European HOG Rally - 4

Staying put in Sukosan, ~13m to the north of Biograd, for four nights was a pleasure and a laundry opportunity after my one-night stopping, a timely opportunity to 'refresh' some of my luggage!  It was a lovely location overlooking the marina.  Biograd and Croatia really embraced the Rally.  Everyone for hundreds of kilometres around seemed to know about it and there was a warm welcome everywhere.  It brought in significant economic benefit and must have enhanced the tourism profile, which is a major focus in Croatia.  Facilities were laid out along the waterfront, which was ideal with lots of cafes and bars for socialising.  10,000 Harley's was believable from what we saw as groups of bikes were parked up at every hotel and cafe for miles around, in addition to those in Biograd itself at any time.  We saw HOG members from Scottsdale, Arizona, Arctic Norway (World's Northernmost), Sweden, Finland, Latvia, all the other EU Countries, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, a very diverse group and all identifiable by their Chapter badges.  We stayed in for part of the evening, when the bands are belting it their stuff, some really good, some rather head banging!  Both of us were disappointed that we couldn't have stayed in Biograd itself, to avoid the ride back to Sukosan, but it seems that those who managed that had booked as soon as the dates were announced last year.

There were many custom bikes there, including this one with three Smith & Wesson 357 Magnums mounted in the frame, one with bullet leaving the barrel, and several loaded chambers:

We joined in the parade of a large number of bikes for 30 km from Zadar to Biograd, which was quite a spectacle.  There were lots of 'characters' assembled, including a French guy with a small terrier on his shoulder, who had its own box built into his bike's windscreen, complete with vent, bedding and door!  The police headed the long columns and closed all the junctions so that we kept together, winding round the Zadar sea front, through the old town and eventually onto the main highway with people waving and cheering at the roadside all the way to Biograd.  Jean got some good video clips over my shoulder.

And, here is a series of clips in video:

We did come across a few others from my Chapter, two in a lay-by that I happened to stop in just south of Rijeka, another couple in a petrol station a little further on, and then some others while back in Ljubljana, whom I met once more in Calais, and yet again at Oxford Services on the way home!  

We enjoyed a couple of local rides, including one through Krka Natural Park, but the most memorable feature of that was not the scenery as much as the number of bombed out buildings that had not been rebuilt since the Balkans conflict of the early 90s.  Split is an interesting and pretty city to the south, I found much like Dubrovnik in look and feel, and we enjoyed the coastal ride there and back, in addition to a pleasant lunch near the waterfront.  It also has very good ice cream!