The Trip Down - Day 1

Five bikes and riders met in the early morning of Sunday 17th June for the journey down to Plymouth for the ferry to Santander and the 16th European HOG Rally in Fuengirola near Malaga, Spain. A cool start to the day turned to mixed cloud and sun with only a slight hint of rain. Another couple taking their own route travelled on one further bike and Mark was driving his van, for later use. Two bikes were unable to obtain tickets on the ferry, so were carried on the ferry in his van, and proved to be useful to our group and other later. We would be allowing sufficient time for coffee and other stops, as well as enjoying scenery along the way. It would take us four days and three nights to get there, the same to return, and we would get 3 nights and two whole days at the Rally itself.
Chris & Liz journeyed separately to the ferry, joined us for the crossing, took a different route to the Rally but stayed in the same hotel.
The 16th European Rally followed the 15th in Killarney last year, rotating around Europe as it does, but was expected to have many more bikes in attendance than Killarney, with its more central and continental European location. About 5,000 bikes had attended Killarney and around 10,000 were expected at Fuengirola. The Rally is a congregation of HOG members to present your bike (if it is one of those heavily modified ones), socialise with others, peruse and buy goods, mostly Harley-Davidson, and enjoy live music and other entertainment for a few days. Most people wear the badges of their local Chapter to make identification easier and this can often be the basis of the initiation of conversation. Drink and food are, of course, taken.