I'll wait for you....

Yesterday I read an article about a very interesting woman, her name is Gloria, and her family owns Tramontin Harley-Davidson in Hope, NJ. She was born in the backroom of her father's motorcycle shop and at sixteen much to her chagrin, her brother forced her to learn to ride, turns out she loved it.  She is eighty-eight, and she still rides her motorcycle.  The more I read about her, the more I thought that I would like to meet her.  She has travelled so far and wide on her motorcycle, probably logged an easy million miles during her motorcycle career.

I remember the day my father brought home the Honda Mini-Trail for my brother, all I wanted to do was to ride it.  I begged, pleaded, begged, sobbed, begged, and finally my dad let me sit on it, I promptly drove into a tree.  He told me he would teach me to ride it when it was my turn...after my brother.  I don't remember how patient I was, I probably wasn't, after all I was seven.  When I was ten, on Easter Sunday, my brother was given a Honda 90 from our parents.  Using the trickle down theory, he was given a new one, so I got his old one, the Mini-Trail became mine.  It was mine, all mine. I didn't have to wait for my brother to grudgingly let me ride it.  I was thrilled, ecstatic.  I was the happiest kid in the world. There was a caveat....it was now time for Kiki to learn.  I still had to share, but this time, I was the elder.  I could dictate the amount of time she could ride....how bad could it be.  I can say for certain, that I did not share it well.  My dad created a monster.  I learned to ride and ride well.  My father would take us to the beach to ride, Johnny and my dad would go off jumping the dunes, leaving Kiki and I to do the track.  I loved each and every turn of that figure 8.  My dad taught me to ride in sand and dirt.  Not too long afterward, he taught me how to ride in the street. 

My siblings don't ride much anymore, I still ride with my dad.  I have been riding with Andrew for the better part of 35 years, either following, leading or riding abreast with him down the road. We have passed on this love to our children.  We enjoy riding with my parents on their Valkyrie, our son on the Heritage, Gabriella as a passenger with either Andrew or I on the Road Glides.  I may never come near the amount of miles that Gloria has ridden, I understand her passion.  The enjoyment has never diminished, I still get the butterfly feeling in my stomach when I see my bike, the thrill, the happiness and anticipation.  Riding has given me clarity, courage, a sense of calm that nothing else does.  It brings me peace in a world full of despair, fear, and chaos.  My motorcycle lures me, it moves my very soul.....

And should I fall behind, wait for me