Backroads With Betsy

To me and thousands of other riders, Sturgis and the Black Hills represent just that, the land of the free and the home of the brave. I have watched countless documentaries about Sturgis, and I have yet to see anyone capture the essence of what keeps this 50-year-old woman coming back summer after summer.

It’s been two years since I met Grace McKean at the SS Cycle 50th Anniversary Biker Build-Off party. Grace is the coolest 75-year-old biker grandma who still rides the old Indian she bought 50 years ago. When I met her, she was in Wisconsin riding across the country alone, and we talked for a long time and she shared some of her story.

Me, bare naked at the Laughlin River Run? No, silly! So who was bare naked? The streets of Laughlin were bare naked! During the annual April bike rally, Casino Drive in Laughlin, Nev., used to be an event in itself. Crowds would line the sidewalks in lawn chairs to watch the bad-ass machines cruise by. Boys offering Mardi Gras beads for a glimpse of girls gone wild made the sidewalks nearly impassable in recent years.

No love? Well, I dont want to blow Jesses Jamess bad boy cover, but I felt some love in the air today! Jesse rode his beautiful better half, Sandra Bullock, around on a cushy red Harley-Davidson Road King to keep her comfy as they toured all five stops on his annual “No Love Ride,” held November 13, 2009. You wouldnt have even known it was Sandra and Jesse under those helmets and stylin Ray-Bans!

Its barely a week since we rang in the New Year, and the annual Easyriders Bike Show has come back to the L.A. Fairplex in Southern California. With the shaky economy and everyone still mending their debts from the holidays, I expected to find a near-empty venue. But I like to visit my many friends who are builders, riders, entertainers and writers and show whatever support I can offer in these lean times.

I keep on thinking that when I get older, Ill have more time to get to all of the “projects” I let pile up. But as it is, the project pile continues to grow taller as I grow older. And the time? I just dont know where it goes. I cant believe its already December, as I havent even gotten caught up from Sturgis yet! Havent written a Christmas card or even thought about presents.

“Live fast, die young, stay pretty.” That was the motto of my lifelong best friend, Mary Tomczak. It was a line in a Blondie song. Mary loved Blondie back in the 80s. We were even backstage at one of Blondies concerts, and as strung out as she was, onstage Blondie was larger than life. And larger than life is the best way I can remember Mary, who one week ago today, decided to take her own life.

I know, I know, Ive ragged on how bad the Laughlin River Run in Laughlin, Nev., has gotten in the past few years. And even when it was in its heyday, a gambling town in the middle of the desert is at the bottom of my bucket list for places to be. But the rally does fall in the spring, after weve been cooped up all winter just chomping at the bit to get out and ride.

Spring has sprung. Love is in the air. And finally, bikes are everywhere! The economy may be suffering, the motorcycle industry may be feeling the effects, but the simple pleasure of riding a motorcycle has always been an economical mode of travel and entertainment. And when the stress of the world piles up along with the unpaid bills, what better therapy, or break from the madness, is there than riding on sunny spring days in the local hills?

One of the greatest challenges I experience as I mature is learning how to keep the many different aspects of my life fresh and exciting. I am a person who constantly hungers for new ideas and experiences. Yet I am such a creature of habit that unless I make a conscious effort to re-energize certain areas of my existence, I often find an area of my life getting stagnant, or stuck in a rut.