ABOUT US

DATELINE: November 1, 2003

Welcome to RideMyOwn.com, the site dedicated to women across the world who RIDE THEIR OWN motorcycles (and those who desire to do so). While in its infancy, we hope this site will be a resource for all riders but especially women.

I am a late-in-life woman rider. I took my first MSF course shortly before my 54th birthday. My husband already rode his own and it was his encouragement that pushed me into trying it myself. With 5 months under my belt, or should I say under my tires, I am on my second bike and loving every minute. I rode 750 miles on my first bike, a Harley-Davidson Sportster Hugger. I then traded that on my second bike, a 2003 Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider® (see photo right). In the first 6 months I managed to put over 3500 miles on it and at the end of 20 months I had over 20,000 miles.

Several longer trips contributed to that total including the 2003 Pony Express Relay for Breast Cancer, a total of 18 days on the road. We traveled from Orlando to New York City via Chicago. After the closing ceremony in NYC, I proceeded -solo - to visit friends in PA and then worked my way home to St. Petersburg, FL on back roads. Another trip was 12 days from FL to PA and home again, Not So Great Trip With Some Great Moments.

In 2005  Harley-Davidson came out with Softail Deluxe and I was SOLD! I left my bike on consignment in FL, we moved to TN where I put in an order for a new 2005 Deluxe in two-tone black and white (see photo left). I took delivery in mid-Oct 2004. Unfortunately my husband lost his battle with cancer in Nov 2004 and the bike sat for several months. In March 2005 I started out on the first of several trips around the country. By mid-Oct of that year, I had ridden through 42 states (some several times) and covered 27,000 miles - solo. You can see more about my trips here.

My trips have slowed now in 2006, but I hope there will be more on the horizon. I am currently trying to sell my house and return to full-time RVing. You can follow my journey through this process by reading my BLOG. (You need to start at the end and read forward....)

I'm on-line quite a bit - here is a list of my favorite forums (membership is free for the basic level):

• Women Who Ride - fun group of folks, great travel posts and photos, too

• Harley-Davidson Women Riders - all brands are welcome, regardless of the name

• Harley Softail Deluxe - for owners & wannabee owners of the Deluxe

• Ladies Motorcycle Touring - for those who prefer longer rides

• Canadian Cruisers - got involved here because my paternal grandmother was from Nova Scotia

Speaking of my paternal grandmother - she rode her own Harley in the 1920's. My grandfather rode Harleys as well, he had the one with the sidecar that carried my father and uncle. My father and both uncles rode in the 1950's. Currently my husband rides, both my brothers ride as do their wives, one female cousin rides as well as her husband and one male cousin rides - all Harley-Davidsons.

Please bookmark our site, pass it on to others and visit often to see us change and grow. In the meantime, please feel free to contact us with your thoughts, suggestions, ideas and comments. We love hearing from you!

Keep it in the wind and ride safe!