Why Did I Say That?!?!?!

My blog readers know I like travelling.

I have been to many countries and been asked many questions by border guards many times about why I am visiting their country. As a genuine visitor, those questions are always easy to answer.

Until yesterday.

It was a chilly Saturday morning and I was in line with many other vehicles to cross a border where there are strict controls. I was on a rented motorbike and I was looking forward to meeting a fellow Blogger whose blog I had been reading for some time.

I didn’t give it a second thought as I knew crossing this border would be easy. The queue was moving relatively quickly as I sat there, occasionally firing the engine of the bike to life to roll the bike forward whenever a gap of a few car lengths had developed.

Eventually, the car in front of me drove away from the booth and it was my turn. I hit the kill switch on the bike as I drew level with the window and handed over my passport. The immigration guy looked at me, my bright red shiny bike and no doubt my helmet. I was wearing the sparkly and somewhat garish Union Jack Flag helmet that I had worn when I crossed the USA on my bike last year. I think it looks good, but I can understand if some think it a little over-the-top.

The immigration guy started to ask his questions....

How long would I be in his country? 2 days.Had I been to his country before? Yes.Was the visit for business or pleasure? Pleasure.What did I do for work? I am retired.Is this your own bike? No, I rented it.

All standard stuff. That was, until he asked his next question, which of course I answered with the truth....

And what are you going to do here during those 2 days?

I wish I had thought more about the answer beforehand....

I am going to meet a guy I met on the Internet.
In hindsight, I realise that wasn’t the best of answers. I felt stupid and it probably showed in my face. Why did I say that?!?!?

It was a dumb thing to say as it immediately led to more questions, the first of which was something like “Can you please explain that some more”.

The hole I was digging for myself got deeper....

I write about my travels on the internet and the guy I am going to meet does the same, and we thought it would be nice to meet each other.
As I said that, I just knew it sounded so wrong. I was now flustered and felt awkward at my honest, but odd answers.

The questions continued for some time, but after typing something into his computer, eventually he did let me into his country....

The Harley-Davidson HOG Rally in Biograd, Croatia

I am a little behind in my blogging, so the HOG event written about here actually took place last weekend.

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....

And the bike awarded best in show was from Slovenia....

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.

Riding in Slovenia and Croatia

The final day of our ride to Biograd in Croatia took us along some spectacular coastal roads alongside the Adriatic Sea.

It didn’t take long before we were leaving Italy and entering Slovenia....

Our journey took us across a very narrow strip of Slovenia and as I rode along I realised people might ask later what was Slovenia like, so I took a picture just to answer that question. The simple truth is, we were not in Slovenia for long enough to form any decision about that....

As part of the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav wars took place between 1991 and 1995. These were complex and involved many different peoples, but especially the Serbs and the Croats. The conflict was extremely bitter and resulted in many deaths, with some leaders being tried for war crimes since the war ended. Borders were moved and today, there is a fully manned border between Slovenia and Croatia....

As visitors, little evidence can be seen of the war, although talking to some Croatians just 16 years after the war ended, a great deal is remembered about what happened here and it was pointed out to us where shelling took place by hostile forces near to where the HOG rally was we were attending. However, it is easy to forget those conflicts as you ride along such a beautiful coastline. The coast road is narrow and twisty, following the shape of the sea it runs along and it reminded Ian and I of the Pacific Coast Highway in California. It really is that good.

Ian on the road....

Some of the views along the coast road....

The water is crystal clear....

As we got nearer to Biograd, the location for the HOG Festival, we saw more and more Harley-Davidsons on the road, from all over Europe. While sometimes the buildings are not well finished externally, the setting can be stunning....

This is a small fishing village we stopped for a drink in....

Smiling on parts of the journey made was just unavoidable....

As we rolled into Biograd after 1611 miles on the road, we reflected on a fantastic ride through some terrific scenery over five days of riding great roads in incredibly good weather. It doesn’t get much better than that. And there was still the HOG Festival to look forward to!  The star on the map shows where we had ridden to....

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On a different subject, is anybody else having trouble logging into Blogger? I can get into my Dashboard page fine when I am logged in, but when I try to view my blog, the top right hand corner of the page says “Sign in”, even though I am already signed in, or was. I can successfully make new posts on my blog, but I cannot make comments on my own blog in my name, as it asks me to sign in (even though just before I was signed in). On other peoples blogs, I can make comments in my name on some blogs, but not on some others. Very strange.

I think Arizona Harley Dude may be having the same trouble. Anyone else?