They look the part — leather jackets, aviators and they got the rides too. City boys Deepak Bikkina and Jose Peter, part of the Harley Owners Group, are excited about biking all the way to Puri as a part of the Eastern Harley Owners Group (HOGs) trip. HOG is a fraternity of Harley owners across the country and they organise frequent trips and meet-ups. Deepak is in the manufacturing business and Jose is a telecom engineer, no one could have guessed that! Deepak and Jose got into bike-riding almost 20 years ago and you can see that Jose’s face lights up just thinking about the ride. They started with Yamahas, Yezdis and finally got to the real beast — Harley. Almost every Sunday, the group of bikers head halfway to Bangalore or Chennai for a ‘small’ ride.
Jose explains the ride and says that pit-stops are pre-decided and there is no biking at nights. There is a back-up truck that is provided by Harley which follows them with a technician. Jose emphasises that they place a high premium on safety. “Everybody gets the right kind of gear and equipment and we do not cross a speed of more than 100kmph,” says Deepak. Jose adds that they ride to ride another day. The HOGs ride with a lead rider and a sweep rider to keep a tab, “It’s almost like a herd,” laughs Deepak. How many women does this herd see? Deepak says that quite a few women riders come to the HOGs trips. “But I wouldn’t say that the trend has particularly caught on,” says Jose. The duo end their ride today. Deepak and Jose are now looking forward to the ride to Goa in February where almost 1000 bikers will be participate.