San Antonio’s annual Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride rolled through the streets Sunday, May 17, as part of an international movement supporting men’s health.
The crew of motorcyclists, nearly 200 members deep, roared through neighborhoods including Lavaca and SoFlo, prompting curious residents to come outside. But rather than cower in fear, the onlookers waved. While some bike gangs come with a rough reputation, these dandies are defying stereotypes.
Riders assembled that morning for the annual bike ride at Idle Beer Hall & Brewery, 414 Brooklyn Ave. The beer hall has become something of a homebase for the motorcycle club, whose members also gather there for Thursday bike meetups.
This was the ride’s first year leaving from the beer hall, rather than a Triumph Motorcycles dealership outside the city. It was also the first year the ride was a loop, starting and ending at the same location.
The route took the riders over the San Antonio River and through downtown, the East Side and past the historic Missions. Landmarks along the way included the Tower of the Americas, Dignowity Park, San Antonio City Hall, Frost Bank Tower, the Tobin Center and the San Fernando Cathedral.
Along the one-hour trip, riders had plenty to look at thanks to a route selected for its hidden gems and historical significance. Those included public art installations, an active rodeo at the tiny stadium of the San Antonio Charro Association and a trek through Historic City Cemetery #6.
The Distinguished Gentlemen of San Antonio are the local chapter of a global movement that got its start in Australia. Chapters throughout the world roll on the same day for the Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride, from such far-flung locales as Cambodia to, appropriately, the Isle of Man.
The San Antonio riders lined up in the hot sun bedecked in tweed three-piece suits. The ride’s internationally recognized date is determined by its founders in Australia, and it’s winter there.
The international ride raises funds for men’s health — including prostate cancer research and mental healthcare — through its official charity partner, Movember, the men’s health organization that encourages growing mustaches in November to raise awareness and funds. Many of the San Antonio riders, who had waxed and curled mustachios, took this directive seriously as well.
Ahead of Sunday’s ride in San Antonio, master of ceremonies and local organizer Roberto Livar spoke to the riders, encouraging them to prioritize their own health.
“As a man you don’t want to go to the doctor because you’re afraid of what you might find out,” Livar said.
Livar also encouraged the riders to put the “gentle” in gentleman by offering up an expansive definition of masculinity in his speech.
“As a man you think of yourself as a protector and provider,” he said. “In addition to that, I’d like us to think about how we protect our families’ soul. How we set the example for our sons and our daughters and those who come behind us is really what makes us gentlemen.”
Speaking with the Current at Idle Beer Hall after the ride, Livar was reflective.
“It’s weird to say you give a space for men in a world that only gives space to men,” Livar acknowledged. However, he added that he sees the club — which also includes women — as an answer to what some see as the “toxic masculinity” of the modern age.
To have a mint ’69 Bonneville for recreation, one most likely has at least some disposable income. And the image of the pleasure-cruising gentleman with a curly mustache and dapper suit certainly harkens to a bygone era’s man of leisure, a designation almost exclusively afforded to the rich.
However, Livar made a point to challenge what he called the “classist” interpretation of the term gentlemen in his speech ahead of the ride, offering up his own definition.
“I know we throw that term [gentleman] around a lot and there are a lot of classist ideas tied to it, but I’d like to decouple the classist side of being a gentleman — the fine attire and what have you — and get to what truly makes a gentleman. And I think that is being gentle in life.”
