City of Firsts Harley Owners Group logged most miles in the nation
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“Congratulations! You’re No. 1!”
Ginger Brankle wasn’t sure what she had just heard. She asked the voice on the other end of the line to repeat it.
“You’re not just No. 1 in the region; you’re No. 1 in the nation!”
The voice came from the regional director of the national Harley Owners Group, or HOG. As the local director of the Kokomo “City of Firsts” HOG chapter 1252, Brankle was floored by the news.
“He caught me off guard with the congratulations,” said Brankle. “I asked him to repeat the exact words for me again, because I’ve got people in my group who will ask for some kind of proof. It was pretty darn exciting!”
The Kokomo HOG chapter logged more miles ridden per member than any group in the nation in 2025. That’s quite an accomplishment for a group with fewer than 40 members. They surpassed the mileage ridden by nearly 500 other HOG chapters in the U.S.
“For a small chapter to come out No. 1, it’s pretty surprising,” said Brankle. “I was looking at the chapters that we outranked, and like, there’s one in the California region. You know they’ve got good riding all year round. With us, when it gets cold, I don’t ride, not very often anyways.”
The Kokomo HOG chapter meets regularly and conducts various rides and challenges throughout the year. Brankle explained that the group often gets together for a long-haul ride, and each month there is a Wednesday evening ride to dinner and back. There also are mileage and destination challenges posted by the group.
The challenges involve logging a specified distance in some cases. In others, it requires the riders to travel to a destination and taking a photo to verify the challenge was completed.
“It’s about getting out and riding,” said Brankle. “They have a mileage contest with national HOG organization, and we have a local challenge inside of our chapter. And we’re having a destination challenge. At the end of October, we’ll have everybody tallied up and award some prizes and bragging rights.”
The local chapter also holds a Christmas party each year, along with a dart tournament in February when it is too cold to ride. They also like to give something back to the community. For the past 13 years, the Kokomo HOG chapter was raised funds for the Military Foundation.
“We like to do long haul riding,” said Brankle. “We go out and have dinners. It’s about riding with like-minded friends.”
Joining the local HOG chapter requires little more than owning a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and an annual $20 fee. Membership in the national HOG organization is $59 per year. However, people who purchase a new motorcycle from Harley-Davidson of Kokomo won’t have to worry about the fees. The dealership will cover them for the first year.
For additional information about the Kokomo HOG chapter, Brankle suggests people stop by the local Harley-Davidson dealership, where the chapter maintains a message board. They also can reach out to the chapter by emailing cof.hog1252@gmail.com.