Backroads With Betsy: Live, Love, Ride
The 2011 Love Ride
2/16/2012, By Betsy Huelskamp
After riding a motorcycle for 20 some years, I can honestly say I still love to ride. I love to ride, I love to love, and I love to live. Love Ride 28 took place this past October, and I think I have missed the event only twice in all these years. After the 2011 event, I have such sad and mixed feelings.
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Backroads With Betsy: One Nation Under God
A 2011 Sturgis story
11/28/2011, By Betsy Huelskamp
When my cousin planned her wedding for August 5 and asked me to be her wedding photographer, of course my answer was yes. What is more important than family? Nothing! So when I was discussing my dilemma of being late for Sturgis with the wisest woman I know (my mother), she asked me, "What do you suppose would happen if you just didn't go to Sturgis this year?” After I’d mulled over that for a moment, she continued, "Are you fairly certain they would call the event off?"
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Backroads With Betsy: Amazing Grace, Part Two
A riding life well lived
9/29/2011, By Betsy Huelskamp
Grace McKean, whom I call “Amazing Grace,” is 76 years old and still kick-starts the vintage Harley-Davidson 45 Flathead she bought at the tender age of 17 using all the savings she earned as a Walgreens waitress. Many readers have written to me in response to the first part of my story, asking how Grace as a young woman found the strength and courage to do what she did at a time when a woman on a motorcycle was less than respected.
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Backroads With Betsy: Amazing Grace, Part One
The incredible story of a pioneering rider
7/12/2011, By Betsy Huelskamp
Have you ever had somebody pass you by who left you thinking, “I need to know that person”? For me, that woman was Grace—the amazing Grace McKean. I was in Milwaukee, Wisc., for the S&S Cycle 50th anniversary party. It was a sunny summer day, and as I was headed to the event, a woman passed me by going the opposite direction on a classic old white Indian motorcycle.
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Backroads With Betsy: Betsy’s Arizona Bike Week Adventure
Ever feel like you don’t know Jack Schit?
5/14/2011, By Betsy Huelskamp
I used to feel like I didn’t know Schit. And now that I know Schit, my life is so much more enriched! I'm talking about Jack Schit, of course, our host for Arizona Bike Week, which I attended during the first weekend in April. And if you ever feel like you don’t know Schit, you should check out Jack.
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Backroads With Betsy: The Toy Ride I Never Miss
The holiday run that keeps Betsy going back year after year
2/16/2011, By Betsy Huelskamp
If you’ve been riding a motorcycle for any length of time, you have probably been on a toy ride or two—or 10! Toy rides happen in many cities all over the country at Christmas time. But no matter where you live, it will usually be cold and/or rainy.
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Backroads With Betsy: Love Ride 26-1/2
Going back to simpler times
1/6/2011, By Betsy Huekskamp
People often wonder how the Love Ride, the famous southern California charity run known for its long list of celebrity riders and for being the biggest one-day motorcycle fund-raiser, got its name. It’s simple—the Love Ride is for riders who love to ride.
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Backroads With Betsy: A Biker Chick and the Bears
Finding peace and solitude in Alaska
11/16/2010, By Betsy Huelskamp
“What have been the five best days of your life?” That is one of my favorite questions to ask people. It is a great question to ask your elders. It’s a great question to ask new people in your life. It’s also a great question to ask yourself when you are writing next year's bucket list so you can include the experiences you haven’t lived yet.
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