My Motorcycle Diaries | Peaches Prattlings

{March 7, 2021} First group ride of the year…ahhhh

I think I told you last week, while I was in Colorado, that there was a group ride on Sunday, and here we are! I told you that PSM and I went out on the bikes to get some dinner last night, after we both got home and it was brrrr…chilly! Today, the official group ride. Wah to the hoo!

We belong to the St Louis Indian Motorcycle Riders Group, or IMRG. When we lived in Hawai’i, we joined the IMRG HoloHolo chapter, well, we actually still belong to the group, we have the 2021 patches to prove it! Man, I still need to get a vest to put my patches on! At this point, I need two vests or something to put the patches on. I absolutely LUV my motorcycle vest so much, I don’t want to put anything on it! Is that terrible?! I’m looking, I’ll do it eventually, promise!

We got up, took the pups for a walk, had some breakfast, geared up, well, you have to put your gear on, every super hero does! ha ha. Because we’re riding, we start with jeans, I’m sure you’ve seen people wearing shorts on a bike, not me, ever. Ok, I can’t say that…the last staycation we had in Hawai’i, we went to the Big Island and rented motorcycles. The last morning, when we were returning them, we both wore shorts the 2 block ride to return the bikes, but I promise, there is no way I would ever ride in anything by jeans. Short sleeves, definitely, especially when it’s hot, and I’m usually wearing a vest that helps protect my chest, but my legs, no way! I have to tell you, I was so happy to be completely covered the day I wrecked my bike, years ago! Wow, digressing now! You wanted to hear about our lovely ride!

So…back to our apparel. Jeans, long sleeve shirt, thin sweatshirt I got last summer at the Looney Bin Bar & Grill. I will be telling you all about it this summer when we go on our annual motorcycle ride with the guys in New Hampshire, cannot wait! Then, I have a heavy denim Indian Motorcycle jacket, it’s quilted on the inside, so it keeps me warm, but it’s not too warm to sometimes wear in the summer. Yup, I wore my Chucks, and got grief from our Ride Captain, it was awesome! I showed him the picture I shared with you from KN, “How to spot a biker chick”, he still rolled his eyes at me! I had my black gloves with red trim that I got at Harley Davidson in Seattle, WA, I had to go a long way to find those and those…saved my hands when I wrecked, I will never give them up! Neck sleeve that I got with sunflowers that got at the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, headphones, goggles, and helmet…we were good to go!

We met the group at the designated QuikTrip, gives us a chance to greet each other, this is the first time a lot of us have seen each other since the last ride in the Fall, I think it was October, get something to drink or a snack, gas up the bikes, and get our riding instructions. When you’re riding in a group, it’s important to know the rules and hand signals, all that good stuff to keep everyone safe. There were about 25 of us, it was great! There are male riders, female riders, as you might guess, couples, Indian motorcycles and two Can-Am Spyder Roadsters.

After all that, we were off. We ride side by side to get started, then we ride in staggered formation, you’re on the left, I’m behind you on the right, and so on, and in some places, depending on the road, we ride single file. It’s quite the site to see a line of bikes coming down the highway. We try to stay together, when we’re at stop lights and stop signs, acting as a tractor trailer, so to speak, trying to keep any cars from getting in the middle of our group. That’s common for most group rides.

We rode to Sandy Creek Covered Bridge Park, a beautiful park with, you guessed it, a covered bridge. It looked like a great park for walking, together, with the dogs, a picnic. There were signs telling you the history of covered bridges and where to find Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites, something to strive for. And every ride…a group photo, have to commemorate the ride!

After the ride…lunch! We rode to Cafe Smok N Pi in De Soto, MO. I always look up the restaurant we are going to go to that day to see if there is anything I can eat, I finally got smart! This time, I really got smart, I had made myself a sandwiche to bring with me. It was a cute place with character and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Cafe Smok N Pi was our final destination and some people took off after lunch. The rest of us went to the Dew Drop Inn in Bloomsdale, MO, PSM said they were known for their bloody mary‘s, but did he have one? Nope, but the ones I saw, wow, they were like a whole meal! Celery, bacon, pickles, olives, pulled pork, really? Wow!

We had a great time, drinking, laughing, telling stories, getting to know each other, making new friends. The biker community is like no other, when you have a bike, you respect each other and look out for each other. If a biker is on the side of the road, other bikers will stop to help. I remember one day, I was coming out of a gravel parking lot and my bike dropped, immediately, bikers pulled out and stopped traffic in each direction and two bikers helped me pick up my bike and made sure I was set and the bikers stopping traffic waited until I was back on the road before they started moving again. It really is something.

After the Dew Drop Inn, we got back on the road and headed home. I have to tell you, it was a little chilly in the morning while we were going to meet the group, then it started to warm up when we got to the Park, some people started taking off their jackets as we were heading to lunch, and progressively, it headed up to almost 70 degrees, it was fabulous! It started to even out my sunburn!

How fabulous, skiing on Thursday, convertible Friday and Saturday, riding a motorcycle on Sunday, my life is full! I can’t wait for the next ride!

{October 2, 2010} My Motorcycle Diaries

Well… It’s October 2nd and I have been riding my motorcycle now exclusively for about 3 weeks. It’s been fantastic, but I really need a car… Let me explain.

In 2004, I bought a motorcycle, a 2001 Suzuki Savage 650, she has a tag “THNG2″ this is in reference to ‘Thing 2” from Cat in The Hat. When I was married, we always said if we each had a motorcycle it would be Thing 1 and Thing 2, ta da. So… I have been riding THNG2 for quite a while, I stopped briefly between 2008 and 2010. I have ridden with other people, but not on my own. A few months ago, I had the bike serviced thinking I was going to sell it, then when it was up and running again, I got on it and it was like a light switched on, I LOVED RIDING!

I started off on small journeys around my neighborhood and then ventured a bit farther, I had never ridden solo [and I mean not tandem, with another rider beside me] but still nervous, thinking that I wasn’t ready for the major roadways or highways, but I knew I wanted to ride her to work at some point. Someone asked me to go to the movies, I thought this would be the perfect excuse to see what I was made of. We met at a movie theater about 25 minutes from me and I had to take a local highway, RR Pkwy. The speed limit is 50, I was perfectly fine with that. The other reason I wanted to take this road was that it was on the way to work, how would I do going to work in the mornings. I had been on this roadway before and I was a little nervous, I got on it, and away I went, and it wasn’t too bad, I started to feel my confidence building with each turn I took and the nice thing about this road is, it has a bunch of turns, I learned a lot about the bike, the road and myself that day. It was fantastic! I only hope that you can imagine what I was feeling as I rode that day, the exuberance, the exhilaration, I know I wasn’t taking on the “Tail of the Dragon” or a race track, but I was winning!

A while later, it was time to take on a major roadway, my senses were alert and I my nerves were tingling, but I got on that major highway just like I would any other road, I was aware of all that was going on around me, checked my speed and went forward, I didn’t have a choice, either get on the highway or don’t go out with my friends, not an option. As they say, “I put on my big girl panties and dealt with it!’

I started riding to work every once in a while, about 1-2 times a week, it is something when people you know find out you ride a motorcycle. Someone actually thought I rode a scooter the other day, throwing my head back and laughing heartily, you silly fool! ha ha [you must, at this point, imagine a hearty, throaty laugh of a cheesy villain from a Disney movie] I tried to get a scooter first, a Vespa, specifically, but dear readers, I was too short to fit on one, hence, the bike was better for me, ain’t that a hoot?

It’s even more interesting to encounter the reactions from co-workers. They see you one way, as a professional, I would hope, and here you come, all decked out as a motorcycle momma [well, if you’re a guy… you get the point] apparently they are impressed. It seems that people, and I think I am probably in this category, are impressed with a woman who can ride a motorcycle, even in 2010, there seems to be an air of mystery surrounding that concept. Some women just don’t “look” like they ride and conversely, there are some that do.

So, back to my story. I have been riding for a few months and then, sadly, my beautiful baby beetle, another post coming, caught on fire after an accident [hankies needed] and I don’t have renters insurance on my insurance policy, so it was motor city for me! I am not complaining, by any means, it has been FANTASTIC! the weather was perfect, I will admit that there were a few days I thought I would melt, as evident by the wet seat of my jeans when I would get off the bike, but that was still all good! Even riding in the rain is not terrible, if you are on your way home…

I have been riding to and from work for a few weeks and it’s been fun. I wear jeans and a jacket, I think it’s funny, people at work have asked me how I wear a skirt and ride the bike… I have saddle bags, the skirt and “grown-up” shoes go in the saddle bags and then I change at the office. I go to lunch with my old boss on occasion and it’s fun when we can both go on bike.

The best part has been watching the odometer change, I bought the bike with 4000 miles on it and to date, it has about 7500 on it! I think the first year, I put about 1000 miles on it, but since I’ve had to ride it, it’s been bliss, I watch the odometer change each time I get on it and I think it’s a great goal I set on my list to reach 12,500 miles by next year, piece of cake!

The other best part, is that possible… is what it has done for me, I know there are times that I have a different walk when I am bike mode, someone said a swagger, but riding has given me a new sense of confidence and freedom that I thought I had, but had no idea. Look out world, here comes motorcycle momma!

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