Women Riders: I ride for freedom and joy




Marge loves the freedom of riding.

By Marge Gunderson

I was introduced to motorcycling while working on a dude ranch in Aspen, Colo., in the early '60s.

You might say I was one of the women pioneers to dual-sport riding. My first motorcycle was a 250 Montessa Scorpion enduro dirt bike. There in Aspen began a lifetime love affair with motorcycle riding. What better place to learn to ride a motorcycle that in beautiful Colorado?

From the Montessa to a Suzuki DR350 to a Honda 650 Transalp and now a 650 Suzuki V-Strom, I have experienced many dual-sport adventures over the years and have met many new friends while riding. I cherish the relationships I've made throughout the years.

I especially love the feel and smells of the winding roads and the feeling of freedom and joy while riding. This is why I ride. I would encourage all women who have an interest in learning to ride a motorcycle to do it and keep doing it. It's awesome. See you all at Keystone.

Marge lives in Grand Junction, Colo.

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Well, I guess I'm not afraid of answering such a thought provoking post.

It seems to me that everything we do in society draws us into a cocoon of almost no sensory expectations. Our cars (notice I didn't say cage) do the best they can to seperate us from the enviorment around us. And this is considered an advantage. And if the car isn't good enough, then we blare music to drown out the rest.

I would have ridden horses a hundred or so years ago. Today that is impractical so I ride an Iron Horse that gives me the same sensory feedback that a quivering or galloping horse did then. I smell the flowers. I see the people and are still one with them even though I travel quickly through their midst. And like the new cowgirls, for we have grown to accept we are able to do things that were impossible for women to do a hundred years ago, we live for the sense of adventure. And we live for the camaraderie of our fellow adventurers.

There has to be a rebirth of the soul in our souless enviorment and motorcycles give it to us. So I ride for freedom, a thing that is so easily lost. And it is lost first in the heart. So when your heart says to heck with the same day to day stuff, maybe it is time to just get on your bike and let your heart breath again.

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Alex
It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places. WtPooh

My First Custom, Late 90's Sportster, Heavily Breathed On, Big Block, S&S HP Heads, Custom High Performance Pipes. Wickedly fast, Uncomfortable, Front end is a jackhammer. Age 18yrs, Still have the bike!

Amen

The above posts were great---so good it made me think about how I feel when I'm riding. Yes, the freedom, the feeling of being out in the world instead of couped up in a car (couldn't help the pun) is part of the reason I ride but there's something else. I love to learn. I love to conquer my fears and I love to do new things. I'm always excited when I start to strap on my helmet and every day I ride, I learn something new and I try to get better at riding.
I love the world of bikes and the people who ride them. That's why I don't care for the death and skull stuff. Riding is more about living. I don't care about looking cool and I don't have to proclaim that I'm tough or not afraid of something. I also don't have an attitude of not caring what happens to me so the skull stuff doesn't work for me.
I smile when I ride. If I didn't have a helmet on and you could hear me whoo-hooing or outright laughing when I pull up next to my husband, you would know that I am having a blast. Riding is never dull. It can't be. There's too much to watch--too much to learn--too much to concentrate on---so I end up living every moment and I'm never bored.

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Help me, Jesus!
www.reginarussell.weebly.com

Amen to that.

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~Robyn~
'09 Kawi Nomad 1700

"Sometimes the best communication happens when you're on separate bikes." ~Author Unknown