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BIKERS galore will be descending on Bahrain in November when hundreds of Harley Davidson enthusiasts gather from all over the Middle East to participate in the 10th Middle East Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) Rally.
The distinctive growl of the mighty machines will fill the air as H.O.G.'ers converge on the island for the weekend to show off their mean machines.
"This is the first event of its kind in Bahrain and we are expecting close to 600 Harley riders from Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and other GCC countries to attend the rally. There are close to 350 H.O.G.'ers in Bahrain alone which includes women and men," said Mahmood Ahmed AbuIdrees, H.O.G. administrator for the Bahrain Chapter.
Members of 11 Middle East H.O.G. chapters are due to attend the rally and the management is even receiving inquires from H.O.G.'ers in Europe.
A plethora of activities and bike rides are planned for the rally with the grand Thunder Parade of the entire participating Harley riders due on the morning of November 13th.
"Fawaz Algosaibi who is also the head of the Bahrain chapter will lead the H.O.G. rally. Daily bike rides are planned to different historical sites like the Tree of Life, Bahrain Fort and Bab Al Bahrain.
The parking lot of Al A'ali Shopping Complex will be the venue of a variety of biking events and the culmination of the rally will be a concert at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC)," said Mahmood, 24, who apart from working at the Harley Davidson dealership in Budaiya is studying at Bahrain Institute for Hospitality and Retail.
The H.O.G.'ers of Bahrain Chapter are an active rider group who meet every Thursday night in summer months and Friday morning in winter season for bike rides and to exchange information about their customised chromium machines. Charity events and out of Bahrain bike rides are a regular feature with Bahraini H.O.G.'ers.
"There is an upcoming Riding Tour and 50 bikers from Bahrain are going next month to ride through Jordan and Lebanon," added Mahmood.
The Harley Davidson dealership has a H.O.G. room where bikers have the opportunity to get together to meet fellow Harley owners.
Bikers claim that owning a Harley Davidson is all about the experience, the ride and buying into a lifestyle and being part of the Harley Davidson community.
The most expensive set of wheels in the dealership in Budaiya is the standard Ultra Classic Electric Glide of the Touring Family that costs BD11,600 without the all-important traditional customisation available.
Bikers in the past have been demonised in Hollywood movies as being brawny, angry, tattooed members of gangs until 2007 when the comedy flick and box office smash Wild Hogs, starring John Travolta, portrayed four men experiencing a mid-life crises on a Harley Davidson bike run.
In Bahrain, Harley owners are a mixture of expatriates and Bahrainis ranging from rich entrepreneurs, Shaikhs to middle-income men and women aged from 20 to retirement age.
Some of the Harley owners in Bahrain don't own a car and travel to their offices on their heavyweight machine; such is their love for the American cruiser. p>
