Through the rain and on to Prague HOG!

So when we looked at the weather forecast and saw rain, we were not surprised. It IS Germany in May. We seem to alternate between an exciting 2 and 3 days of gorgeus weather then back to the cold shift and rainfall shoving us back indoors. But we had been wanting to go to the Prague Harley Owner Group (HOG) Rally for over a month – since Fletch had found it.  SO despite the clouds growing on the forecast, we packed and gave our gear to Kissler on Friday morning (he was driving his SUV up there since his Harley is actually in the USA) and planned that we would go unless some major storm took over.

We rolled out of Ansbach around 1400.  The sun peaking in and out of puffy clouds, the air cool but not a bad ride.  On we road the B14 through Nurnberg.  Our route:
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Trying to stay away from the autobahn actually put another hour on our ride, Nurnberg was a slow roll, having to go AROUND the centrum to get to the other side.  The air grew cooler.  As we approached the Czech border the clouds became darker, the temperature dropped, and no more than we crossed, then I saw the drops hit my face shield.  We rolled on… the rain began to soak into our clothes.  My foot began to shake.  We had to get on the Highway as the other route took us way to far from our destination.  Pils was our first stop – Fletch had wanted a Pilsen in Pils.  Not sure what that means?

Plzeň (German: Pilsen) is a city in western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is the capital of the Plzeň Region and the fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic. It is located about 90 km west of Prague at the confluence of four rivers (Radbuza, Mže, Úhlava, and Úslava) which form the Berounka River.

Plzeň is also the seat of the Municipality with Extended Competence and Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority. The city is known worldwide for Pilsener beer.

It would be our final stop that evening, the rain did NOT stop and we were approaching hypothermia.  We decided to stay the night at the Hotel York (our bill? 1300 Krone which equals 50 Euro!)  A great little stop and we were dry and ready to roll out at 0730 the next morning, after enjoying a Pilsner at the bar the night before and a very yummy dinner.

We rolled into Prague (Praha) around 0930, in time to eat breakfast with a much needed cup of coffee and meet up with the rest of the Ansbach Crew.  Kissler, Showers, Wolfgang, Jess, Abela (whoms V-star I’m hoping to purchase), Bounds and his brother in from Florida.  It was going to be a cold, wet weekend, full of memories of FUN.  First item on the agenda, a 1 hour Harley ride through Prague.

I have no idea, how to explain to you if you do not ride… how this ride feels.  Over 200 bikes, a mixture of Harleys and other cruisers, even … some “crotch-rocket” style bikes.  Friends of Harley Owners ride… it doesn’t matter if you own a Harley, just love to RIDE!    And we all did.  It was a bit amazing when we realized that the Police had barrakaded the roads as we rolled, people on the sides waved and photographed these beautiful cruisers as they rolled on through the city.  The rumble was earth shaking!

We returned to the campsite and parked the bikes all in a horshoe: the Bike Games would NOW begin.  What the heck… is a bike game?  I was soon to learn.  If you ride, you might understand how hard it is to roll your bike at a slow speed without putting your foot down to ensure you are balanced.  Well compete against someone … some people have some amazing skills!  Though the other game I saw was rolling your bike under a dangling brautwurst while your biker babe stood on the back pegs and plucked the dangling sausage from its string with her mouth!  SKILLS.

The rain began again and we took this time to set up the tent, I stayed inside and napped while Fletch had man time with they guys and they smoked cigars and sat with music playing from Kisslers SUV.  The band as well was starting up mainstage for the evenings festivites:  Wet tshirt, and STRIP tease.  Manland!

I woke to my husband peaking in at me, to tell me the rain had stopped.  We joined the group heading over to the restaurant for dinner.  As we sat at long tables with people from places local (the Prague crew) and far… France, Stuttgart Germany, Spain… the list goes on.  The number of American military was suprising, and the fact that most spoke English made communicating with each other a breeze.  Good food, Good Beer, and good people.  The start of a great evening.

We made it over to the stage and the music was already in full swing, unfortunately so were the clouds rolling in and we quickly all packed ourselves into a pre-world war tent and the party kept in full swing.  As the evening darkened the rain finally backed off again.  The rest is a matter of what happens in Prague, stays in …

Photos posted as always on my SHUTTERFLY Site: http://jenostrander2008.shutterfly.com/1477

We rolled back this morning, choosing to take the Highway to the Autobahn instead of back roads.  It may have been a bit crazy feeling but honestly shaving off two hours at least!  We stopped at the border – the Asian Market!  CHEAP shopping… then continued on.  I must say my butt is finally not numb after at least an hour long soak in the tub.  I’m much happy to be home, but what an amazing weekend.  I wish I could describe more eloquently how awesome it was to be in a group of people who all have a bond, a common joy.  How even with the cold and the rain – it was so worth the weather to take part in something so full of LIFE.  Hope you enjoy the pics, and if you ever get the chance – its an annual event.  Don’t miss it.