From the Eyes of a Passenger...

Being a passenger on a motorcycle has brought incredible joy and satisfaction to my life. If you ask anyone that knows me they will tell you I'm motorcycle obsessed. Guess what?? I'm proud of it!

The motorcycle experience began for me in high school. My girlfriends and I would ask guys for motorcycle rides. I remember my first ride was on a sport bike and I could have cared less that it was raining. Then there was senior prom. My date owned a Kawasaki and we took it cruising in our prom wear. We must have looked like two crazy kids.

I took a hiatus from the motorcycle life during my twenties and early thirties but that freedom and joy that I felt from riding stuck with me all those years. One day out of the blue I talked my husband into renting a Harley. We had it for the weekend and the feelings of complete freedom came rushing back. The next step was purchasing our own bike. I'll never forget the thrill of ringing that freedom bell and knowing wonderful adventures were ahead of us.


Riding for me is a passion. It is always an adventure. Being on two wheels with nothing around you to protect you. Rubbing shoulders with the elements is the greatest rush I've ever felt. I've experienced things I will never experience in a car. I am sheltered in a car even if I roll down all of the windows. I will never experience what is going on outside in the same way as I do on a motorcycle. I am in the thick of it, feeling everything going on around me. Smelling every smell, seeing all the sights, and hearing every noise out there. It is a spiritual experience.

I've had two of the most amazing experiences of my life as a passenger. Both in South Dakota during trips to Sturgis Bike Week. The first was in 2004. Kristen, Big Don, Marsha and me were on our way to Winner, South Dakota for the night. It was dusk and a storm was brewing ahead of us. It began to rain and the wind picked up. South Dakota can be windy. I was watching the sky and I couldn't believe what mother nature was sharing with me. On one side was a beautiful rainbow, straight ahead were wicked bolts of lightening, and on the other side was the most beautiful pink sky I've ever seen. I was right out there in the middle of it. To this day that memory still gives me chill bumps.

Another memorable experience happened on our way to Sturgis this year. We left Mitchell, South Dakota in a misty rain. We were motoring along and could see this dangerous looking cloud ahead of us. The closer we road toward it the larger it became and before we knew what was happening we were riding through this wall cloud. Living in Iowa, I honestly have to say, I have never seen anything like it. I held onto Dan tighter then I ever have before because I felt at times like we might blow over or I might blow off the back. It was such a rush. I kept thinking to myself how incredibly fortunate I was to experience that. That is the point of two wheels, it's all about having the amazing adventures.

I've logged many miles as a passenger and with every ride is a new memory made. Some of the best have been early morning rides out in the country. No traffic, just my husband Dan and me on our beautiful iron horse moving across the countryside. No words being said between us, just quiet time. Time to let all the stresses leave our heads and all the freedom of the open road. Miles of farmland surrounding us. Another beautiful time to ride are those last winter days when we can't take it anymore and the roads seem OK. We bundle up and ride out with snow still on the ground and the non riders of the world starring at us like we are nuts. I know they are correct, I am nuts about the feeling that is forever in my soul.



Being part of the motorcycle lifestyle has made my life richer with the experiences I've been fortunate enough to have and because of the many people I've met along the way.

There is a saying, "If I have to explain you just won't understand." Mere words can't explain the feeling. It is like describing the color blue to a sightless person, until it has been experienced it is virtually impossible to describe.

In March of 2006 I got my motorcycle license. I have yet to own my own scoot but I know someday it will happen. Until then I look forward to many more adventures with Dan on our beautiful Street Glide.


Happy riding! And to those of us that have to wait until the spring, Happy Riding Memories!

IHG XO

D-Day...did you find an Ark? I need to buy one too!

Hello everyone...thanks to everyone who has been posting and making sure that we are OK here in Johnston. So far I'm high and dry and I think it will remain that way for us. The river is set to crest around midnight tonight so that is why they evacuated parts of Des Moines today. I do have to say that it is a mess and most of Iowa has flooding! Keep us in your thoughts! Iowa will bounce back...we know how to bounce back after mother nature gives us these kinds of challenges!

Thanks again to everyone that has checked on us though....it's great to have a group of friends that care. And the wild part...we've never met! It's awesome!!!

Have a great weekend!!

IHG

Bittersweet Journey

What a week!!! I'm sitting here listening to a little Captain and Tennille. Yes that's what I wrote, stop laughing. They are ICONS! :)~

Ok...so what a week...Thanks for the comments on last nights entry B.B. & Ann. I'm glad I blogged what I was thinking because I didn't think about it for the rest of the night! That guy was a jackass though...WOW!

Last Sunday Dan and I stained the deck at like 6 am and then hit the road on a 230 mile journey. I've gotten to the point this year where I ask where we are going because there have been a couple recent adventures that have turned into long distance rides and I've been sitting on the back freezing like an ice cube because of poor planning or lack of communication. A few weeks ago I had to finally gesture at the road sign to exit at Story City so that I could put on my leather coat. When I got off the bike Dan was like..."What's up?" Steph..."I'm freezing!" Dan..."And you call yourself a biker chick!" Steph...Arm punch..."Yep I still do!!" LOL It was funny...guess ya had to be there, huh?

Ok...Captain and Tennille...while a great duo...not really inspirational blogging music. Need to find something else. LOL Alright...I'm going with a little Poison...Bret Michaels is a biker...this will be good! :) Hey D-Day...how was the show? Bret rocks...

Back to the trip...so we get on the road and head over to Hwy 330. Great back roads on the way over and 330 is a nice road with not a lot of traffic even though it's 4 lane. We are headed over to Parkersburg to see the tornado damage. I get into my head and think a lot when we are riding...I'm mentally preparing myself for what lies ahead in Parkersburg while still trying to enjoy the ride. I have mixed feelings about this Parkersburg trip. I've never seen the destruction that a tornado has caused first hand.

We've had so much rain in Iowa that the fields are flooded and many rivers are out of their banks. We come up on the 30/330 bypass and there is a sign telling us that we will need to exit and go through Marshalltown because 330 is under water at Albion. We cruise into M-town and stop off at a Kum and Go for gas. Here is a pix of Zippy Pickle at the pump and the current price of gas as of last Sunday.(3.75 was for the cheap stuff)


Back on the road we head through NE Iowa on Hwy 14. We get to Grundy Center and my stomach starts to get butterflies...I'm bracing myself for what I'm about to see. We head past the new Grundy County truck stop, off of 14 and Hwy 20, and are now getting closer to Parkersburg. We blow by the road closed signs and I'm actually hoping at this point that we won't be able to get too close. I see the P-burg water tower and a lump forms in my throat...the closer we get I can hear myself saying Oh My God out loud. Everything that greeted you to this town when you enter it on Hwy 14 is now gone. Debris is everywhere. The tears begin to fall from my eyes. Dan pulls off the road and we both sit there and just look...silent. It's the worst thing I've ever seen. Peoples lives torn apart by nature, strune all over the country side. After about 10 minutes Dan starts up ZP and says that he's going to see if we can ride through. I don't want to...I want to turn around and go back. I'm feeling guilty for being there because I'm not volunteering to help...I'm just another gawker. The ISP lets us through and then we are stopped again by some volunteer firefighters up from Norwalk. One of the guys doesn't want to let us in and I really don't blame him. I'm feeling like shit at this point, thinking that we should have gone back. The looks on peoples faces were so sad. There was no laughter, no smiles. We got past the firefighters and venture into P-burg. As you ride through town it's amazing to see houses that weren't affected at all. It's unbelievable how mother nature picked and chose that day whose lives she was going to change. We ride up by the high school and it's destroyed. National Guard trucks line the parking lot at the school. I finally asked Dan if we could head out. My heart couldn't take anymore...we had to get on down the road, so we did. I didn't take any pictures, it just didn't seem right...if you want to see footage go back to an earlier post and watch the videos. http://iowaharleygirl.blogspot.com/2008/05/deadly-tornado-parkersburg-ia.html

Back on the road I reflect on life, reflect on what I just saw, said a prayer for the people of Parkersburg and then moved it out of my head. We stopped in Iowa Falls and had lunch/dinner at DQ. Then we cruised on over to Ames and stopped off for a cup of coffee at Burgie's Espresso Cafe. Fueled up ZP and were back on the road headed back to Johnston. This was a bittersweet journey. I still feel guilty for gawking but I'm glad I went up there to see it first hand. Seeing that kind of destruction really makes you think about the things that are most important and it's obvious that they aren't material belongings. My thoughts continue to be with the people of Parkersburg.

Have a great weekend and hug the ones you love!!

IHG