women & motorcycling | MotorcycleMama

Super Bloom hits Anza Borrego

Mar 25 2017

With the epic amount of rain that we finally got for the first time in over 5 yrs here in Southern California, there was no question that we would be taking a trip to the desert to see the flowers. The question was where… We packed up the kids and headed to Anza Borrego Desert State Park. We decided to head out on a Friday night (in traffic of course, this is LA) so we could stay near the park and avoid early crowds in case there was no parking. That paid off in spades because we were able to[…]

Motorcycle, Sidecar, Sister's Centennial Ride

Aug 14 2016

The big day had finally arrived. I couldn’t believe that it was already the last day. I felt like I had been on the road for months, yet still surprised it was already almost over. I was also a bit bummed that I hadn’t been able to spend more time getting to know more of my fellow riders. Since I was often late getting started, and slower than most of the groups, I was usually by myself on the road, and feel I missed out on more face time with people. I had met so many amazing people on[…]

Day 17 and 18: Bryce UT to Ely NV to Carson City NV. Hwy 50 The Loneliest Road in America

Aug 06 2016

Long stretches of desolation abound, be sure to watch your fuel and know you can make it to the next known stop. Take snacks and lots of water.-Sister’s Centennial Ride Guide Book This is the first sentence, or I guess I should say the gentle warning in our guide books. Highway 50 in Nevada has it’s claim to fame written on the signs you see along the way. “The Loneliest Road in America” So that is what we are up against for two days. Our guide book even says: Get gas wherever it is available. Stations are far apart. Very[…]

Day 16: Reminds me of a Taylor Swift song…

Aug 04 2016

In the 1980’s I loved Debbie Gibson. She wrote and sang her own songs, and played piano. So I have to admit that if I was a young teen today, I would probably love Taylor Swift. ( I am not saying I don’t like a lot of her songs now…but that’s not the point…) Before this cross country trip started, I joked with a few people that this trip kind of reminded me of some lyrics of a Taylor Swift song. “It’s either going to be fantastic, or it’s going to go down in flames!” I took creative license and[…]

Day 15: Page AZ to Bryce UT

Aug 01 2016

Yesterday was one of our longest days, today would be one of our shortest. Again our goal was to get up early and try to beat the heat. We drove over the “I hope you are not afraid of heights bridge” that leads out of Page. (OK it has a real name, Glen Canyon Bridge) My picture doesn’t do it justice. It really is a deep canyon, and I am sure some people get the heebee jeebies going over that bridge. Frank and I went our separate ways not too far out of town. He decided to go down a[…]

Day 14: The Million Dollar Hwy Ouray, CO to Page AZ

Jul 29 2016

We had a long day ahead of us, as this would be one of our longest days at over 330 miles, as well as a day with the most dramatic landscape changes, and variety. Our plan was to get up early, have breakfast and get going. The city of Ouray looks like a little town you would find in the Swiss Alps. I was bummed we were only there for a short time. We departed, surrounded by the Colorado Rockies, and it was cool and, are you ready…it started to rain. We donned our rain gear and hit the steep[…]

Day 13: Colorado Springs to Ouray CO

Jul 28 2016

Today’s journey took us away from Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak, and led us over another high peak, Monarch Pass, at 11312 ft. The sidecar rig chugged up that big hill pulling the weight, but we made it. The ski lift there was running to take summer visitors up for hiking and biking, but we kept moving on. We made sure to stop at the south rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, National Park. Very dramatic cliff views similar to the Grand Canyon. The type of lookouts that give you a hint of vertigo when you are at the[…]

Day 11: Pikes Peak

Jul 22 2016

Frank planned some vacation days to join us on the last part of the ride, and he met us in Colorado Springs last night. Today was a get up early kind of day. Today was an epic adventure kind of day. Today was the group ride up to the top of Pikes Peak. The night before it had rained as we were driving up to Colorado Springs CO. We were all cozy in our hotel not realizing what was going on up in the mountains above us. We dragged the kids out of bed, had an early breakfast and got[…]

Jul 19 2016

We spent the night visiting family in Nebraska and awoke to rain. Not again! It was not in the forecast, so I of course have to run outside AGAIN, to get stuff out of the sidecar and cover things up. I had even left our swimsuits out on their back patio to dry off, and those were now in the rain…oh the irony. This whole “weather” thing is kicking my butt. Since there is a bit of thunder and lightning I decide to wait out the rain, and we will boycott our mission to the family farm and head to[…]

AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days

On our way to the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio Race Track we had the chance to go through a little bit of Amish country (we did see one horse and buggy in Pennsylvania). Today we saw families outside of their farm, kids driving the horse and buggy to town, and even saw a beautiful Clydesdale next to his red barn. Another beautiful drive through perfectly green farmland. My one surprise was seeing an Amish couple (I assumed) get into a car at the gas station while I was filling up. Later someone told me they might be Mennonite.

The plan for the group was to arrive together and get staged for a lap around the race track in between the regularly scheduled races. I did not know that. I assumed that we would be in a parking lot, and I would unhook the trailer before going on the track. When we got there, they led us directly to the gate and they lined us all up at the front of the “false grid”, I think they called it. Then a whole bunch of other bikes and riders start swarming around us and we get packed in. So, I guess this was happening now! When it was time, they then lined us up on the grid area, and with a pace car in front of us we all got to do 2 laps around the track. Makayla took video and Spencer took photos, and they said that was a lot of fun.

Some other highlights of the day: the kids got to watch part of a live race (we watch Motot GP on TV all the time, but they have never been to a race before). The most exciting thing was to see the Wall of Death, where motorcyclist ride a bike around a small wooden “bowl”. Both kids thought that was awesome. We walked around and got a lot of great photos of old bikes.

Today was considered a “easy rest day”, so by 1:30 we were done looking around and headed to our next stop for the night, Lima, OH.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that on the way to the hotel there was a super strong headwind, and I got horrible gas mileage. I hit reserve at only 58 mi on the odometer. I was in a section that did not have any gas stations for quite a bit…so I was crossing my fingers to make it to the next gas station. Well my luck ran out and it died about a mile before the exit. Not the best scenario but I was prepared! We had placed a small plastic gas can ( can I call it a can if it is plastic?) in the trailer, so I poured the emergency gas into the tank and got to the station. Not fun, but we survived.

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Jul 11 2016