Well, here goes….. Prior to age 40, I had only ridden motorcycle as passenger with male companions 4 or 5 times. Then I met Gene and his Harley. Having been previously avid in camping, canoeing, snowmobiling, horse-back riding, NASCAR and whatever sport came my way, it was no surprise that motorcycling appealed to me. But Gene and I soon found that his bike was not comfortable for two extra tall people (at least that was my first excuse for buying my own bike). So began the difficult process of learning to ride. April 9, 1986, I bought a 1975 Honda CB 500 and on my first try in a parking lot, I ran into Gene and broke the windshield. That bike was so top-heavy and had electrical problems so it kept killing at the worst times and became a huge frustration. I was ready to give up but then met a new friend who encouraged me to take a MSF course and also introduced me to Linda Stone. I took the course and did great on the written and oral tests but lousy on actual riding skills. I'm still convinced that the instructor couldn't stand to see a grown woman cry so he gave me a completion certificate with a warning to "practice a lot before riding on the streets". Next began the period of stubborn determination to learn to ride in spite of the fears I created within myself and trauma's I put others through. I then bought a 1986 Yamaha Maxium 650 and gradually became more confident with the encouragement of Linda, Gene and many other friends. I finally got my motorcycle license and by spring of 1988 began to ride with groups. Since it had taken me two years just to get this far in the learning process, obviously it had been a struggle for me but was beginning to be richly rewarding in the people I had met and fun times I was having. Now, I was ready to move up to a bigger bike and bought a Yamaha Virago 1100 in February of 1989. I still had many fears of riding so my 'enabler', Linda, rode it home for me and two months later I took my first ride and loved that bike so I kept it for 10 years. Gene and I had married in September of 1988 and I surprised him with a parade of motorcycles in front and behind our limo as we drove around LaCrosse after our wedding. Gradually my skills increased and in May of 1989 I was able to ride my bike from La Crosse to Janesville and our new home. In October I went on my first WOW ride and promptly joined and have never regretted it. I have met many special women who have continued to encourage me and ride with me from the point of my first Ride-In at Buffalo, NY in 1990 to the present. In 1998 I completed a self-made goal of riding my 1988 Virago to 8 Ride-In's through 48 states in 8 years. Also have ridden in 9 Canadian Provinces. Somewhere along the way a "Monster has been created" from a weak fraidy cat. You can't miss me these days on my purple V-Cycle Trike that I brought when I finally gave up the Virago. It’s a much different ride but still a lot of fun. Due to a back injury in 1991, Gene had to give up his Harley and hasn't done much riding since, so I have completely relied on my awesome group of women friends from WOW who have traveled the many wonderful miles and gone on such amazing trips with me. I don't think that anyone has ever made a harder job out of learning to ride than I did nor gained such a sense of accomplishment and pride from learning the skill of motorcycling. I still question whether it was my age, lack of previous involvement in the sport, fears, or if I just have to go through a lot of trauma to get where I am going. But IT WAS WORTH IT AND IF I CAN DO IT ANYONE CAN!