together enthusiasts of classic and vintage motorcycles.

The purpose of the ride quickly grew beyond style and motorcycles. Today, the DGR focuses on raising funds and awareness worldwide for prostate cancer research and men’s mental health, in partnership with Movember.

The very first ride in 2012 started relatively small but grew unexpectedly fast. Approximately 2,500 to 3,000 riders participated across 64 cities around the world. That early success laid the foundation for what has since become a global event spanning more than 1,000 cities and attracting hundreds of thousands of participants.

I first took part in the DGR in 2019. My first edition was in Eindhoven, followed by several years riding in Nijmegen. After that, I participated twice in Maastricht, and this year I had originally registered for ‘s-Hertogenbosch. However, the organisers in Den Bosch decided to merge their event with Veghel. Since only a short starting ceremony would take place in Den Bosch, I decided to head straight to Veghel instead.

As I did not know anyone in Veghel, I signed up as a volunteer. This gave me the opportunity to get to know the organisers while also contributing to the event by setting up banners, placing route signs, and helping with various practical tasks throughout the morning.

At 8:00 a.m., dressed in my RAF uniform, I rolled my Matchless G3/L WD out of the garage and went through the starting procedure. With the engine running smoothly, I took a relaxed ride to the petrol station and then continued to the Noordkade in Veghel, where the event was due to start.

By around 10:00 a.m., the first participants began arriving on an impressive variety of beautiful motorcycles. After enjoying a number of friendly conversations and admiring the machines on display, the moment finally arrived at 11:00 a.m. — The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride was underway.

The route took us through the countryside surrounding Veghel and several nearby villages. The halfway stop was at Jopie’s USA Motor Museum, a remarkable private museum dedicated to historic American motorcycles.

Following our visit to the museum, and with the threat of a heavy rain shower approaching, we decided to leave the stop a little earlier than planned. At around 2:00 p.m., we returned to the Noordkade. There, we spent some time chatting about the ride over a drink before gradually heading home.

With that, another memorable day had come to an end. I can now add another city and another year to my growing Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride journey.