David O, Assistant Director – Douglas County HOG Chapter
www.douglascountyhog.com
What a great question! Especially since HOG is celebrating its 35th anniversary in the same year that Harley-Davidson is celebrating their 115th anniversary! HOG (Harley Owners Group) is THE largest riding group in the world. Harley- Davidson organized HOG to bring together the rider, dealership and the brand. And if done well, works brilliantly!
Our chapter, Douglas County Chapter Colorado, DCCC #3616, is the newest chapter in Colorado, creating our charter with our sponsoring dealership, Mile High HD of Parker, in 2011. That said, it’s an incredible group of riders with a very supportive dealer and getting better every year!
I’m a Life Member of HOG and a Charter Member of our chapter, which means that I joined the same year the chapter began. At the time, I was looking for like-minded people that loved to ride and have fun – which by the way is what HOG is all about. And if your chapter isn’t all about that, it’s time to either find a new chapter or get involved and MAKE it all about riding and having fun! I believe you can “throttle through” just about any challenge life throws at you to make things better. Which is what riding our Harley does for us most of the time.
My wife Kari and I are currently very much involved in the Douglas County HOG Chapter because we love the Harley- Davidson history and culture, we have a passion for riding, especially in Colorado. We have endless opportunities to meet new friends and forge lifelong relationships. We continue to have a great time, support worthy causes and above all RIDE!
One of our favorite events is in fact the Children’s Toy Run. We will organize a meeting place in Parker and ride over to the staging area after breakfast. 20 Mile Tap House hosted our rendezvous point this year, even though our numbers continue to grow. Our local restaurants understand how cool this is and go out of their way to accommodate us. Our chapter had 32 riders and 26 bikes show up with subfreezing temps to content with this year. But we simply won’t miss it, as the opportunity offers us so much more than we could ever give. Where else will you find thousands of leather clad, badass bikers getting all teary-eyed and choked up as they deliver toys to these awesome kids, having to spend their holiday in the hospital? Just the short ride from the Aurora Sports Park to Children’s Hospital gets to me every time, as people stand on the side of the road with signs thanking the bikers for their gifts to the children. And when we go into the hospital and are received by such an appreciative staff and occasionally get to spend time with the children, it’s nothing short of life changing!
Make every mile a memory!
