H.O.G. Ride
The Harley-Davidson Owners Group or H.O.G. recently celebrated five years in India and, to mark the occasion, there was a grand celebration in Goa
Celebrating five years of the H.O.G. in apt style in sunny Goa
IT’S BEEN FIVE YEARS SINCE THE INCEPTION OF
the Harley-Davidson Owners Group of India and, every year, members from various chapters ride to Goa to celebrate the formation of the club and also the brotherhood that holds the riders together. This year, however, was special as it marked five full years of the group’s foundation in India. More than 3,000 H.O.G. members rode to Goa to be part of a grand spectacle that dominated the party capital of India. The atmosphere was alive with brotherhood and camaraderie as riders from 27 Indian chapters showed up at the event and shared their riding stories. Riders rode in from as far as Chandigarh in the north and Kolkata in the east.
At the event, Harley-Davidson honoured a lot of riders for their commitment to riding. Some were even rewarded for their management skills and pro-active natures. The Honour Roll saw 130 H.O.G. members receive the coveted ‘Big 5’ patch as they had participated, in a year, in all the four zonal rallies and also the national ride to Goa.
H.O.G.’s Mumbai chapter, the Seven-Islands Harley-Davidson bunch, received two awards in one night. First, they won the ‘Chapter of the Year’ award for their activities and contribution towards events held throughout the year. The second award, the ‘Chapter Manager of the Year’ award, went to Darryl Mathias, manager of the Mumbai chapter.
Harley owners are known for their love of customisation and many bikes that showed up at the event were heavily personalised. There was an award for that aspect as well with Neeraj Jain of the Banjara Chapter, Hyderabad, winning the Best ‘Customised Bike of the Year’ and also bagging a ticket to the 77th-annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the US of A.
The award for ‘Best Zonal Rally’ went to the Western H.O.G. rally that saw riders venture out into the Rann of Kutch on their shiny H-D bikes.
Among all the winners, there were eight H.O.G. members that stood out as they were inducted into the prestigious ‘Triple Five’ club. This exclusive club is restricted only to members who have done the ‘Big 5’ for three consecutive years, and have contributed a lot to the H.O.G. community.