The Prairie Region Annual H.O.G. rally is being held in Medicine Hat July 14-16, 2022. (Photo Courtesy Meghan Cobb)

By Meghan Cobb

Bikers hitting Medicine Hat roads for annual Harley rally

Jul 15, 2022 | 3:05 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Close to 150 motorcycles are taking to Medicine Hat streets for the 15th annual Prairie Regional Harley Owner Group (H.O.G.) rally.

The Western Region H.O.G. is hosting the rally July 14-16 giving Harley owners a chance to connect with like-minded people.

“Harley people are very tight-knit,” says Rick Look, H.O.G. Chapter 9120 director and rally organizer, “They love to have fun, meet everyone and see who rides what. Rallies are very popular with the Harley community.”

This is the first full-scale event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and is welcoming riders from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and as far as Halifax, N.S. and Anchorage, Alaska.

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Look says making it easy for members to attend the rally was a planning priority.

“We’ve made it very economical for people to come to this,” Look explains. “There’s not frills involved, there’s no banquet, there’s no show and shine. Nothing extra, just rides.”

Guided and self-guided routes have been shared with those attending the rally. Friday’s rides include Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, Theresa Lake and Elkwater. On Saturday, riders will have the option to head to Dinosaur Provincial Park or Etzikom and its windmill museum.

Brewery and city tours are also offered for people who want to stick closer to town.

“We have a function so we can get together and have rides to different locations in the areas we’re in like sightseeing and points of interest,” says Brad Carver, Alberta and BC H.O.G. regional director.

Rallies are held in a different city each year, rotating through the region. Medicine Hat last hosted in 2019.

Harley-Davidson owners are proud of their bikes and the community rallies create. Gary Mack from Regina uses the gatherings as his summer holidays.

“I’m just out here for a holiday,” says Mack. “I’m retired but I enjoy sitting around talking to people, just having fun.”

Mack started riding motorcycles when he was 14 and has been a Harley owner for the past 20 years. He says the bikes are “just made better than most of them.”

This is Mack’s 14th rally. He keeps coming back because of the friends he has made travelling around Western Canada.

“You get to meet these people,” Mack says. “And then you go to the next rally and you can sit down and talk to them and discuss everything – riding, the state of affairs in the world, the whole nine yards.”

The community is what brought Brent Kizlyk from Lloydminster. He rode Japanese bikes until 2012 when he made the switch to Harleys, in part for what he calls ‘the brotherhood’.

“Everywhere you stop, you see another Harley rider,” Kizlyk says. “It’s always talk on the side of the road, a wave down the highway. If you break down you’ve got four or five bikes helping you in minutes.”

Lloyd Grainger attended the last rally in Medicine Hat and enjoyed it so much he made the trip down from Fort McMurray for this one.

“It was really a lot of fun,” says Grainger. “So we’re going to come down here, shake up the rattlesnakes, and enjoy the rides.”