Father and son retrace family roots in Savannah, Georgia on the 2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited and Road Glide 3.
Words by Steven Richards
Photography by Matthew Jones and Steven Richards
As the sun sets over Savannah, Georgia, 73-year-old Larry Ware Sr. rides his 2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide 3 trike along the charming coastal city’s back streets, followed closely by his son, 46-year-old Larry Ware Jr., on a 2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited motorcycle.
The father and son park side by side on a quiet street lined with oak and cypress trees covered in pale green Spanish moss, when the door of charming Victorian home swings open, and Ware Sr.’s sister walks out with ten pounds of spicy boiled peanuts, made from a beloved family recipe. After a long hug and a quick photo for the family album, Ware Sr. puts the peanuts in the trunk of his Road Glide 3, and he and his son ride into the failing light of day.
The roots of the Wares family tree run deep in Savannah, with generational branches reaching throughout the city, and this reunion of father and son is especially meaningful, seeing how Ware Jr. traveled from his home in Washington D.C. to ride alongside his father for the first time since Ware Sr. suffered a stroke.
“I fell flat on my face,” Ware Sr. recalls. “I hollered for my wife, and she called the ambulance. At the hospital, they rushed me in, and I couldn’t move the left side of my body. The nurses gave me a shot in my arm that made my arm purple, and 30 minutes after they gave me that shot, I regained full use of my body. They kept me in the hospital for a few days, and the doctor said, ‘Stay your ass off the motorcycle for three months’... oh, man! But believe it or not, I did what the doctor told me to do.”
Due to the stroke, the Wares cancelled a father-son road trip to Harley-Davidson’s 2023 Homecoming celebration in Milwaukee, but Jr. made the journey solo and constantly sent videos to his father, including personal well wishes from H-D heir Bill Davidson and CEO Jochen Zeitz. Ware Jr. admits that while he has very much looked forward to riding with his father again, he was hesitant to watch him get back behind the handlebars, but after he sees his father stable and carefree on the Road Glide 3 trike, his worries go away.
The sun disappears below the horizon as the Wares ride across Talmadge Memorial Bridge, a beautiful cable-stayed bridge that hangs above the Savannah River, and when father and son glimpse a forgotten frontage road that runs beneath the bridge, they pull off, park, and enjoy the end of the day by recalling hilarious family stories and eating handfuls of boiled peanuts.
There is a sparkle in Ware Sr.’s eyes, and when asked about what he’s feeling, he says that this experience has been one of the best of his life, and it’s made even better by the fact that he gets to share it with his son. “I just hope that fathers out there cherish their time with their kids. Mine? He’s a good guy, and I appreciate that.”
Pack it: Auroral II 3-in-1 Leather Jacket
If Savannah’s morning skies are blue and sunny, do not trust that it will stay that way. The temperamental weather of this coastal city calls for adaptability, so you’d do well by riding in the Auroral II 3-in-1 leather jacket, which features stay-cool vents and a stay-warm, removable wind-proof fleece.
Eat. Sleep. Drink.
EAT
Finches Sandwiches: Breakfast and lunch served in an old gas station, with fun, eclectic sandwiches that are sure to please.
Sisters of the New South: Real “down home” southern cooking, with family recipes handed down over generations.
Vinnie Van Go Go’s: When locals get sick of eating seafood, they ride to VVGG’s for a slice of New York-style pizza.
SLEEP
Bellwether House: A luxuriously modern bed-and-breakfast housed in two townhomes that were originally built in 1876.
Hotel Tybee: For more than 130 years, this ocean-front hotel has offered island-style Southern hospitality.
River Street Inn: Contemporary boutique hotel located in a beautifully restored, 200-year-old cotton warehouse.
DRINK
Lone Wolf Lounge: Warm and laid-back local watering hole that offers cheap beer and crafted cocktails.
Savannah Tequila Company: Tacos that are almost as good as the tasting flights of tequila.
The Original Pinkie Masters: Tastefully tacky, cash-only dive bar that you’ll never want to leave.