Page 72 - SHARP September 2022

CHASING
MYSTERY
AT LA RUTA
DEL NABAB
WE DROP IN ON A NEW INVITE-ONLY ADVENTURE PROMISING THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME
By Matt Bubbers
AUTO
RIDING MOTORCYCLES IS ABOUT FREEDOM, SURE. BUT
it’s also about looking good — something the organizers of La Ruta del Nabab clearly understand. This mysterious, invite-only annual adventure comes as close as anything to the aesthetic ideal of modern motorcycling.
“We cannot go to paradise dressed in fluorescent colours on ugly motorcycles. It would not be our spirit,” writes Thierry Philippe, a motorcycle enthusiast based in Switzerland who founded La Ruta del Nabab a few years ago.
The 2022 edition took 21 like-minded riders on a 1,400-kilometre off-road loop around Morocco. The event isn’t advertised, and the website is largely devoid of basic information like when and where the next one will be, or how much it costs, or how to get an invite.
Unlike most other motorcycle trips, this one has an art director. His name is Félix Rodríguez, and he designs the pants, t-shirts, caps, technical jerseys, handkerchiefs, and even the socks that riders wear. “Everything is designed to maintain an aesthetic balance, and a balance with nature. We do not want to be in such a beautiful landscape with colours or clothes that are not up to par,” he explains. “Every day, we wear a technical jersey that has to do with our spirit, the psychology of colour, and the specific place we are going,” says Rodríguez, who works under the name Mr. Zé as an illustrator and
creative director at a design studio based in Spain.
A Nabab, Rodríguez explains, is a person who “lives life in a
fraternal way, who enjoys the pleasures of life as an epicurean, and who shares his experience and his goods with others. We are a group of romantics, determined to enjoy every second.”
Roughly translated, “La Ruta del Nabab” literally means some- thing like “the route of rich men.” (“Nabab” is Spanish for “nabob,” an archaic word meaning a wealthy or important person, perhaps with a grandiose style.)
“We are not nostalgic, let no one misunderstand us, but we like the time when motorcycling had that romanticism of being dressed elegantly,” Rodríguez says.
More than other forms of transport, riding a motorcycle involves a lot of playing dress-up. Whether you’re cosplaying as Peter Fonda in Easy Rider or Ewan McGregor on one of his round-the-world adventures, there are a lot of fashion choices to be made. (As a newish motorcyclist, I still feel I’m only cosplaying as one when I put on all the gear.)
The rider, though, is only half the outfit; the motorcycle is the other half. The bikes of La Ruta are unique, purposeful machines. They’re all custom-built, running the gamut from boxer-engined BMWs to low-tech Honda workhorses to affordable Royal Enfield
72 SEPTEMBER 2022
SHARPMAGAZINE.COM
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MANUEL PORTUGAL