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Mike Woon has been a motorcycle enthusiast since he was a young man.
Image via Matthias Woon
The 60-year-old's love for bikes has been built up over the years.
Being particularly influenced by films, such as "Terminator 2" and "Rocky 3", one of his dreams was to own a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Iconic set of wheels
The Harley is an legendary piece of Americana, made famous throughout popular culture.
The sound of its engine starting up is iconic, and always turns heads, regardless of whether its loved or hated.
But owning such a bike would require a Class 2 licence, which allows a rider to operate any type of motorbike, particularly those 400cc and above.
Whereas a class 2A and 2B license only allows operation of a 200cc to 400cc and under 200cc bike respectively.
Getting certified to operate motorcycles of varying sizes requires one to pass a few tests.
A back injury meant that Mike was unable to pass a vital part of the Class 2 test: lifting a fallen motorcycle on one's own.
This would prove to be an insurmountable stumbling block, one that Mike would unfortunately be unable to overcome.
His dream of owning a Harley would have to be put to one side, and Mike would turn to other goals.
He would eventually marry, raise a son, and start a business selling health food.
But he would not lose his love of the large American motorbike.
Birthday surprise
For Mike's 60th birthday, his son Matthias decided to surprise him by renting a Harley to ferry him around for the weekend.
Image by Matthias Woon
Telling his dad to that he would be taking him to dinner, Matthias and his cousin waited for Mike outside his shop.
Matthias revved the Harley to get Mike's attention, drawing an excited Mike out of his shop.
Image by Matthias Woon
They even went for a ride, with Mike riding pillion.
Image by Matthias Woon
HOG Wild
But the adventure didn't end there.
By coincidence, the weekend of Mike's birthday overlapped with a closed event for the Singaporean Chapter of the Harley Owners' Group (HOG).
HOG was organising a convoy ride from its headquarters at the Wearnes Harley Davidson shop in Alexandria to Wicked Wallop in Kranji, a distance of about 20km.
But the event was only open to members, and as Matthias was renting the bike, he did not qualify.
Matthias reached out to HOG, saying that he hoped to help his father celebrate his birthday by taking part in a HOG convoy, something Mike had always wanted to do.
This was something that Matthias wanted to enable especially while his father was still healthy and fit enough to ride.
Convoy
To his delight HOG's treasurer, Gopala "Capt G" Krishnan, got back to him saying that HOG would be "honoured" to be part of Matthias' "wonderful, thoughtful gesture".
Together they worked out the details, not only allowing Matthias and Mike to take part in the convoy, but also presenting Mike with a special members only t-shirt to mark the special day.
Image by Matthias Woon
Speaking to Mothership, Matthias was effusive in his praise for HOG's organising committee, saying that Capt G, HOG Director Chris Brixi, and other committee members had made his dad's dream come true.
Image by Matthias Woon
He said he was grateful to those who facilitated him in showing his appreciation to his father, and to create a meaningful and happy memory for his family.
Top image via Matthias Woon