Backroads With Betsy

When my best buddy, Genevieve Schmitt, told me she was coming to L.A. to conduct a women-only “Garage Party,” I was curious. If you took the boys away from Sturgis or any other motorcycle event, Im not sure it would hold the same allure. Motorcycles and boys sort of go together nicely. I have to admit, a motorcycle event without them almost seemed like an oxymoron to me.

I dont know about you, but somewhere along the line, I became a creature of habit. Id like to think of myself as spontaneous and open to change, but the truth of the matter is, I know what I like, and I like what I know. I flipped out this week when one of my favorite restaurants took their delicious honey mustard dressing off the salad bar.

Like it or not, a big part of owning any vehicle is taking care of it. How you decide to do that and the level at which you decide to participate can depend on your financial situation and your level of time and interest. Because Ive been in the motorcycle world for more than 20 years, appearing in TV documentaries about motorcycling and writing for motorcycle publications, people often assume that I must wrench on my own bike.

Even though I write a column about motorcycles and women, the most common question I am asked by people is how to lose weight and what the fastest and easiest way to achieve that goal is. I have been a personal fitness trainer for 20 years. I worked as a member of ski patrol for 10 years, and I studied Kung Fu San Su for nearly 10 years, achieving black belt status. There has never been a time in my life when being healthy wasnt at the top of my list.

I hadnt even finished unpacking my bags from my Tibetan journey when it was time to switch gears and start loading my fringed leathers for my favorite month of every yearAugust. Is there a place out there as fun as Sturgis? If there is, I havent found it. And I do go looking!

If you set out to attempt something monumental lets say climbing Mount Everest but make it only to 24,000 feet, is your effort a failure? If you fall in love with someone and hope to grow old with that person, but they pass away, what happens to that dream? What happens when your dreams are not actualized the way you had them in your head?

Interviewing fellow biker and climber Tim Medvetz in late January was enough to inspire me to want to be a part of this years expedition team to attempt the Mount Everest summit. I then had just two months to raise the money and prepare myself for the biggest adventure of my life. In a frenzied mode as I glanced at my rusted old chopper in the garage each day, I kept thinking I needed to get the girls together for one last ride before I left.

Have you heard that country song that says, “So when you dream, dream big because just maybe someday those dreams will come true”? Well, I dreamt big, and guess what? My dream did come true! I am going to climb Mount Everest!

In England, if you get the chance to meet the queen, it is customary to drop to one knee to pay your respect. We have no queen in America, but there is a woman I find so remarkable that she warrants that kind of respect in my book. In the world of motorcycles and bad asses, Samantha Morgan is the queen, and long live the queen!