Your Stories

I never thought riding would become the way I de-stress. Riding found me when I needed it most. I am a 46-year-old mother of 11 children all mine, ages 4 to 24. Ive been married to the same man for 26 years. I have been home schooling for 15 years and will probably continue doing so for the next 18 years as well. Life can get pretty hectic!

Nothing makes me feel better, mentally or physically, than riding a motorcycle. I learned how to ride when I was 18. Had a Yamaha RD200 for a whole year. Didnt know much about maintenance. Basically just kept her clean and full of gas. I loved riding that bike.

It was October 2005 and my custom Sportster came in second place at the Rats Hole Custom Bike show in Daytona Beach, Florida. I was so unbelievably excited, however it was a bittersweet victory.

I am a child psychologist and a fairly new rider of a year and a half. My life has been spent advocating for childrens rights and raising my family to the best of my ability. I became interested in motorcycles through an Internet friend of mine in Australia who I owe much thanks and gratitude to for introducing me to this life changing activity.

It seems like Ive always had a motorcycle in my life in one way or another. My brother had a bike when I was little and one of my sisters boyfriends rode a bike and would take me on rides. When I started dating, I was attracted to guys who rode, and eventually married a motorcyclist.

When I rode the Pony Express Relay for the Susan G. Komen Foundation in 2003, I had no idea where it would go. I had just bought my new Harley-Davidson Deuce in Henderson, Nevada, and rode her into California across the Mojave Desert. I planned to ride the relay solo in a group. Now that may sound odd, but I think a lot of you have ridden that way, too.

I have wanted to ride and own my own motorcycle all my life. Getting married right out of high school and having a family put things on a back burner for me for quite some time (like 30 years). When I was nearly 50 years old with three grown children all married and grandchildren I got my first motorcycle, a Suzuki 125.

I learned to ride as a child and my sole transportation during my later teen years was a bike. My boyfriend and I rode together, with a shared love for the road. Some 20 or so years later, we were a boring, old married couple. The kids were all grown and too cool to be seen with Ma and Pa. I had a new career after years of being a stay-at-home mom.

Why do you ride motorcycles? Arent you scared? Dont you ever worry about being alone on the road? What on earth made you want to travel alone on a motorcycle? Is that big motorcycle yours? If you are a woman who rides, I am sure you may have heard any or all of the above questions at any given time.

In June of 2000, at age 35, I left my last abuser for the tenth and last time. I was done having surgeries on my face. I was done being told, “Youre too ugly to be seen in public with me. And I knew if I stayed there I was going to die at the hands of this man who constantly and repeatedly told me he loved me.