Rolling Thunder: The Ride Up

I do not think it could have been a prettier day! The only exception would be the teeny tinier issue of a bit too much heat—LOL—after all the cold I’ve ridden in, I’ll take the heat any day of the week!!

The Destination: Rolling Thunder on Memorial Day weekend in our nation’s capital. Number of riders: four on two motorcycles. The other female in our group of four has never been on the back of a motorcycle. Oh boy….and she’s going to be on a three hour trip on the back of a motorcycle. I’m thinking that it’ll be interesting if anything!!

Once again, I am allotted my half T-bag space. Not to worry, I take what I need with a bit of room to spare. If I’m not mistaken, I think I did end up with a couple of items of clothing that came back as clean as they left!

Must have meant I took too much gear, eh??

Coming from Virginia Beach means riding through a tunnel

As I was on the back, I was designated the “official” photographer of this event for our motorcycle. Which also translates to “have to pay attention”…..Rats, I was really looking forward to being bungeed in and taking a nap! Well, I won’t go that far….

Motorcycle with an ocean view *grins*

Okay, so I have to pay attention enough to take advantage of photo opportunities. Fair enough. Heck, I it is Rolling Thunder!!! Whoooooo hooooooooo!!!

The ride up to DC was a nice trip and I spent a good bit of time jamming to the tunes on my iPod and waving at the folks as we went by. Alright, I admit, I am having way too much fun waving at all the cars, motorcycles and people to be thinking about taking pictures. My wonderful host and front seat driver wasn’t too annoyed at my antics and didn’t fuss much at my wiggliness and moving around.

Of course, getting to Fredericksburg wasn’t too much of an ordeal—unless you are annoyed with the traffic. Yes, it was east coast traffic at its finest. It was pretty horrendous as far as any traffic that I’m accustomed to. I think this was one time I was actually glad to not be on the front!

Except I had to hear the griping about the traffic. Of course, it’s all a wash. I griped about my back-seat status and my partner in crime griped about the traffic. I think it was pretty much a wash. No, wait, I think he griped more…..ha ha ha!!!

Up until this point, I have not seen the big “R” word….rain. We’ve been watching the clouds develop the further north we get, but until this point, it’s been dry. That dry spell of course, is asking to be broken. Oh yes, we did get rain!! Thank goodness I did bring my raingear so a stop under the token interstate bridge gets a quick change. Unfortunately, my friends didn’t have their gear, so they got soaked. Still, I have to give props to my other girlfriend rider—she was new on the back of a bike. Heck, she was new on a bike period! What a heck of an initiation!!

Fortunately, the rain did not last long and didn’t add too many problems with the amount of traffic. Well, the traffic was a nightmare to begin with, so the rain didn’t really compound the issue significantly.

I will admit (and this is a big step—a girl admitting to anything), that I was really glad not to be riding my own in the traffic we were in!! My friend will probably never let me hear the end of that, so we won’t tell him…so shhhhhhhhhhhhh………..

Hotel found, check in complete and we get out for short jaunt—to meet up for dinner with my Run For The Wall friend Karla to catch up on the road gossip and find out some details about Rolling Thunder and the schedule for Saturday and Sunday. We do manage to get out to a couple of hot spots in Arlington—for the most part, it is an early night in to prepare for the activities for the rest of the weekend.

Oh, and least I forget...I couldn't resist for all the griping I did and the good-natured spirit of humor....

THE VIEW FROM BEHIND!!!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine *grins*

On the Road to Rolling Thunder

Bags packed…check…
Bike washed….check….
Gassed up….check….
Geared up….check…..
Sun block on…..check…..
Safety inspection….check…

Waiting for the front seat rider….still waiting!!

LOL….

Got a few minutes before we leave for DC for Rolling Thunder this afternoon.  It is somewhat overcast—more or less a hot, humid, and hazy day for traveling.  I got out early this morning to run some last minute errands and the breeze during the ride was nice…waiting at the traffic lights was not!!  

I’m excited to be going!!  I love the history of DC to begin with and to do this ride is really turning my crank.  I wished that we could have joined the last leg for Run For the Wall, but the timing was not going to let it happen, so no worries.  It’ll be there next year.  

One day I hope to do like my friend Karla and ride the whole run.  I’d like to take my son along as well….it’ll happen…in a number of years….

Have a safe Memorial Day Weekend…..I plan on taking lots of pics as I’m the designated picture taker this time *smiles*….

Be safe out there and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do….

I’ll be back up on Monday or Tuesday to post the journey!!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Myrtle Beach: The Rally

Was it Only One Day?

It seemed like it was more than one day…LOL!! The day started late—to gray and overcast skies. Great….rain. Fortunately, the weather forecast was that the skies would clear and it would be a great day. So, if there is no riding, then hey, I’m all for grabbing breakfast.

One thing about Myrtle Beach is the abundance of swim shops, Hooters (yes, this little tidbit of information caught the eye of our little group), and pancake houses. You know you are in trouble when you see chocolate chip pancakes on the menu!!! LOL…. I didn’t have them, but one of the riders in our group is a chocolate fanatic…so you know what he had!!!

The skies did clear up, so we set off to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center to get the official HOG event pin. I’m a pin collector so this chick is happy! It also garnered free entry into the mini-swap meet in the convention center. Free is always good!!!

The Myrtle Beach Convention Center

There wasn’t much to see so wandering around looking at the vendor stuff didn’t take much time. It was amazing to see the three off-road riders that were performing riding stunts. It was amazing to watch them do the aerial stunts…inside, on the slick floor with very limited space! Besides the WOW and OMG factors, the thought “you know, that is someone’s child doing those stunts” crossed my mind. YIKES!!!

Must….keep….Alex (my son)….far….away!!!

None of my images of the stunt riding turned out. I was having an off camera day.

Pin collected and stunt riding done, we wandered out to the next stop…..to the Harley dealership. That was one packed parking lot!! Motorcycles, motorcycles, motorcycles for days!!! And vendor booths hawking everything imaginable for days!! Whoooohoooooo…..feeding this girl’s need to shop AND for motorcycle stuff!!! Can’t get any better than that (or so you’d think).

Look at the Sea of Bikes!!!

I did manage to pick up my hip purse….red leather with fringe. My girlfriends have black…so you know I can’t have the same thing…imagine my happiness in finding red!! I see rhinestones in the future (grins). “Official” rally pin in hand, I’m a happy camper. I also spot some cool chrome accessories but I am reminded that we came via bike so I’m space limited.

After the pin stops and purchase of the BTDT T-shirt next thing on the agenda was the Pudding Wrestling at the Rat Hole. Yes, said that right…pudding wrestling. For the record, no, I did not participate. I knew I was going to be teamed up with the 300 pound woman!!! No, thanks, I don’t want to be squashed like a bug.

The pudding wrestling was interesting. Get a swimming pool, put chocolate pudding in, cut it with water and add a bunch of women clad in white tank tops and shorts to wrestle for a pot of $500+ dollars…hmmmmm…it was entertaining!!! Very not for me, lol…

Chocolate pudding wrestling done, we headed out to the Suck Bang Blow Bar to watch the burn out. Why someone does something like that to a motorcycle is beyond me…but it sure is cool to watch! Especially when you add lighter fluid and set it on fire!!

Fire....not necessarily good...but pretty cool nonetheless!

With the rain blowing in, we decided to head out and call it a night. It was a heck of a downpour coming in and no way did any of our group want to be caught in it….besides we head back to the hotel we can throw back a few brews and not worry about riding.

Sunday, we headed out with all the rest of the traffic…par for the course. Close the chapter on Myrtle Beach. It was a fun time, really cool bikes to look at and of course, pudding wrestling. What more can you ask for *grins*…..

This weekend: Rolling Thunder in Washington DC. I’ll see my girlfriend Karla who did the run from California….I can’t wait to hear her stories!!

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Getting To Myrtle Beach

It’s a glorious Friday afternoon!  I’m allocated one half of the designated T-bag and am packed (thank goodness I’m a light packer, eh??) and ready to go….. Exactly where am I going?  Myrtle Beach!  This rally has been going on for the past 65 years, so when I had the opportunity to go….hey, I went!!!

Our trip began in Virginia, so we already had a three-hundred plus mile ride to begin with.  No worries…I’ve done rides as long as that and had no problem staying in the saddle.  Of course, that is assuming that riding on the back is as comfortable as riding on the front—which it is not!!  Of course, my lovely friend who graciously offered the invite was more than accommodating and I shouldn’t gripe too much…..or at least so much to find the offer withdrawn and then the motorcycle rider in red finds herself standing on the corner and not in Winslow, AZ…either!!!!  LOL!!  

Aside from a sore booty, the ride down was fun.  Being on the back presents some challenges as far as riding goes.  I rarely ride on the back because of the safety issue—and trusting the rider’s ability is my biggest problem.  I often hear of passengers that don’t give much thought to their drivers—and am amazed.  I, on the other hand, have to be absolutely sure of the rider’s skill before I put my life in their hands.  

I did not need to worry—as I was in good hands and on the back of a gorgeous Road King named Brie.  She is as lovely as her owner and I knew I was in for a great ride!!!

The ride down was spectacular; as beautiful as the roads of Virginia, North and South Carolina can be.  I stated before—I had forgotten just how beautiful and green everything is.  What a contrast to the climate of Colorado!!  Although the scenery was fabulous, the traffic was not.  Sigh.  I found that traffic was an issue on the whole trip.  It is quite annoying to be headed down the road and the cars are just in the way!!!  LOL!!!    However, it was a minor annoyance and we did manage our way down to Myrtle Beach—eventually!

The Myrtle Beach Bike Week has been on-going for the last 65 years and basically the whole town is the rally.  That was wonderful because there is so much to see.  The drawback, however, makes for inconvenient getting around because of having to navigate through the sea of motorcycles and cars.  Fortunately for me, I was on the back so I didn’t have to actually do the navigation.  I found another bonus:  really getting to look at the other motorcycles on the road around me!!!  

Whooohoooo….maybe there’s more to being on the back than I thought!!

We also passed another red/silver 15th Anniversary Fatboy that had to have been my Mr. Chubb’s brother or sister.  Sigh.  Okay, I’ll admit…I miss my motorcycle!

We didn’t get into Myrtle Beach until after dark, so after checking in we headed out for a spot of dinner and then…typical of the hard-core party folks we are—we went to bed.  Gotta rest up for Saturday, of course…..

Stay tuned for the rest of the story….

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Motorcycle Adventure of the Week: Myrtle Beach

Let me come up for air!!!  It’s been quiet in blog land—at least at Christine’s Corner since this motorcycle rider has been out of town.  Out of town, you say?  Yes, sigh, I was forced to take a weekend for the end of Bike Week at Myrtle Beach!!

Unfortunately, my motorcycles are safe and sound—in my garage.  *Gasp* again—no, I didn’t rent a bike but rather rode on the back!!  Do I have enough fingers on my hand to count back the months since I rode on the back??  LOL….

Actually, I do (but barely).  The last time I was on back was in March—I rode on the back in California.  Before then, it was in September when I got my Fatboy.

Some of my friends are howling!  It’s all good, however.  Well, except I do miss the front seat.  Literally!  The back pillion is just not as comfortable no matter how many times you slice and dice the concept!    It doesn’t quite cradle my behind as well as the front seat, ya know??

However, there are benefits on being on back.  For one, I can check out the scenery and not pay as much attention to the road ahead.  I’d forgotten how beautiful and green the land around me was.  The tall pine trees…and the tall pine tree pollen!!  

Plus being back in the south is nice!!  Except now I have this drawl back!!  

Oh well, I can think of worse things to complain about, eh??

I’ll have some Myrtle Beach pics up to post soon along with a few stories….

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Bents Old Fort

Our Sunday ride was to Bent’s Old Fort. Located 110 miles southeast of Colorado Springs, Old Fort Bent was a trading post on the trade network on the Santa Fe Trail. The Santa Fe Trail opened in 1821 and was on a route first traveled by the American Indians.

We had four riders: Jeanne, Benny, Leafer, and me. We talked about the route and the destination, saddled up and rode off. Leafer was the “appointed” leader since he knew where we were going!

The ride out was nice…the temps were cool enough to warrant jackets and gloves. Still, the sunshine was nice early and it was great to get out on the open road and ride!!! We rode out on the plains side, so it was more straight line riding—which is great. Feeds the need for speed….which is not as fun as the twisties, but still goooooood!

I had about a half of tank of gas and knew I could make it down to Fort Bent. Of course, I didn’t realize that Leafer was going to take the extra long route, so when my needle dropped down towards empty; I reminded Leafer that I needed to get gas. He said thirty miles…and then we could stop. I hadn’t flipped over to reserve….but it was going to be close.

I didn’t run out of gas, but we all got a huge laugh at the gas pump when I filled up. I had to been on fumes…considering I got more fuel in my tank than the tank is designed for!!

How'd I do that??

It’s always something, isn’t it??

Scavenger Hunt pic: Fort Bent

The whole trip down to Fort Bent was for the Scavenger Hunt. Since we are down there, we have to tour the facility. Leafer has lived in Colorado some twenty plus years and has never been!! It was a new experience for the four of us. It was really cool to wander around the compound. The compound itself is a reconstruction from notes and drawings from Lt. James Albert back in 1846.

The compound served as a trading post and a stop for travelers and a storage facility for the military.

Now THAT'S what I call a tool room!!

The Trade Room

Liquor Storage

Officer's Quarters: Look at the size of that bed...yikes!!

Enlisted sleeping quarters: okay the small bed doesn't look so bad.....

I don’t know about you, but I do know that I’m quite the modern girl. Yeah, give me the comforts of modern suburbia…

Let me out!

Where's the microwave??

However, it is pretty cool to see the historical things of this state. I’m glad that I didn’t take twenty years before making out this way.

The ride back was nice, I got to lead most of the way. Leafer and I had a deal—he led the way down, I led the route back.

Two hundred sixty miles for the day. I’ll take it!! On the way up Powers, I noticed the odometer....I just turned over 10,000 miles...back in the shop my Fatboy goes....I just had it in for maintenance the end of March.....

Keep They Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Scavenger Hunt Riding…Next Volume

I haven’t had much of an opportunity to do Scavenger Hunting, so after the Mother’s Day Run and a bunch of errands, Jeanne and I headed out around town to do some Scavenger hunting. Especially after talking with Kelly and Paul during breakfast and finding out that she has over 500 points! Time to get Harley in gear!

That and Chris E. tells me she has a photo with a purple corvette!!

Sigh…all in good time!!

There’s so much to get from around town and every time I check the list I find more things that I can get around the area. My memory doesn’t hold all the stuff and Jeanne was poking fun at me—I *should* know since I created the list. Yeah, well, I have a hard time remembering my name most of the time, so how can I expect to remember more than three things at a time on the list? Not me!!!

I think the funniest story of the afternoon was getting the police station. Jeanne asked me if I had one—nope! Off we go to the Sand Creek satellite station. Pulling into the “authorized vehicle only” driveway (okay, we pulled in to get out of traffic, not up with the vehicles) and were talking about shooting the image—can we get the sign and/or police station in the shot? Hmmm….the light comes on…a bright idea…..just pull up next to the sign!

I can do that by either riding down the sidewalk or in traffic along the edge of the road. Hey, I’m all about safety so up the sidewalk I go! Come to find out after the fact….that I could have gotten a ticket for riding my motorcycle on the sidewalk….LOL. Jeanne’s yelling at me as I ride away!! LOL. Well, I’ve committed to this crime, so I just do like a thief in the night—hop off the bike, shoot the image, and drive off.

Of course, Jeanne pulls up behind me on the sidewalk as well….she’s saying “you know we are going to get busted, you know my luck, I’ll get a ticket and it’ll be all your fault….BECAUSE WE ARE IN FRONT OF THE POLICE STATION….”

My partner in crime for the day!!

Uhhhh…could be, maybe, possibly so….so let me hurry up and shoot the image and get the heck off the sidewalk then!!

LOL!

Other items: mall, bakery, post office, flag pole, furniture store, billboard (yes guys, its one word—I had bill board on the “official” list) and whole lot of other items. One last item: The World Arena. Thank goodness that there wasn’t an event going on—the parking lot was empty. Jeanne pulls her bike up in front of the building and takes her shot. I, on the other hand, want the image in front of the big honking sign…so once again I’m up on the walkway!!

Hey, it was a cool shot….see….

Enough scavenger hunting done….dinner it is. There’s a new restaurant in town….the Orange Oasis. Don’t go there….this is a one-hit wonder. The food writer at the Gazette must have been daft in the head to have written the review he did because it was NOT all that!!

Scavenger hunting and dinner done, I point my Fatboy north and head home. At this point, it is past 9 PM…so basically it was an all day in the saddle day. This motorcycle rider’s bootie is tired….

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

The Mother’s Day Run

8:00AM was the magical hour for yesterday. Headed down to Perkins for our monthly Mountain Shadow Rider’s meeting. I get in early enough to eat breakfast and visit with the members. WOW!! Lots of new faces!!!

I didn’t take a one photo :-(.

The meeting was a short and sweet one; we wanted to get out and over to Pike’s Peak Harley Davidson for the Mother’s Day Run. Originally, the magic number was six—Christine E, Jeanne, Patricia, Nina, a new rider (I can’t remember her name—she’s on a Red Vulcan) and myself. Yes, a pack of six girls doing the run! It’s all good, I’m not leading!!!

At the dealership we were so late that most everyone was gone—so it was draw our cards, a couple of ladies ask to ride in so they join our group and we ride out!!!

Christine E is leading the pack and it is a nice jaunt through town. First stop: Java the Hut in Woodland Park. It is a beautiful day with warm temps—perfect—riding weather!! The ride up to Woodland Park is always fun, some twisties and climbing up into the mountains.

Once we get to Woodland Park, we meet up with the other folks we were to ride with. Steve and Benny are out in the parking lot and razz us for being so late. Err…we aren’t late….we just took a little longer getting out! Cards punched coffee smelled, saddle up and away we go.

The game is a blind poker hand….at the beginning I was given an envelope with a card inside and the game was to go to stop to stop and draw a chip out of the bag. Whichever chip you drew got your card punched in the corresponding spot. So it’s a poker hand, except you have no idea what you have…until they open the envelope and score the sheet.

Next stop: The candy store. I see where this is headed…coffee shop first, candy store next and then ice cream shop. Yeah, we’ll all be buzzing. I was eating a particularly wonderful piece of toffee while I was standing in the parking lot. Patricia said I looked like I was in heaven. Yeah….toffee and chocolate—gooooood!!!

We were a bit confused on the next stop, so Steve agreed to take the lead. I think at this point we had eleven bikes. Off we went and promptly left Jeanne and Benny. They finally caught us—whew!!

The next stop was the Cold Stone Creamery so Leafer is tooling down the roads. We get to the parking lot—and enter in. Okay, I’m thinking that this is possibly a short cut? A way to avoid traffic?? Hmmmmm. We pull up to Stone Cold Creamery.

It’s the wrong one!!!

Well, he got us there, alright…just not the right “there”!!!

No worries, we just all laugh at him and get back on the road. If you know Steve, you know he’s funny as can be and a really nice man. I’ve ridden with him on several occasions. He always teases me about riding on the back of my bike…I dunno…something about be having nice handles to grab on to. Yeah, we’ll let that remark slide!

Get to the ice cream shop—our group and the sweep team pull in together. So we are a bit lost and confused but get there at any rate. I ignore the temptation of all that ice cream calling my name..get my enveloped punched and get the &%## out!!

Down to the dealership—lunch and chatting with my fellow riders is the focus of the afternoon. It was fun, lots of prizes, great food, and of course a fun ride. Nina won this great gift basket!!

On an end note, it was great to see Nina. I haven’t seen her since Halloween and hadn’t ridden with her since the Breast Cancer Ride. Sadly, she’s leaving soon so we are all going to get together and do a lunch and a ride. What a way to send off one of your girlfriends, eh?? I think it’s great!!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Life: The Adventure of a Lifetime

My Yahoo! 360 page is my blog that has all the other “stuff” that isn’t on this page; it is more of my ranting and musing of everyday life.   The major thing going on in my life (besides motorcycles that is) is my dear friend Mark.  I am going to lose him very soon.

All of this has had me thinking the past few days about life’s adventures.  I was talking to my girlfriend yesterday about the extraordinary experiences I have had and pondered this question:  if I were to go today, would I have regret for doing the things I have not or have done?

Without doubt or hesitation, I know that the answer is no.  I would have no regrets.  Well, I have moments in which I should have zigged when life zagged, but overall, no I do not wish that I had taken any different steps.   Only because in order for me to be in this very place at this very moment required me to go through all I’ve been through.  Where I stand is the sum total of what I’ve done.

Some life stories are extraordinarily good; some are downright terrible.  However, they are all mine and I cling to them because without them; exactly what is it that we are supposed to be doing?  Yes, it’s a risk to live…but on the flip side we are all dying and that is the end point that we all eventually come to.   Until that point comes, I choose to keep redefining my life.

One of my favorite sayings is “life is too short to drink bad wine….oh wait, you have to drink all wine before you can learn if it’s good or bad…..therefore life is too short to continue to drink bad wine”.   Mark was scheduled to have major surgery six weeks ago—something that needed to be done, but basically not life-threatening.  Yesterday he was given a week to live.  At this stage in the game of life there’s not much time or quality of life to live but a matter of waiting for the end.   As selfish as it is to want him to stay, I know in my heart that his suffering has to end and I need to let him go.

KT’s motto is:  “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, a glass of a good cabernet in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO WHAT A RIDE!”  She’s absolutely right.

I walked past my motorcycles yesterday and gave pause to a ride that won’t happen:  Mark won’t be here to ride with me this summer.  I will miss him, that’s for certain.  This is a reminder to live life as you should—embrace the opportunities that come your way, open a few doors if you have to.  Love the people that come into your life for whatever reason and let them go when you need to.  Appreciate the things you have—even if it is only to ride a mile down the road and you want so much more.  A lot of things can happen in that one mile; it’s up to you to recognize it and cherish the time instead of worrying about the end.  After all, the end is the chance for a better adventure to start isn’t it??

Not much of a motorcycle adventure, but a page out of this rider’s life.

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Now THAT’S A Ride!

Last night I had the honor of going to an awards dinner for my friend’s daughter, Lil’ Bit. Lil’ Bit is a high-school junior. It was wonderful to see the kids get their awards—just the enthusiasm and energy of high schoolers was just great to see!

We had ten to our table and I thoroughly enjoyed with the guests I sat with. What a terrific way to meet new people!! My girlfriend had told me that her daughter would probably not win an award; to my delight—she did!! Congrats to Lil’ Bit on being recognized for all her hard work!!

The guest speaker was none other than Duane Carey, pilot for the Space Shuttle Columbia. Now, I’ve always been the geek and love science, so when he got up to speak, I was mesmerized! It was so neat to hear the narration of his mission along with the video presentation. What made it over the top was the fact that his mission was for the March, 2002, servicing of the Hubble Telescope! Yes, this red motorcycle rider was enthralled!! I don’t think my grin could have gotten any bigger during the whole presentation!! Whoooo hooooooo!!

The presentation came to an end much too quickly and there was a short question and answer session. The audience asked lots of interesting questions concerning spaced travel. Sadly, the dinner came to an end and it was time to go. However, our little group hung around a bit to chit-chat with the other guests. I had a chance to speak with Lt. Col. Carey which made a perfect close to a fantastic evening!

Why is this story here on Christine’s Corner? There’s no reference to anything regarding motorcycles except my blurb on the motorcycle rider in red being there. Well, come to find out, Lt. Col. Carey carried the AMA flag with him on the mission. Not only is he a pilot of one of the coolest pieces of machinery in the world, he’s a motorcycle rider!! Now, how cool is that? See, there is a motorcycle connection, after all!

I don’t know how I always seem to have these great experiences, but I’m certainly glad I do!! I was honored that I was allowed to share the awards ceremony with my friend and her family, enjoy the company of the wonderful people at our table, heard the fantastic story of the Columbia mission (to the Hubble Telescope no less!!!!!), and have a tie in with motorcycles!!

Gotta love it!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Don’t Watch Me…Watch Where You Are GOING

That’s kind of important when you are driving.  I had a rare opportunity to get out for a Monday ride—my son was at his dad’s and I had errands to run.  Mr. Chubbs and I needed to make up for some bonding time that we missed out over the weekend.  Besides, I need gas in my van and I HATE GETTING GAS!!  

Okay, all thinly-veiled excuses to get out and ride!  Which I took complete advantage of.  I’ll admit it!!  I had errands to run, the temps were in the 70’s and it was a gorgeous day.

While I was at a traffic signal, I had a nice “red-light” chat with a couple in the next lane.  It was an elderly couple and the wife rolled down her window and was commenting on my bike.  She was asking me about the engine size of the Fatboy and wanting to know if I found it difficult to ride.  It was a nice two minute chat!!  

Errands done, I headed home--east on Austin Bluffs.  Evidently I found the one fellow that must not have ever seen a girl on a Harley because he ran over the curb watching me.  WATCH the road dude….you might run over a car, motorcyclist or pedestrian!!

As tempted as I was to say out and ride a bit more, I headed home.  I just had too much homework to do…sigh.   I just took the long way home and enjoyed that little scoot!

I know that there are some people that won’t fire up their motorcycle for a short in-town scoot.  I will because I do like riding in town.  It gives me a chance to work on those types of riding skills.  No, not as much fun as riding the twisties, but it is just as valuable practice to ride amongst the traffic.

Besides, I didn’t have gas in my van…hey, any “excuse” works for me!!

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Just a Teeny Tiny Scratch

For a BIG itch!!  LOL!!  I’ve been dealing with life, so riding has taken a back seat the last few weeks.  Not a bad thing, just a little longer time before I have to put the Fatboy in the shop for maintenance!!

Marking life by service intervals—gee what a life!

I did manage to get out for a couple of hours yesterday and did some in town riding.  I wanted to do it earlier in the day but the weather was particularly unhappy.  The sky darkened with the threat of rain, so I decided against a short scoot.  Anyone that lives in the state of Colorado knows that spring showers can morph into a pretty nasty hail storm.  Not particularly fun while on the back of a motorcycle (ya think??).  

However, the weather was bluffing.  By early evening the clouds ran away and once again, the sky was a brilliant blue.  The wind still held a bite of coldness, so full leathers was the choice of garb.  

It was great to hear the rumblies of the Fatboy under my seat.  I couldn’t believe that just two short weeks off was enough to have some rustiness around the edges as far as my riding skills were concerned.  Not really a problem—however, the ride showed me the necessity of consistently riding…if not just for pleasure, but to keep my skills sharp!

That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.  Anything to ride, eh??

My short jaunt around town was nothing like the scheduled ride that my friends did.  Sigh, I was so envious of them—being out in the mountains and from what I heard—freezing!!!  LOL.  Well, they were warned that it was a cold ride.  When I hear mountain pass, I know to be prepared!!

I missed my friends riding, but getting out alone was therapy too.  Scratched the itch for a bit and gave me a chance to feel the (cold) wind on my face.  Let me get this homework kicked out and hopefully I’ll get the chance to ride this afternoon!!

On a footnote, I did talk to my friend out in California and was told that her friend hasn’t lost her leg.  It’s touch and go at the moment and could go either way.  Keep her in your prayers.

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

I’ve Been Published!!

A few weeks ago the editors at Clutch and Chrome approached me to work on a project they were getting off the ground. I was interested and contacted them to get the ball rolling.

I was quite delighted to be asked and once I found out the terms of the project, I decided to submit an article. It was an easy task: a story about why this motorcycle rider blogs. Thanks for the wonderful folks at C&C for putting my story up and doing an excellent job! I’m also honored to be the one that kicked the new series off!

Please check out the Clutch and Chrome website…not only will you find my story there, you’ll find lots of great information!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Ladies of Harley: May Meeting

Tuesday evening was a nice change of pace: I got to spend dinner with the Ladies of Harley (LOH). It’s always a pleasant affair; the ladies are a diverse and funny group of women. Surprisingly, there’s quite a few riders in comparison to ladies that ride on the back of…..not that being on the back is a bad thing, I’ll do it on occasion *smile*.

Tonight we covered the various topics and projects that are in the pipeline; a task that we normally do. However, tonight was also the compiling of the Harley Owner’s Group newsletter. A good many of us stayed after the meeting to so it could be mailed to the members.

While we were preparing the newsletter, the main topic of conversation was (naturally) riding! We talked about various rides and routes, who rides on dirt (me me me), rider stories and drops. What I find interesting is that I just posted a story on my drop and had brought that into the conversation tonight.

My fellow rider, Christine E. (I’m Christine F, by the way) disagreed on the ‘sitting on the side of the road and waiting’ statement. Evidently her experience wasn’t as pleasant as mine since her wait for assistance was quite a bit longer than mine. That’s too bad, of course, since all the experiences I’ve had concerning riding are for the most part pleasant. Naturally, since its Chris E, I couldn’t resist some good-natured ribbing!

While the atmosphere of the LOH is much different than the Mountain Shadow Riders, I still enjoy it because of the dynamics of the group. They are a great bunch of diverse personalities! I’ve yet to ride with them, however. That should change shortly as we are all going to do the Mother’s Day Run in a few weeks. The poker run is an interesting setup; one that I have not seen.

Hmmm…maybe then I’ll have a chance to actually win something!!

Keep the Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine

Finally!!

The official news can be broadcast…

Nicole finally got her new bike!!!  Wahoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

She’s on a Honda Shadow 750.  Red too….

Nicole was a victim of blind buying.  I’m not going to fault her; she got bad advice and took it without realizing it was bad advice.

She has another bike—I believe it’s a 550.  About 900 years old too!  Really, not that old, but I do know that it’s an “older” bike made from, um, steel.  All steel, weighs way too much and way to difficult to ride.  Her advice:  it’s a good sized starter bike…and a good deal.

The bike was an eBay purchase and yes, it was an excellent deal.  Until she got it out on the street and realized that it was not a good fit for her.  Too many close calls for an inexperienced rider on a bike that was uncomfortable with almost turned her off to riding altogether.   She did the smart thing and got off the road and waited.  And shopped.  

This time she did it the right way.  She shopped bikes and talked to the female riders in our group.  When she made the decision on the model and size, she was ready to pull the trigger.  Now it was a matter of finding what it was that she wanted.  Of course, she did and how!!

Yowza Nicole, it’s a beautiful bike and loaded out!!  I am so happy for you!  Every time a new bike would come into the MSR family my first question was always “is it Nicole”?  Well, this time it was and I’m thrilled for her!!!!

Congrats girl!  What a start to a beautiful relationship…..a girl and her bike!!

Keep The Shiny Side Up!

~The Rainbow Wahine