NEVER SAY NEVER

by Janet

“If I have to explain, you wouldn’t understand” Unless you ride or are a rider of a motorcycle, you probably wouldn’t understand this quote.

Raising two daughters, and seeing them off to college, my husband and I got the urge to purchase a bike after viewing the motorcycle run benefiting the 2001 Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, ND. 2001. The rumble of those motorcycles, the leather, and the different walks of life, we were hooked. I looked at my husband and said “when the college loans are paid off, this is what we are going to do!”

We sat on our patio the next summer, (the loans still not paid off) as we heard the motorcycles rumbling out of town….…we would say to each other “there goes another” After that long summer, we reviewed our financial situation, by cutting our weekly treat of an evening out for dinner, and a few other things, we could probably afford a payment on a bike.

The urge for me was made even greater when a gal that I worked with, had her husband come to work and give me a ride on his 2001 Fat Boy. Now…. to say the least, I was hooked for sure. To make matters even worse they stopped in for a visit on a weekend with the motorcycle. I didn’t even have to beg for a ride, as he knew I would be jumping right on the back of the Fat Boy. Of course he knew that I was madly in love with the pipes he had on that bike, he gave it a little throttle, much to my enjoyment.

Most people found this quite ironic, that I had become so hooked. I had never been on a bike until I sat on the back of that Fat Boy. My husband had put on a lot of miles on motorcycles prior to meeting me. Marriage and two daughters, life had changed for him.

November 2001, the papers were filled out, and now the monthly payments were being made on a 2002 Road King. To hear the Harley for the first time, was just great, or was this a dream. I will never forget that day. But…..it was Nov. in North Dakota, would we have to wait until spring to ride, or summer, springs can be pretty unpredictable. The good Lord brought us some great temperatures, plus anytime it was in 40’s we were on the motorcycle, we were able to ride in November and December of that year. We soon became known as the “Hard Cores” at our local small town establishments.

By December, I got the urge to have my own bike; riding on the back just didn’t cut it for me.

My “best friend” my mother, our family’s cornerstone, passed away suddenly the last day in April 2002, talking to her friend on the telephone. What a shock this was!!!!!

In June 2002 an older Yamaha 250 would be my ride for the summer. Taking the ABATE safety course, we were off for some riding, lucky to live near the lakes area of Minnesota, some gorgeous scenery to be had. By August we were on our way to Sturgis. The Freedom to Ride, it was great.

The urge for a Harley was boiling inside me. Due to my best friends (MY MOTHER) death. With the sale of mom and dads home in a small town in North Dakota, and the help of my brother giving me half of his portion (he gave the other portion to our youngest brother) I was able to purchase a Black 2003 Anniversary 883 Sportster in September on my brothers birthday. I share a special hand single with her every time I go out to ride. Riding on my bike has helped me cope with her death.

It was now October 2002, it was the day of the Roger Maris Cancer Run, prior years we had just watched the bikes some in, I told my husband I just couldn’t get the urge to go on my first run. With a puzzled look on my face, he said “You’ve rode to Sturgis” He decides that I should at least finish breaking in my bike at the 500 mile mark. Not only did we break the Sporty in at 500 miles, we were on the run. Talk about the Dry Heaves, I don’t think it was the Harley rumbling, it was my stomach. But…..I made it………the adrenalin rolled as people lined the streets, greeting us.

As the 2002 winter shut us down, between the Yamaha and the Sportster, I had 7000 plus miles on the two bikes.

Enter in the year 2003, because of our mid-life crisis we were now meeting a lot of interesting people, and also making a lot of good friends. We have a special event we attend every Wednesday night at Playmakers Sports Bar in Fargo, ND. All Clubs meet there for 2 hours of socializing, see this website for more information www.playmakerssportsbar.com, go to Pavilion and Special Events, the click on Tom “Road” Blairs Free Biker Party.

Who would’ve ever thought when we slipped those rings on 29 years ago that our camaraderie together would be the open roads on Harley-Davidsons.

It is now November in North Dakota and the last time I road was October 26th, I am all ready missing it. The odometer after a year and a month or riding is at 16400 plus miles. Hopefully the snow will melt; the temps will be in the 40’s. The HARD CORES will be out!!!!

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