Co-incident with the MCIA's annual "Ride to Work" campaign, Sussex based Shaw Harley-Davidson brought Milwaukee to the masses recently when they staged a free riding day at Arlington Stadium near Eastbourne.

More than 600 people enjoyed a beautiful summer afternoon and evening and had the opportunity to sample many of the delights that the American legend has to offer around the oval circuit. And while a solo tryout was the preserve of bike licence holders only, complete novices were given the opportunity to try riding themselves under the expert tuition of a team from Riders Edge. The training bikes, a trio of Buell Blast 500s, made a pleasant change to the normal anodyne offerings at training establishments as well as fitting nicely in with the other bikes there.

Arlington Stadium is a speedway and stock-car track, home of the Eastbourne Eagles speedway team, and the concrete oval that runs outside the shale speedway track was the perfect environment to allow people to get at least a taste of Harley magic. And from what I saw in my all too brief visit, the magic was working well, as rider after rider lapped the oval wearing smiles that just got broader as the laps increased. And outside the bowl the lengthy queue for the Buells meant that the Riders Edge team were certainly earning their keep. A discreet (well, not really) eavesdrop told me that instruction was clear, to the point and humorous while somehow managing to avoid being condescending. It was also gratifying to see that a large number of the trainees were women. Indeed, in the groups I saw they outnumbered the men most of the time. Which has to be a Good Thing. 41 total novices got their first taste of powered two wheelers during the day, while an amazing 330 full licence holders took the opportunity to lap the oval.

Of course, as well as the demo rides and tuition, there was also a comprehensive display of bikes, accessories and clothing as well as food and drinks available.

David Cole, dealer principal at Shaw Harley-Davidson, said: “We had an extremely successful day welcoming new people to the world of Harley-Davidson and motorcycling in general, in a controlled and safe environment.

“The involvement of Rider’s Edge was very important to us in ensuring that potential new riders were given good quality information and advice and more experienced riders were encouraged to continue their riding education.”

Shaw Harley-Davidson has also recently won the prestigious Bar and Shield Award. This annual award is presented to dealerships who have excelled in customer services and brand marketing. Considering that Shaw's have only been a motorcycle dealer for two years, that is pretty impressive. But judging by the organisation and commitment they showed to this event, it is an award that was well earned. David Cole again:

“This is a fantastic result for the entire team. Harley-Davidson has over 1,300 dealers in 48 countries and they all want to win a Bar & Shield Award, so we’ve done extremely well to join this elite group. Our dealership has only been open for 18 months but we’ve had a lot of fun introducing Harley-Davidson to people in Sussex. I think some of that enthusiasm has helped us to win this award.”