Learning to Ride: Part I
By Dianne
June 19, 2009
Hi Ladies… hope you enjoyed our video debuts this last week. In reviewing the video I realized through this whole process you did not get the full story on my “love story”!! Well as stated in the
video it has been ongoing for quite some time now. We are two people who swore that getting married a second time in our lives was out of the question. Our big joke when we started what we referred
to as “spending time together” was that there is no such thing as love, there is only lust!! LOL I guess we were both a little jaded at the time… just another significant bond of many. All
kidding aside, we are true soul mates destined to find each other and we did. So there we were many years ago strolling through life together, taking care of our family.
Then came the dream that I set aside as a young girl riding dirt bikes with the boys… Our girls were grown and I wanted to do something really special… get on a bike and ride!! Well one
Saturday when I was at work my wonderful soul mate decided to go to the local Harley-Davidson dealer and check things out. When I got home from work there was a new Harley shirt for me and a
brochure from bike sales on the new line of Sportsters. The next week we were there picking my color and anticipating my new bike’s arrival date. That was back in the day when you had to pick your
bike from a list and wait for it to arrive!! So there was my soul mate helping to fulfill my dream… I didn’t even have a permit at the time and hadn’t been riding a bike since I was a kid. What a
great guy I found!
My Sporty arrives and it is time to learn to ride again. It was quite intimidating at the time. I convinced myself that maybe I was too old to start doing this and how I should have done it when I
was younger. But there was John with all the possible words of encouragement. He committed to every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, being my riding lesson days. Not a day was skipped and we worked
through two months of me being in first gear!! LOL! I practiced in a parking lot around closed factory buildings. So I did a large perimeter, figure 8s, stops and starts all in first gear. For
those of you who already ride you can imagine what an arduous ordeal this must have been for John!! He used to follow me around jogging alongside me. We celebrated the day I hit second gear!
Needless to say he wasn’t jogging alongside me anymore!! Winter in New Jersey arrived and my bike was headed for the garage for a few months. I was discouraged that I hadn’t pushed myself further
to get out of the parking lot and onto the road. But spring would be here soon!! I think John was grateful for the break but he would never say that to me.
Stay tuned ladies for the scoop on finally obtaining my MC endorsement!
That’s a Big Bike…
By Darnell
June 16, 2009
I ride a 2006 Harley Davidson Road King Classic. The Road King is part of the Touring family and a rather large bike. I am five-foot-three and three-quarter-inches tall. My size is usually
categorized as rather small. This is my sixth bike. You could say that I worked my way up the Harley food chain. My first Harley was an 883 Sportster. After owning the Sportster or a few years I
decided the bike could use a little more power. I had the engine converted to 1200 cc’s. It was not a huge investment and it made a great difference in performance. I added chrome constantly and
just loved the bike. A few years later, I started going on longer road trips and decided that needed more room for raingear and clothes. I found a 1997 Heritage Classic that was gorgeous and would
be more comfortable on long rides. The Heritage Classic is in the Softail family of motorcycles. It had a windshield and saddlebags, two items I consider essential for long rides. I kept the
Sportster. One day a friend asked me to pick up his bike at the local Harley dealership. It was a Road King. It was surprisingly easy to ride and I liked it. Somehow, I found myself back at the
dealership signing papers on a new Road King. The Custom has a relatively narrow seat and has a seat height of only 26.1 inches. Not only can I sit and be flatfooted on the ground, I can stand up
and have room to spare. Still, it never fails that I will be at a gas station and someone will say, “That’s a big bike for such a small gal.” I’m not at all offended and usually reply with a joke
like, “You should see me bench press it!”
Questions or comments for Dianne, Natalie or Darnell?
Submit below!
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