A Little Gran Canaria Sun Before Getting Back To It
Date: 15 May 2026
Slug: gran-canaria-break-missing-the-motorcycles
Categories: Behind the Scenes, Updates
Excerpt: We took a short break in Gran Canaria to recharge, enjoy the sunshine, and slow things down for a few days, even if the motorcycles were never far from our minds.
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There is something properly good about stepping away for a few days, especially when life has been full of orders, messages, artwork checks, hoodie planning, and the usual rush that comes with keeping Chicken Strips moving.
Last week we managed to get away to Gran Canaria for a bit of sunshine and a proper reset. It was one of those trips where the main plan was not to have too much of a plan. A slower morning, a coffee in the sun, a walk without a deadline, and a chance to let the brain cool down for a minute. Sometimes that is exactly what you need.
Gran Canaria did the job nicely. Warm evenings, good food, bright skies, and enough time to remember that sitting still is occasionally allowed. It felt strange at first, because when you are used to checking orders, replying to customers, and thinking about the next batch, switching off takes a little practice. But once we got into it, it was brilliant.
That said, we did miss the motorcycles.
You can take a break from work, but apparently you cannot fully switch off the bit of your brain that spots a decent road and immediately thinks about how good it would be on two wheels. Gran Canaria has some beautiful roads, plenty of bends, and the kind of scenery that makes you wish you had packed a helmet. Even while relaxing, the bike talk still found its way in.
It was a good reminder of why we do what we do. Chicken Strips has always been built around people who love bikes, rides out, events, and that feeling of being part of something. Even when we are away, that world comes with us. It is not just work sitting in a folder somewhere. It is the people, the orders, the stories behind the kit, and the excitement when something lands exactly how it should.
The break was needed. It gave us a chance to slow down, get some sun, and come back with a bit more energy. We know a short pause can mean things stack up a little, but we would rather come back refreshed and get everything handled properly than run on empty and rush the details.
So thank you for the patience while we were away. Orders, messages, and updates are being picked back up, and the wheels are turning again.
Gran Canaria was lovely. The sunshine was welcome. The rest was needed.
But yes, we definitely missed the bikes.
What the pause changed when we came back
A proper break is useful only if it changes the way the next working week is handled. Returning with a long queue can make it tempting to answer everything at once, but custom clothing is not improved by rushing. We came back by separating messages that needed a quick confirmation from jobs that required artwork, sizing or production decisions. That made the queue clearer and reduced the chance of a small detail being missed.
It also reinforced something important about a rider-run business: enthusiasm is valuable, but it is not an unlimited resource. Ideas tend to be better when there is enough space to look at them critically. A few days away helped us return to designs with fresh eyes and decide which details added something and which were only making the artwork busier.
Roads can inspire without becoming a claim
Gran Canaria is visually dramatic, and it is easy to imagine riding through that landscape. We did not turn the holiday into an invented road test, however. Admiring a road from a car or a viewpoint is not the same as understanding it from a motorcycle. Surface, wind, traffic, local rules and the behaviour of other road users all matter.
The honest takeaway was inspiration rather than expertise. The changes in colour, height and landscape were reminders that route-themed artwork works best when it captures the identity of a place without pretending a map tells the whole story. That thought came home with us and fed back into the way we looked at track and road-inspired designs.
Back to rider clothing and custom work
Once home, the priorities were straightforward: respond to customers, confirm outstanding details and restart production in a sensible order. Standard products could move once their options were checked, while custom jobs needed their individual briefs, artwork and approvals revisited.
If you are planning a custom motorcycle hoodie or group order, the most useful starting point is clear information. Sizes, garment colours, artwork, names, dates, quantities and intended deadlines all affect what happens next. Providing those details early creates a better conversation and avoids treating a personal design like an off-the-shelf product.
The holiday did exactly what it needed to do. It provided sunshine and distance, reminded us why motorcycles still shape the way we see places, and gave us enough energy to return without pretending that rest and work can happen at full speed at the same time.