ambassadors
Once a year, the chilled beach life of Biarritz makes way for vintage leather, oil and dust. The surfboards can stay, though. Wheels and Waves is an unlikely but strangely successful blend of grassroots motorcycle fun and the region’s favorite watersport: surfing! We show you a glimpse of the relaxed atmosphere from last week with cool bikes, nice weather and big waves in a five-day friendly setting, proudly supported by Motul.
An unexpected success
The six founders of the Wheels and Waves event probably never thought it would grow this big. It all started with a small local event just outside Toulouse. As a local club, documenting their custom bike builds in an online blog, the Southsiders MC started a small event in 2009 with about 20 bikers who showed up to the first edition. Their blog gave them the opportunity to share their favorite content: photos and stories about their builds and the custom scene – but also their travels and the people they met. It gave them the chance to talk about all the things that inspire them: fashion, design and surfing.
Fast-forward to 2022
The event grew to an international lifestyle event, attracting visitors from all over the world spread out over a filled five-day festival. For this last edition approximately 20,000 visitors visited the petrol-fuelled festival after two years of Covid19 cancellations. Because of its unique and fine blend of mechanics, vintage culture, surfing, art and music, Wheels and Waves has become one of the most anticipated events in the custom European motorcycling scene in just a good decade.
Catch your wave: something for everybody’s taste
Wheels and Waves has become a hotspot for the lifestyle custom and biking scene mixed with skating, surfing and lots of side attractions. Not only do custom builders show their own skills, but the event also attracts workshops and manufacturers who all share a common passion for bikes and the riding culture around it. Hotspot is the central village, which acts as the hub for everything else going on at Wheels and Waves. There was the El Rollo dirt track, the Punk’s Peak sprint race, the Wheels and Waves Vintage Enduro Rally, the Duo Log surf contest, the Hit the Deck skate contest, and last but not least, the Artride custom vehicle exhibition showing motorcycle art made of pure steel.
Just cruising…
If you’re thinking that sounds like a lot of stuff to do and visit in one weekend, you’re right—and that’s why you could also simply go for a ride to clear your head while you were attending. The Biarritz area is surrounded by the sea, the sky and the mountains that make up the unique region of France and Spain that is Basque Country.
Proudly supported by Motul
Motul has been surfing this wave for several years now, sharing the same values of passion and authenticity. In 2022 it was once again supporting the event all week long throughout every animation: from El Rollo, the flat track race, to the Art Ride and the ephemeral exhibition.
A glimpse on one of the previous editions:
© Pictures: Wheels and Waves
