The Modest Motorcycle Mama Goes Cross Country, Part 1

In Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

5,266 miles in 17 days, averaging 310 miles a day!

As far north as Glacier National Park in Montana and as far west as the Pacific coast.

In a skirt the whole time, except for one afternoon when it was storming, and I had to put on a rain suit.

I wore long, full skirts with tights underneath.  It was no problem at all!   I found that the best way to get on the bike was to sit down sidesaddle and swing my right leg over.  This I could do easily while maintaining modesty.  Apparently, my attire did elicit some attention.  Two or three times on our trip, my husband told me via our intercom, "Those ladies like your skirt," as their car passed us.  Each time I asked him how he knew that.  Each time he said that he was sure because they were looking and pointing and smiling.  I'll take his word for it.  In any case, he was really happy and proud, which made me feel fantastic.

Our first full day on the road,  we started with breakfast on a rock in the HEB grocery store parking lot.   So romantic!  I think we were just north of Waco.  We had our own little patch of grass and a wonderful assortment of delectables to savor, including guacamole.  I discovered that I really like guacamole and bananas and coffee for breakfast.

We made our first big stop in Vernon, Texas.  Herb indulged my longing to tour this little museum there.  It proved quite interesting, as it was all about the history of the area and how it was settled by these big ranchers, like W.T. Waggoner.  A giant section of the museum was devoted to scads of exotic hunting trophies bagged by a local man, William A. Bond.  

I really was not expecting to see this in sleepy little Vernon.

The explanation of what happened to our country after the War of Northern Aggression and also the insight into the cattle barons' philosophy (below) was worth the price of admission.  Nothing Catholic here, folks.

One thing I didn't take into account when preparing for our trip:

At the end of the first day, I discover I am a Redneck.

Modest Motorcycle Mama Mondays: Time to Re-Boot

We didn't get to go riding this weekend, so I'll report on outfitting instead.  Boots are at the top of my priority list.  Right now I am wearing my cowboy boots, and the pointy toes are just too long and the heels too heavy and clunky.  They are fine for work boots, just not what I want function or aesthetic-wise for romantic getaways with my husband.  I am looking for some like the ones in the picture, but I want leather.  The ones pictured above are not.  I need the ankle coverage because that is where the exhaust heat gets me, but I don't want anything taller for summer.  It's just too hot.  The small heel is good, not too tall nor spiky.  I want good stability for getting on and off the bike.

Modest Motorcycle Mama Mondays

Since my husband likes to take me riding on Saturday mornings, I thought Mondays would be a good time to report on my experiences.  I'm expecting them to get pretty interesting because for my birthday, Herb presented me with a piece of luggage by a famous designer. . .

Harley Davidson.

It was even wrapped in designer Harley Davidson paper!  Of course I had to take a guess at what might be inside this inviting package.

"Is it leather chaps?" I wondered out loud.

My whole family burst out laughing.   Apparently, the idea of me wearing leather chaps humored them in the extreme.

Hmph!  Whatever.

The suitcase oozes style and fits perfectly on the rear luggage rack of the bike.

Photo credit: hotbikeweb.com

Herb plans for us to start taking regular weekend getaway trips, so this is where I'll pack all my cute biker-babe outfits.  He will use the main storage compartment underneath the luggage rack for his clothes, which will mostly be his jeans and a selection from his Harley Davidson t-shirt collection.  He buys one from each different Harley dealer he visits.  They all have the name and location of the dealership as part of the design, along with a skull and crossbones and, as my dear son has recently trained me to say in perfect redneck dialect, a 'murricun flag.  (Gosh, that boy cracks me up!  Yesterday he grabbed me and two-stepped with me across the living room to some country song that he had booming from his iPhone.)  I think Herb owns about 20 of these shirts by now.

Anyway, the suitcase is part of the new Harley-Davidson Premium Touring Luggage Collection!  I know this because I read an article about it in HOG magazine.  My piece is described as follows:

Tour-Pak Rack Bag
FEATURING A PLASTIC REINFORCED TUB that maintains the bag's shape and protects belongings, the new Tour-Pak Rack Bag delivers 20.5 in. x 13 in. x 9.5 in. of storage capacity with six spacious pockets.  It mounts to a Tour-Pak luggage rack and is easily removed for overnight stays.

I can't wait to try it out!  Herb wants to take me to San Antonio first and stay at a hotel on the River Walk.  I don't really care where we go.  I'm happy just riding down the road, snuggled up against him and holding his hand, leaving all my cares behind and

thanking God for cruise control on motorcycles.

Harley, Harpsichord, and Happiness

Saturday morning about 7, my husband Herb and I took off on his Harley to go down to the farmer's market in Houston.  We took a country road for the first leg of the journey, and my nose delighted in the fragrance of the wild honeysuckle that is blooming along the fences.   The cool morning air caressed my arms in the most pleasant way.  I stayed aware of it for a long, long time.  It reminded me of something you would pay to have done at a spa.

Herb tuned the radio to a classical station which was playing a program of baroque music with lots of harpsichord.  I got kind of tickled because the roaring exhaust of the Harley juxtaposed with the delicate singing of the harpsichord made everything I looked at seem just a little bit comical, the same way that a comedy movie soundtrack makes the action on the screen funnier.  All the cows we zoomed past seemed to be staring at me as if they could hear the odd combination of sounds I was listening to and thought it peculiar.  I smiled at them just the same.  It was good to be out early in the sunshine and the fresh air with my husband and with nothing to do but drink it all in.  I can't wait to go again, though this time I will bring my own hat.  When we stopped for breakfast, and I took off my helmet, my hair looked so frightening that I accepted Herb's offer of a ball cap that he had stowed in the large compartment on the back of the bike for just such an emergency--a brown cap with "Harley Davidson" embroidered in big letters across the front.  It wasn't really my style, but hey, the waitress in the bathroom truly admired it.