Sample Content:

• Cover Story
• More Stories

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Features:
  * Annual Mileage Contest Results
  *22nd Ride-In Boogie to Boyne
  *Bumper Stickers for a Motorcycle - How Dumb!
  *Cabin Fever
  *Women On Wheels® Limited Edition Merchandise

   

March/April 2008

Cover Story

My Trip of a Lifetime

By Josie vanVonderen

My granddaughter was scheduled to arrive July 5, 2007, in Cochrane , Alberta . This was my opportunity to drive to Alberta on my motorcycle. I spent the winter pouring over maps and points of interest that lay close to my proposed route. I also wanted to attend the Women On Wheels® International Ride-In in Springfield , Missouri on the trip west.

I plotted several possible routes by using I-80 and I-70 generally as a guide, checking mileages, campgrounds, etc. I planned to ride west through the United States and return to the east coast via Canada . In July, the temperatures are warm, just how I like them. All was set. And all this went out the window in early June when my daughter Danya phoned me to say she would be induced the following week! She and the baby had medical issues and I wanted to be with her.

I hurriedly reviewed my options. Weather would not be an issue until I reached the mountains, so I had to include my electric vest. I had already installed my new communication system, Starcom1, on my cruiser. It is a product of England that I purchased through a dealer in Calgary . I can answer my cell phone, as well as listen to music from my MP3 player while riding, and use navigation and my CB radio, all from one small unit mounted below the seat where my tool kit used to be. I was suddenly on a shorter schedule, so I left my camping gear at home...

My first three days were mileage oriented as I had traveled through northeastern United States several times over the years. I rolled into Exeter , New Hampshire the following day to pick up my CB, and then motored on to Keane. I made my way west and discovered heavy traffic around Hartford , Connecticut . I arrived in Scranton , Pennsylvania and stayed at a Red Roof Hotel. It was late, and they had no lower rooms available, so they let me park by the office to enable staff to watch my bike. I lugged everything upstairs and called Gary . Danya called me to say she was hospitalized and they had induced, as her blood pressure continued to rise and her liver was failing. I had a dilemma. She assured me she was ok, and urged me to continue as planned. I made her promise to call me regardless of the time.

The following day arrived with no call so I hit the road early. I was pumping gas when my cell phone rang. It was a girl, healthy, and all was well with Danya! I was elated, and anyone watching saw me doing a dance with a cheer. A guy at the next pump on a Harley smiled and mouthed ‘good news.' I grinned and told him I was a grandmother, and I was going to see my new granddaughter. He smiled and wished me a safe trip. He must have thought I was nuts! I went inside, had breakfast and purchased the letter “J” made by a local artist. The baby was named Josie, after me.

See page 16 for the complete story .

MORE STORIES

How My Passion Began

By Linda Goldstein

I think I have always loved to ride. Of course, my passion for speed and the feel of the wind in my face did not begin with motorcycles…but with the love of horses.

I rode my first horse at the age of ten at summer camp and I was hooked. Off and on for the next six years, I rode every chance I got. There was something about the converged smells of leather, horse sweat, hay and manure that just made my heart soar. At that time, I felt there was nothing that could equal the feeling I felt while galloping across a field. I was soon to learn that I was wrong.

At 16 I was introduced to a new way of feeling the same exhilaration I felt when I was astride a horse. My then boyfriend, David, owned a green 1966 Triumph. My parents forbade me to ride with him. Right! We rode every chance we got. Of course, back in those days, few people rode with helmets, and I was soon to transfer the rush I felt with the wind in my face from horses to motorcycles.

From that time on almost every one of my long-term boyfriends owned or bought, on my urging, a motorcycle.

Of course, life has a way of interfering with one's pleasures. I married a wonderful man in 1983 and three years later, we adopted our son Ryan. My days were filled with a full time teaching career, being a mom and a wife. I was happy and didn't give much thought to riding, yet often, when driving on a highway, I would see a couple on a bike and something inside me would “ping” and I would wish, if only for a moment, that I was on that bike.

See page 14 for the rest of the story!

Honeymoon DownUnder
- Part 2

By Carolyn Bierman

There had been hope that our riding gear would make the afternoon flight from Cairns to Horn Island , and thus arrive by ferry first thing in the morning. Naturally, that didn't happen, and Roy spent most of the morning "negotiating" with Qantas. Finally, it was decided that Qantas would lower themselves to ship our luggage, but then we had to deal with getting the gear from Horn Island . No worries, Mate, Roy had a friend with a helicopter.

The only potential catch was that we had to make it worth Bungee's while to come out to Bamaga with his copter. So Roy, ever the businessman, convinced six of us to do a helicopter tour of the area, for a small charge of course after which, Bungee was happy to jump over to Horn Island quickly and retrieve our riding gear.

Not surprisingly, the helicopter trip was amazing. Bungee was no normal helicopter tour operator; his copter had no doors, and he was prone to swinging around 360 degrees on a dime to point out a shark in the water or a croc on the beach. He took us south to the Jardine River , over the Injinoo Aboriginal lands, and along the coastal beaches. We ventured into the Jardine Swamps, where he flushed out a feral pig and chased it for our amusement, swooping down and cutting it off, then rising again and circling the poor creature as it crashed through the reeds and mud towards the safety of the mangroves.

For the rest of the story, please turn to page 20.

EUROPE BY MOTORBIKE

By Kathryn Giglio

We all are at different places in our motorcycle experience. Some of us are just learning while others have many miles under their wheels. Do you remember your first time on a bike? There are many milestones: first ride, first solo ride, first new bike, first vacation, first time camping on a bike, first long trip. How about first time not coming in last on a spirited ride? There are also not so good firsts: first speeding ticket, first time dropping the bike, first crash, first time getting really lost. The more miles, the more first experiences.

A few months ago, my husband Chuck and I were planning a European vacation with a motorcycle. We were a little nervous. We have traveled a lot and have usually taken our bikes or rented them. We have rented bikes in English speaking countries, like Australia and England with no problems. We have also taken Edelweiss tours in places where they don't speak English. We had a great time in Spain and Italy without worrying where we were going to sleep. They took care of that for us. But this time was different. We were going to rent a bike in Germany and drive around Europe with only a basic idea of where we wanted to go. We don't speak the language of any of the countries we were going to visit, although I tried to learn a few words like please and thank you.

While at breakfast for our local Women on Wheels® chapter, IMAWOW, one of the members was talking about her upcoming trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains . She was a bit nervous as well. She is a fairly new rider and this was her first motorcycle vacation. She was asking the group for ideas on what to see and advise about traveling on a bike. It struck me that our upcoming trips had something in common: they were both firsts for us. Although our riding experiences varied widely, we both looked at our upcoming trips as adventures.

See page 12 for the rest of the story!

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