Having arrived in Biograd in Croatia, Ian and myself found the apartments we had rented (sat nav is a great thing in a foreign country) and went to explore the rally site. This was a free rally set right on the waterfront in the tourist town and it proved to be a tremendous location, with everything within walking distance. This proved to be an huge benefit, with the trader area, two stages, expos, restaurants, bars and exhibits all strung along the sea front. The roads were all closed to all vehicles except motorbikes with ample parking for all. Brilliant!
The only slight drawback was in Biograd, there was just one petrol station which had long lines every time we went passed it. This was however a small price to pay.
Some general shots of the rally....
The only thing not being held in Biograd itself was the custom bike show, which was about 20 miles away in the bigger city of Zadar. It was very difficult to find and as a consequence, not very well attended. Some shots from the ride to get there....
Nearby was what looked like roman ruins and a cool church with an impressive tower....
The Leading Ladies in Zadar....
Some of the bikes at the custom bike show....
On one of the days in Croatia, we jumped on a ferry and took a 20 minute ride to one of the many island just offshore. We rode the length of the island before taking a different ferry back to the mainland....
Back near the rally site, I spotted this graffiti. I have no idea what it says, but someone reading this might know....
Finally a few pictures from the Saturday night festivities. My local H-D dealer in London, Warrs, held a party for the Chelsea and Fulham Chapter members that had ridden all the way to Croatia....
Overall, the rally was a tremendous success, with many people saying it was one of the best they had ever been to. Initially I had wondered whether Croatia would be a good location and I was wrong – it was a great place for a H-D rally. There were so many riders from all over Europe attending including the more eastern European countries and this was a great chance to see how the east lives, especially in the motorcycle community.
Knowing that I had to be in Spain in just two days time, there wasn’t time to ride the Leading Ladies back to London, so I used a company called We Move Bikes to ship my bike back for me. They take all of the H-D demonstrator bikes to all of the Europeans festivals and rallies and also ship customer bikes. If you are short of time or just simply don’t want to ride in both directions to a far-flung rally, they are very good. The Leading Ladies will therefore be delivered back to my home after I return from Spain.
The annual European HOG Rally is proving to be extremely successful and enjoyable. One of the first things I did when I arrived back home in London was to book a hotel for next year’s rally, in Cascais in Portugal.
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