Marking 30 years of H.O.G. Lipa Chapter Slovenija

Members of H.O.G.^® Lipa Chapter Slovenija celebrated three decades of friendship, camaraderie and many kilometres of riding together

Words by Ana Ivančič

H.O.G.^® Lipa Chapter Slovenija was founded in September 1995, when the local dealership came together with a handful of enthusiasts – the first Slovenian Harley^® owners. Its name pays homage to “lipa” (meaning lime tree), the national tree of Slovenia, and choosing such a patriotic name meant a lot to its members at the time. Plus, fittingly, the chapter used to gather around a lime tree in front of the dealership before every road trip.

So far, there have been three different chapter directors at the helm: the first was Rastko Korošec, who was in charge for 17 years; then Miha Mušič, a music lover and proud owner of three Harleys, who led the way for eight years (he and his wife remain very active within the chapter to this day); and, for the past five years, the director has been the exuberant Peter Breskvar.

Lipa Chapter is the only chapter in Slovenia and currently has 183 active members, including 80 life members. There are also two dozen Ladies of Harley^®, who mostly ride Big Twins, and are active in organising chapter activities, as well as LOH-only road trips – they even rented Harleys in Tenerife and had a blast there a few years ago!

The main event
In honour of the 30th anniversary of Lipa Chapter, members planned a whole weekend of celebrations at the end of August. The party started on Friday, at the wedding of one of the Ladies of Harley. On Saturday, they went for an early ride up to the mountain town of Tržič, where a local museum was showcasing trophies from the career of former Olympic skier and honorary chapter member, Bojan Križaj. The chapter members were expected and treated as high guests, having the privilege of being led around the exhibition by Bojan himself.

Afterwards, the riders continued on – with a police escort – to a restaurant near Ljubljana, where they enjoyed a delicious lunch and the fun felt as though it would never end. Further festivities awaited at the Two Riders bar – a regular meeting place for the chapter, ordinarily on a Thursday night – and, just before the party reached it’s peak, the inevitable director’s speech took place. There were many congratulations and gifts for members, plus a prize draw offering some great rewards, such as two pairs of skis, and black T-shirts in honour of the late Simon Hribar, a beloved honorary chapter member who sadly passed away this year at the age of 94 – but was riding his Harley-Davidson^®, complete with sidecar, almost to the very end of his life.

The celebrations ended on Sunday morning with a light breakfast and strong coffee, plus a firm commitment from all to keep the chapter going for another 30 years. In its time, Lipa Chapter has achieved some amazing things, one of the most important of which is three decades’ worth of donations from membership fees to CIRIUS Kamnik, an institute that helps support young people with disabilities. Chapter members have not only donated around €100,000 to this charity so far, but have also been volunteering to take youngsters out for a spin on their Harleys every year. This has become a tradition and is definitely a highlight of the year for the children.

Beyond the party
Other annual chapter activities include The Dreamrun to collect donations for CIRIUS, a blood donation campaign, the New Year’s party, opening and closing season parties, and The Ski Run – a competitive skiing event held each March, where members are joined by Bojan Križaj, who also rides a beautiful silver Harley-Davidson V-Rod^®.

Chapter members also have close friendships with other parts of the wider H.O.G. community, especially Pleter Chapter and Dalmacija Chapter in Croatia and Styria Chapter in Austria. Together with the Croatian chapters, Lipa Chapter has taken a turn at organising one of the Alpe Adria events, which took riders on a long ride from Slovenia, through Croatia, to Bosnia and Herzegovina and then back again. Naturally, chapter members have also helped out at the two European H.O.G. Rally events hosted in the gorgeous town of Portorož.

Looking to the future, Lipa Chapter aims to build on this with more fundraising and outreach, with a determination to bring the brand closer to people and persuade other Harley-Davidson riders to join the H.O.G. community.