GAELIC H.O.G. - DUBLIN, IRELAND

Y'know what it's like - being an expat that is - trying to have a get-together with family that's spread thousands of miles away..................do they come to you, in a place where it's warm & sunny, or do you go to them where it's (normally) wet & windy? Well, after much looking at flight schedules & prices, Mike & myself decided the only way we were going to get to see our son & his family, would be to go to them in Dublin, Ireland.

We watched the weather forecasts intensely & thought 'what the hell - let's hire a Harley while we're there!' Without further ado, Mike got in touch with the Gaelic HOG Chapter in Dublin & their Membership Officer, Willie Edmonds, kindly gave him the contact information for hiring a Harley. Unfortunately HD Dublin doesn't hire out bikes*, so we went for 'Plan B', which was Grace, the Manager of Motor Cycle Rental Ireland

Grace gave us the all the necessary info & after just one phone call & confirmation email, we'd hired ourselves a very nice '07 UltraGlide.

Naturally, father & son had to give the 'Glide a few 'test runs' - just to make sure everything was in working order.....................yeah right - any excuse to go for a ride! Willie very kindly sent us details of the 7 Counties ride that the Gaelic HOG Chapter had organised for the 24th of August, so naturally, we wanted to join the guys on such a great ride.

It chucked it down with rain the day prior to the ride & as we came back from seeing friends in Mullingar, we just kept repeating "It'll be sunny tomorrow!". Well, something was in our favour, as the following day, it was a bit overcast & cloudy, but every now & again, the sun poked through & made for really pleasant riding weather.

The Dublin HD shop is massive compared to Abu Dhabi** & stocks a whole heap of the HD merchandise. They also have an offer on at the moment; buy a Harley & they'll give you lessons until you obtain your motorcycle license, which personally, I think is a brilliant idea.

We met up with a great bunch of folks at 10am on Sunday morning. Forgive me guys (if you read this) but I'm hopeless with names! Peter, Eamon, Bernie, Eddie, Glenda & Willie made us very welcome, as did everyone else. After a cuppa coffee & much nattering, we zipped up the leathers, fixed our helmets & head for the open roads!

Eamon - Asst. Director ~~~~~~~ Peter - Director

Eddie - Webmaster ~~~~ Willie - Membership Officer


I cannot begin to describe how lovely it was to ride on roads where the surrounding countryside was various shades of green - so, so different to riding here! Not a sand dune in sight - what a pleasant change!

Time for a quick smoke/coffee break & fill up with very expensive unleaded petrol! What we pay for a gallon of juice here will get you ONE litre in Ireland - eek!



Gaelic HOG members suited & booted for the colder climate :-)


Thankfully, we only went through one brief rain shower. Mike & I got slightly wet, but dried out again within 20 minutes. We all stopped for lunch in a lovely hotel in Cavan & then the group of 22 bikes split up for the journey home via different routes.


Mike with some of the members of the Gaelic HOG Chapter, Cavan.

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Mike & I would like to sincerely thank EVERYONE at Gaelic HOG Chapter for making us both feel so welcome. We had an awesome time with you guys & I hope we get to do it again in the future. We also hope that some of you will get the opportunity to take a ride with us, out here in the 'Sandbox'!

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*HD Dublin are unable (not for want of trying we're told) to secure insurance, for renting out bikes.

**HD Abu Dhabi will apparently be getting a new store in the not too distant future.