In the words of the iconic bikers' song, “Born to be Wild”, there is nothing that Harley-Davidson owners love to do more than to “Get your motor running”! Starting on Friday, the first official Lebanese Harley-Davidson Tour Rally will take place over three days. Because of the attractions in Lebanon, there are large groups from the Harley Owners Groups (HOGs) in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam making a major tour out of this event. My husband and I are joining the Riyadh Chapter, and 21 of us flew to Gurayat (on the Jordanian border) early on Wednesday to connect with our beloved Harleys, which have been sent ahead by truck. Our ride will take us through Jordan and on to Damascus where we will spend the first night. On Thursday, we will ride on to Beirut and join a few hundred other bikers from all over the Middle East. We then plan to ride all the way back to Jeddah, and continue with our Jeddah friends to the Third National Saudi HOG Rally in Abha. In all, it will be almost three weeks of biking and touring in the Middle East, including riding from north to south of Saudi Arabia. Preparation for such a long journey had to begin early: multiple entry visas into Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are required as we will be riding in and out of all three countries more than once. With large groups traveling, hotel bookings had to be in place early and, most importantly, the bikes have all had to be prepared for the trip. Deciding what to pack is dictated by the limited space on the bike: our side panniers can only take seven kgs each. I will be hitting the Middle East capital of “chic” with two pairs of black biker jeans, a selection of Harley-Davidson T-shirts, my black biking boots, my leather “dress” waistcoat, and a substantial biker jacket to cope with any weather. My only concession to “chic” will be my make-up, perfume and my Harley jewellery. But, it is a biker festival and what could be more chic than to be authentically dressed in biker gear?
