The Best Bike On The Planet

I can tell you exactly when it all started. One day in the spring of 2002 as I was surfing the internet, I came across the cutest scooter. Several times I mentioned to my husband, Paul, how I would love to have a scooter. Having had a moped many years ago, I remember all the fond memories I had and now I was ready to make some more. As time went on, I thought about it more and more. Paul explained to me that there were not many places around to ride a scooter and that a small motorcycle made more sense. I balked at this for several weeks until we went to a Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha dealership in our town. It didn't take long for my excitement to grow after sitting on several bikes. I had never ridden a motorcycle so the idea of changing gears on a motorcycle was not something that really appealed to me. The salesman gave me a MSF Beginner Riding Course brochure and the next thing I knew my husband had purchased a beautiful 2002 Honda VLX Deluxe for my Mother's Day present.

I rode on the back of my new motorcycle until after I finished the MSF BRC in June of 2002. Paul took me to an abandoned Lowe's parking lot for practice sessions, to the stadium parking lot and to a middle school parking lot. I practiced and practiced and practiced. We went out on several rides, but I really didn't feel comfortable on the Honda. In fact, I thought maybe I just wasn't cut out to ride. All the excitement that I had had at the BRC had fizzled. I dreaded riding and I did not like that feeling at all.

It was time to do some research. I found a woman riders site on the internet and after reading other women's stories, I decided to get a 250. I researched until I decided that the 2002 Yamaha Virago 250 was the bike for me. After calling all over the Alabama, I finally found one in Tuscaloosa. We just happened to be going there to visit some friends of ours for the weekend and I had my husband take me over to look at it. Once I hopped on, it was love at first site. All the excitement came flooding back and nothing could have stopped me from taking out my checkbook and writing a check for my new bike right then and there.

I loved my Virago. It was the best bike on the planet and I was going to keep it forever. I got on the internet to find some safety sites for motorcycle riders and I found this really interesting site called BeginnerBikes.com. I could ask all sorts of silly questions and everyone would offer me all this great advice without making me feel silly at all, it was great! I really like these people and relied on them more and more, we had so much in common and I felt right at home. I probably learned even more from the archives and other beginners questions. I was hooked for sure.

Three months and 6,500 miles later, my love affair with my beloved Virago "Nellie" came to an end. Enter Lucy, a new 2002 Suzuki Intruder. She was red, she was gorgeous and she felt huge compared to Nellie the Virago. Back to the parking lot I went. It was almost like starting over, but as I piled on the miles my Suzuki shrank to the perfect size. It was the best bike on the planet and I was going to keep it forever. She took me to Daytona and to Memphis to meet my BB buddies for the first time. Can you say road trip? She took me from the SE corner of Alabama, through Nebraska and down to the highest paved road in Colorado. 4,500 miles of fun in 10 days.

Riding has become so much a part of my life that I can't imagine ever being without a motorcycle.

I don't remember when my eye started wondering, but I do remember the feeling I got sitting on an 1100 V Star Classic. It was innocent at first, I was just biding my time as Lucy was getting a 22,000 mile service. Then Paul came by and I had to show it to him. I don't think I ever had the same feelings for my Intruder after that. I had sat on a BMW R1200C "Bond Bike" and I really liked it too, but could someone like me that was afraid to learn on a 600 ride a 1200? I asked myself that over and over again.

In October of 2003, I started looking for bikes on Ebay, just for fun of course. Paul led me to a 2003 BMW R1200C Montana, the Montana being the fully-dressed version with everything from hard leather saddlebags to heated handgrips to anti-lock brakes. She only had 850 miles on her (a two-day ride) and was in mint condition. It was coming to the close of the auction and Paul said that I could bid on it if I wanted. I kissed him goodnight and tried to decide whether to bid on it or not. The auction closed at 6am and by the time I went to bed that night, I had talked myself completely out of it. I woke up the next morning at 5:30am and went straight to the computer and logged on to Ebay. I was going to see if the bid had changed during the night. The reserve had not been met so who even knew if the bike would sell. As I clicked on the Ebay site I was totally surprised to see my husbands name as the highest bidder with less than 30 minutes to go. An immediate lump popped up in the pit of my stomach. The reserve had been met, but what if someone outbid him? All of a sudden I was obsessed with getting this bike. I bet 3 minutes never went by in those last 15 minutes without me going back to check on the bids. It was totally nerve- wracking. At the end of the auction I could not believe that I was now the bid winner of a brand like-new BMW motorcycle.

Eleven months and 24,000 miles later, my love affair with "Lucy" came to an end. Plans were made and we decided we were going to take the truck up to Charlotte, NC and bring the bike back. The night before we left as we were planning, I told Paul that I really didn't think I could stand riding all the way home with that beautiful bike in the back of a truck, I had decided I wanted to ride it home. Plans changed, we left at 8am the following morning with me on the back of Paul's motorcycle. All the way up I kept saying to myself that I hoped the bike was as promised and to my delight it was. The bike looked as if it had just been driven off the showroom floor. We signed papers and headed out. Our first stop was Hickory, NC where we spent the night. I couldn't believe how wonderful this bike handled.

The next morning we woke up and headed a few miles north to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The foliage was gorgeous, the ride was absolutely wonderful and here I was sharing it with the most wonderful man in the world. Who knows where I will go from here, I am just here enjoying the journey. I have the best bike on the planet and I am going to keep it forever.