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Sturgis, Bike Weeks and the One Friend Left at Home

by Leslie
(Old Orchard Beach, ME)

I do not ride. I would like to ride and I have made it abundantly clear that I am fine riding pillion behind some stud should my friends want to set me up. So far, no takers. I am an independent woman, a very smart and very mouthy independent women. So don’t give me any of that crap about being my own woman. I am that and can still be that without having to buy my own bike. Meanwhile, my group of friends, which includes quite a few biker lasses, some obvious, some quite shocking to see on a bike, are all getting ready for a number of events. There are six of them heading to Sturgis this year and while that is all great for them, it means that I am the one who is officially manning the phone. I did it for their Daytona run a few years ago when two of them took off on a rather half-baked and unplanned bike week trip. This year is different. This year, they know what they are doing. Or, at least, that is what they keep telling their friends and family.

I am no sexist. I have changed the tire on every vehicle I have ever owned as well as the oil and more than a few miscellaneous parts. My dad taught me a split finger knuckle ball that would stymie the greatest batters in the game. I can talk hockey, bikes and beer with the best of anyone. I am, though, a realist. It is dangerous out there for any biker, let alone a group of women bikers. Of these six, I know that two can hold their own on the open road and those two are the only ones I would ever want on my side in a brawl. (Ironic that the “non” biker of us is the one that always seems to run the yap that gets a brawl going in the first place.) That Trish even owns and rides a bike is a shocking thing to all of us. She is dainty, prissy and definitely not really what you would call a “biker.” Other than the fact that she does in fact own her own bike and rides it, you would never dream of her even knowing about Sturgis, but there she goes. I hope that no one ends up knocking her cutesy-pie helmet off of her even cutesier head. So, I will sit here and wait for that phone call: Trish is hurt, missing or worse.

Every group of friends has to have that one who is perpetually betting her heart on the nearest beefcake and then weeping into her whiskey when it goes belly up. She has been married three times already and no longer owns the cute little house she bought with her own hard earned money. Ask sometime; it’s really quite a story. She is lucky to have managed keeping her bike on that deal. I will sit here and wait for the call that Becky is getting married again.

One year, I will go with them or another group of my friends to Daytona for Bike Week or to Sturgis or somewhere, anywhere, just us girls and the open road. Until then, I will be the one that takes the calls and makes sense of it all of for them when they finally get back.

Comments for Sturgis, Bike Weeks and the One Friend Left at Home

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Sep 26, 2010
Are you better now?
by: Anonymous

I know that you wrote this a while ago and that your friends are back from their trip to Sturgis. What I read in you post was that you were mad at your friends for leaving you behind. They ride and you don't. What do you want them to do? If it upsets you so much, why don't you get your license and ride your own bike. I see your in ME and I know that there are still courses running now so that you can have you license in a weekend. Then you can get your bike and practice for a while before putting it up for the winter. I usually ride through to Thanksgiving, although I have to dress in layers. What are you waiting for? You know that you want to ride with the girls. Just get out there and do it!

Aug 13, 2010
Studmuffins?
by: Aili

You want a friend to fix you up with a "stud" to ride behind? Hmmm, riders tend to be independent types, so they also aren't looking for blind dates. Half...maybe more than half... my guy friends don't even have a rear seat. Think you need to find a "stud" on your own, but don't be offended when he enjoys riding with your girlfriends more than with you. (was that a smart-mouth reply?)

But then again, maybe I'm not gettin' what you're sayin' either.

Aug 12, 2010
Also confused...
by: Sandra

It SOUNDS like you don't think your lady friends should go; yet it SOUNDS like you want to go, too. So any answer you receive may be missing the point!!

I say GO! Take that 4 wheeled "cager" and enjoy the trip!! Much as we like to ride our bikes, there are times when it's nice to just pile into a vehicle for the night and let the bikes have a rest. You can still be the one to "answer the phone" w/your trusty cell phone to put up a help call if required.

Sturgis scares me...we're planning a trip in 2011, and when I think of the thousands of bikes in such a compact area, I panic because I'm less experienced and afraid of creating an ugly situation even in a parking lot! LOL Yet the excitement is calling to me. My husband's boss and wife (an older couple business owner and former school teacher) are there. My insurance agent and her husband (who owns a custom Harley shop) are there.

There's no "typical biker" anymore - we're not all "Hell's Angels" types, but the call of the wind can be heard by the most uptight of folks, too...

Good luck to your friends, the "princess biker", the "lovelorn biker", the girls who just wanna have fun...and may you all share many happy memories of the experiences of your lifetime. Now get out there and join the party!

Aug 12, 2010
Maybe we are misunderstanding
by: Wanda

Were you just trying to tell a funny story, providing details about the various characters without giving away their identity? I couldn't tell if you were ranting or not. If you can swing it, I'd get a small used bike and learn to ride it. You can join motorcycle clubs and meet men who like to ride. I liked one of the other ladies' idea about driving an RV to Sturgis behind your biker friends. That way you would be along for the ride, but don't have to actually ride a motorcycle if you don't want to, and you could meet a lot of men at the rally. Hope you find something that works for you! It is a kind thing to be by the phone for your friends, but I'd rather see you out on the road occasionally. I bet you are loud and opinionated and get misunderstood alot, but inside you are really a good person? Maybe just soften your tone a bit, tune in to your feminine side and flirt with those boys!!! You'll be riding on the back in no time!

Aug 12, 2010
not sure what you are looking for
by: Anonymous

I am not sure what your rant is about, but it sounds to me like you are crying in your beer. It also sounds like you are playing the victim and damsel in distress because no one else has been able to divine what it is you want.

Glad you are not a friend of mine, and you would not be a friend of mine as it sounds like you are very HIGH maintenance.

Get your own life, get your own bike, put your big girl panties on, suck it up, and GTF over it.

Aug 11, 2010
Friends on Bikes
by: anonymous

Really, why are you talking trash about these women who are your "friends"? If that's how you talk about them then its probably best that you stay home. They love to ride their own bikes, you don't. Why are you angry about that? The problem is simple really, ride on the back of someones bike, get your own, or shut up and stay home. Sorry to be so blunt, but anyone who talks that way about their friends who are only human and makes simple mistakes is no friend at all. Bet you're not perfect either.

Aug 11, 2010
You Can Go and Drive the Support Vehicle
by: Sassy2731

You could go and be the truck or RV driver to be the support vehicle. I've done that in the past before I started riding my own. That way you don't get left behind to answer the phone! You get to still be part of the ride and the fun but in a vehicle instead of a bike! Don't think I ever got left behind before!

Aug 11, 2010
Confused
by: Rene L

Not quite sure why you would post your rant about women who ride on a website designed for women who ride.

Unless I missed something, it sounds like sour grapes to me (and not such a great friend).

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