I purchased my Electra Glide in the fall of 1989. Just by doing so, I automatically became a member of HOG international for one year. It seemed only logical then to join the local HOG chapter as well. Although I had many years experience on different motorcycles, this would be my first Harley. Being a newbie in this regard, I did not feel comfortable with the idea of going to my first chapter meeting knowing that I could not call myself a real Harley rider for another six months. I reasoned that the chapter membership was made up of veteran bikers who would have little time for someone who could still be essentially classified as a wannabe. So I waited until the following spring and finally joined when I could actually ride to a meeting. More than a decade had passed by since I last belonged to a motorcycle club (see York Wings MC). Except for the bikes now being exclusively v-twins with mostly loud exhausts, and the membership a bit more hairy, I immediately felt right at home. I joined the chapter during the tail end of a period when the group as a whole was still working out its identity. One percenter clubs in particular had a hard time understanding what HOG was all about. They appeared to be worried that citizens might have a problem telling the difference between themselves, the 1% patch holders, and ordinary Harley enthusiasts. Certainly the police did. After all, both groups generally had beards, long hair, and displayed colors prominently on their cut-offs. To the outlaw clubs, having any biker ride through their self proclaimed territories with club emblems on their back could be viewed as an affront to their credibility, and a loss of face. To the police, HOG was just another group of criminals to be watched closely and photographed. In the early nineties, the Outlaws MC had a strong presence in the Ottawa area. In no uncertain terms, they had made it very clear that HOG members were not to wear their large HOG patches while riding their bikes. We could, we were told, wear them at our group functions. Failure by us to comply with these demands risked a roadside meeting with an Outlaw. At the very least, our patch would be confiscated, and from the stories that were circulated at the time, it would be done none too gently either.
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