Sisters Centennial Motorcycle Ride

Ladies here is a great opportunity to take part in an epic ride and honor women motorcyclists.  This Sisters’ Centennial Motorcycle Ride from New York to San Francisco will take place July 3 – 24, 2016. The catalyst for this event is the 100^th anniversary of Augusta and Adeline Van Buren’s courageous ride across the United States on motorcycles.  At a time when women didn’t even have the right to vote and few roads were paved, these two accomplished something unprecedented in their time.

This ride is limited to 100 women, but there are opportunities to take part all along the way.  Check out this great article in Women Riders Now and then visit the website to see how you can participate in this event.

The ride will loosely follow the route these sisters took, which is mostly along the Lincoln Highway. There are fully guided tours as well as self-guided options.  Members of Augusta and Adeline’ family will also take part in the ride. Augusta and Adeline both went on to lead exceptional lives achieving what few women of their time could, and leading the way as examples to empower us today.

We've come a long way baby and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than this event. Even if you can't get the time off work to do a cross country trip there are celebrations taking part in Springfield MA and San Francisco CA that you can join. 

For those of us who will be stuck in the office, here are some great reading suggestions. 

Unassuming Advocate on the Loose

               Have you had unpleasant or unfortunate incidences while riding? I think we all have had and I’m no exception. Yet, when you speak to non-riders they scratch their heads at why one would continue to ride after an unpleasant event. I’m not talking here about accidents, serious or otherwise, I’m talking general everyday oops, or near misses type events. At these times I ask these people a few questions of my own, such as “have you ever had a fender bender, or been the victim of road rage. I get a lot of yeses. Then I ask them “and you continue to drive? Is that wise when there is so much that can go wrong?” They don’t have an answer for that one, or I am dismissed outright.

I’ve written here about all of my experiences. I’m not one to hold back and I speak quite frankly about all that occurs; the good, the bad and the ugly. I’m very fortunate not to have much bad or ugly. I’ve had near misses, been the victim of road rage and just plain inconsideration or ignorance of what it’s like to be on a motorcycle by those who never have.  I get angry sometimes, but my personality is such that my anger dissipates.  While I don’t tend to forget an incident I don’t go around the world holding hate or revenge in my heart. Life is too short for that. I have better things to do and better places to go than be saddled with such emotions.

               Recently I joined a Toastmasters group with a few of my colleagues as part of our work related continuing education. Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. What does this mean? It means I’m in training for public speaking, impromptu speaking, and leadership skills. I also find it the perfect venue to begin a public awareness series on what it’s like to ride, why we do, and the experiences we have. Why should motorcycling not be as accepted as say, boating, four wheeling, snowmobiling and the like? We’ve heard terrible stories of what has happened to some of these, yet they aren’t maligned as often as motorcyclists or as misunderstood.

               Those of you who have followed my blog since 2007 know of my passion for writing. That I write from my experiences, belong to writers groups, and have been published on several occasions. My love of writing is taking on a new twist, speech writing. My first speech will focus on lessons learned in my youth, and it sets the stage for what is to come. While this first speech won’t have a motorcycle around anywhere, it does have a sled. A sled upon which I road right through thin ice. Did I give up sledding? Did anyone ever say to me “why would you ever ride a sled knowing what can happen? No. Therein lies the crux of what I hope to convey. I hope that I will be as eloquent and persuasive in speaking about motorcycling as I try to be when writing about it.

Motorcycling Tips for Novices (True stories delivered tongue in cheek)

I reached a milestone this year, 100,000 miles of travel on two wheels. If you couldn’t tell by the name of my blog, yes, I’m a motorcyclist and travel on two wheels is what I do. Now that I have some experience under my belt, I thought it was time I passed on some advice to you novices out there and for those thinking of taking up the sport. First, a few facts about motorcycles.

Number 1: They’re heavy. The weight averages between 400 lbs. to 800 lbs. give or take depending on model.

Number 2: When not moving, motorcycles don’t balance very well. So my first piece of advice for you is this; before you get off your motorcycle, make sure the kickstand is down, or learn the technique below.

Next: Riding in groups. One of the enjoyments of motorcycling, is riding with a group. You will need to learn a few of the hand signals used when riding in a group. For instance, (hand down) this means “slow down”, and this (one finger up) means single file. Another hand signal that is often used is this (finger pointing over the head). This means there is something or someone on the side of the road to pay attention too. But I found there are variations to this particular signal and I’m going to help you understand the nuances.

This (hand flapped lazily over the head) may mean “watch out for the old man and his dog.”

This (pointing vigorously over the head) may mean “check out the hot chick jogging in the short shorts.”

I’ve included an important hand signals below to commit to memory especially if you want to join the New England Riders.

It's All About the Pie

Next, let’s talk about personalizing. Motorcyclists love to pimp out their rides. Be sure to check out your fellow riders’ motorcycle for bling. You’ll be surprised at the amount of gadgets that can fit on a pair of handlebars. There are a few things to be aware of however, so read on.

My first year riding, I got a small GPS so I could find my way home if lost, and I wanted to look cool like the others. I purchased the special mount for it too. On my first group ride with it, not yet being accustomed to looking down at the GPS, I discovered that it was missing! Not knowing when in the last 50 miles it had vanished, I didn’t to stop the whole group, and just continued on. At the next stop three riders came up to me and said;

“We have some good news for you and some bad news. Which do you want first?”

“The good news” I said.

“We found your GPS!”

Me: Yeah! (Oh wait.) “What’s the bad news?"

“Three motorcycles ran over it before we picked it up.”

New riders, check to make sure items are securely attached to your handlebars. Don’t let this happen to you.

Many of the items attached to handlebars are also attached to the battery. One day, a few of us pulled over for lunch, and suddenly smoke began billowing from under seat and just above the gas tank. One thing I know for sure is that smoke and four gallons of gas is not a good combination. I became frozen to my seat! The only thought in my mind at that moment was “this is not how Dad envisioned me dying on my bike!” In the next moment my husband is yelling the seat is flying off and his hands are pulling every wire he can see from the battery. Lesson: If you’re going to add electronics, make sure you add the fuses too. The only smoke you want to see is on purpose.

Next were going to discuss riding in a variety of weather conditions.
One year we signed up for a fall foliage ride. When we left the thermometer was hovering just above freezing. But we had 50 miles to the start point and no time to wait for it to warm up a bit. When we arrived not only were my fingers frozen, so were my toes! In agony, I managed to get a boot off wanting to massage my feet between my hands. One rider seeing my thin socks, and having pity on me, reached into his saddle bag and handed me a brand new pair of thermal socks. My fingers were so cold I was fumbling and dropping the pair. The rider kneeled down, took off my thin socks, put the thermal socks on and even replaced my boots. Then he stood there a moment and said:
“I feel like I need a cigarette. I’ve never actually dressed a woman before.”

Lesson: Dress for the weather!

However, just because you start out dressed for the weather, doesn’t mean it won’t change. So be prepared for anything. For instance, a couple of years ago on one of our trips, the skies got dark and a few sprinkles began to spatter our face shields, so my husband and I stopped to put on our rain gear. I pulled over, (and put the kickstand down), got off the bike, reached into the saddle bag, pulled out the rain suit, put it on and remounted the motorcycle. The whole process took less than a minute. I’m ready to leave when I notice my husband has the contents of both his saddle bags strewn around the ground. Then, with a look of success, he pulls from the pile his rain gear. That began a 20 minute adventure in how to put it on! In the end I had to help him dress. I have a great tutorial video of all this I took from my helmet cam. Unfortunately, someone just out of camera view is using colorful language so watch the video at your own risk and with full disclosure.

Advice: Not only carry rain gear, know where you packed it, and practice putting it on before any trip.

Traveling by motorcycle is always a great adventure. It takes you to far flung places you wouldn’t otherwise have traveled. Some places have unfamiliar territory which can lead to excitement. Last winter we went to Florida as Dayton Bike Week was on my bucket list. One day, we decided to look at that piece of property we inherited but have never seen. The road was not paved, which on two wheels isn’t a very happy occurrence unless you have a dual or sport bike. But on we went. At intervals there were puddles across the road. My husband went through the first, and the second. But having just washed my bike, I wasn’t inclined to follow. At the third puddle I watched in horror as first the tires disappeared beneath water, then the tailpipes, and finally the saddle bags! He started to list to the left and I thought he too would vanish beneath the surface! This is when I finally understood what people mean when they say “time stood still.” First I thought, “Good thing we have road side assistance”. Then, “I wonder who will dive to the bottom to retrieve the bike?” With relief I heard his exhaust pipes gurgling under water as he opening up the throttle. His rear wheel found purchase and he popped out the other side. We looked at each other from across the abyss. It was the quietest two minutes of our marriage. My next words to him where. “Now what are you going to do.”

So my novices, next time in your unfamiliar territory, remember, things aren’t always as they seem. Those funny videos you see of vehicles vanishing into deceptive puddles are real.

Now that you are armed with all these important tips I feel you are prepared to begin your own motorcycling adventures.

Happy trails!