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Middle Age Motorcycle Fix
By Jan Mikeal
 I had just turned 50 years old and was getting depressing mail advertising things like hearing aids, and bunion surgery. Pharmacies were calling me to congratulate me and invite me to do business with them. The “Over 50 Club” sent me an invitation to their mixer to get acquainted with their programs, such as, “Quilt Night” and “Cooking for Digestive Distress”. Then my AARP card came in the mail, that did it.
I knew I wanted a bike that fit me without modifications and after much research and shopping settled on the Suzuki Boulevard S50. An 805cc motorcycle, I figured it would be a little big at first but just right after a little practice.
I was right. My first ride was a little rough. I got it out of the gravel driveway, which was a minor miracle, and took the first couple of corners too wide. Then at the stop sign there was a gaping hole in the pavement and my front tire went into it and I tipped over. With three cars behind me. But I can pick this bike up, because I have watched the video on “HOW TO PICK UP A BIKE”. So, “I AM WOMAN”, I growled. I had to do it by myself because everybody is just sitting there watching, nobody helping. I did it. I waved the watchers on by since I was shaking like a leaf, sweating, but NOT crying. Man, that bike is heavy!! And the next day I dropped it again but I got stronger. And the next day I got stronger again. Until I had 1,000 miles on the bike.
I read everything I could get my hands on about safety, how to ride, how to practice cornering; but I knew I needed a mentor. I found an experienced rider to help me and he told me I had read enough, now I needed miles. We rode and rode until I had ridden on back roads, highways, bad roads, sandy roads, curvy roads, straight roads, in cold weather, hot weather, rain, and everything in between and I had 5,000 miles.
I never told my family I had a motorcycle. I couldn’t handle the negative comments so I kept it in a storage unit until I learned to ride well enough to demonstrate my proficiency at handling the machine. I would ride early in the morning while everyone was at work and school and the traffic was light, parking my car at the storage unit and practicing in the parking lot. While I don’t condone deception, it was the right way to handle things in my case. My family was much more receptive to my riding after the learning phase was over.
After the great unveiling (ooh, bad day), I took an overnight trip by myself about 100 miles away. On that trip and with the encouragement of my riding buddies, I gained the confidence and motivation to attend the AMA’s Women & Motorcycling Conference in Keystone, Colorado in August of 2009. I know, it was a big leap from a one hundred mile trip to a 1200 mile trip! But I had confidence in myself and in my bike and I had prepared well for the trip.
And my wanderlust was piqued by reading ADVrider.com. All those guys and gals heading out on rides with a tent and a change of clothes and barely a bottle of water! There’s a whole country to be seen out there on a motorcycle! Then I noticed a woman who spent an entire summer traveling by herself all over Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming with two bikes, a tent and a lot of guts! And another woman who rode her V-strom from British Columbia to Moab, Utah just because she wanted to see it! These women, and others inspired me to take the trip.
On August 14, 2009, with nine months of experience and 5,000 miles, I headed out solo on the most exciting adventure I have ever undertaken. I rode from College Station to Lubbock, Texas, a distance of about 500 miles the first day and got addicted to long distance motorcycle riding. The second day I made it to Santa Fe, New Mexico where I rested for two days with a friend. Then, over the next two days, I rode on to Durango, then over the mountains to Ouray, Montrose, Gunnison, Leadville, and finally arriving in Keystone in time for the conference.
I never feel more alive and free, well, and happy than when riding my motorcycle. Women riders are scarce in my area, but at the conference I finally felt like I belonged and wasn’t a misfit. Someone understood me. Everywhere I turned there was a woman like me who wasn’t ready for the rocking chair!! Her story sounded just like mine and best of all, she didn’t look at me like I was crazy!
I returned home having ridden 2,641 miles over 12 days with not a single problem. There were many funny moments and a little rain and some inconveniences but I can’t wait to get back on the road. Every time I put on my gear and throw my leg over my motorcycle, the weight of the world falls away and I start to sing along with the sound of the road beneath my tires. It’s a glorious song.
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