A banner hung outside the ArtRide exhibition stated: ?You are not in France, you are not in Spain; welcome to Basque Country.? At this sixth iteration of Wheels & Waves, the sign should have read ?Southsiders Country,? as 20,000 guests of this festival of surf/moto culture invaded the sleepy town of Biarritz, filling all the hotel rooms, Airbnbs, and camping spots, plus every bar with a sidewalk.
The Basque region isn?t a hotbed of alt.custom culture, and is a long way from Paris, Berlin, or Milan?where you?ll find the majority of European custom shops. But a surprising number of folks ride to the event, on everything from vintage Brough Superiors and MV Agustas to the latest hyper-café custom Ducati.

They come, I think, as much for what isn?t at W&W?no obnoxious branding, no OEM industry hard sell?as what is; a mellow, carefully curated series of exhibits, races, and rides. ?Our event is about motion,? is the mission statement of Southsiders MC founder Vincent Prat, chief of the triumvirate (with Jérôme Allé and Julien Azé) who organize this legendary festival. You?ll need motion to see it all; most of the highlights are an hour?s ride from Biarritz, except ?the village? at the Cité de l?Océan?a series of military tents stretching from this waveform cultural center to Milady beach.

Prat cut back on stalls by 30% this year, to keep the quality high for clothing, scarf, bag, board, and bike vendors; there wasn?t much overlap in the offerings, and wh...