In the beginning there was man. Man wanted Harley. Man purchased an '06 Fatboy in August of '05. Man rode his beloved bike. Woman rode "bitch" behind man on bike. Life was good!! Then man, in his subtle tone would say, "you could learn to ride".

Woman would reply, "Yeah, I could, but I'm good."

Then man became more & more persistent, even, insistent with each conversation.

Woman found herself making excuses; "You've been riding for twenty plus years!"

Man would reply, "I can teach you, then we can ride together."

Hmmm....(woman thinking, thinking, thinking...)

Then man says, "Great idea honey, when we go out to Vegas in October we can rent scooters & get ya some practice. You'll love it! It'll be fun!"

Woman, "LOL, ok, lets do it! Lets be scooter trash!" 

Scooters were rented & driven hard, all up & down the Vegas Strip. Man & woman laughed, even joked about how silly they felt& looked. How funny the scooters sounded! Man & woman acted like total dorks! Life was good!! They pulled over to decide where to tear-up next on these bad-ass scooters. 

Woman was standing flat-footed, jabbering with man. Then, woman accidentally cocked the throttle! 

WHOA NELLIE!!

The scooter shot like a rocket from between woman's legs! Jumped the curb, traveled 6 feet & SLAMMED into a palm tree! Woman still standing, with jaw long & a "WTF?!?" look on her face turns to man & busts into laughter! Man is PISSED & yells "Holy shit!! You can't do that on a REAL bike! You'll kill yourself! Are you ok?!? NOT FUNNY! NOT FUNNY!" And continues to repeat himself, as if he turned into Cap'n Hook's shoulder parrot. "YOU need WAY more scooter practice before YOU get on a REAL bike!"

Uh oh, did man just poke the mule?? Oh yes he did!! And right then & there before man's very eyes woman turned into THE stubborn mule! Oh, like hell I'll do more scooter time! I'll show you!

Returned to Michigan & in June of  '06 that mule signed up for the Rider's Edge course. Was the only one without a bike & ZERO driving skills! 7 men, 5 women. Woman scored the only 100% in the skill ride portion of test! Scored 100% on the written test! WaHoo!! Okay Mr. Man, lets find me a REAL bike!

UGH! Mr. Man replied, "We need to start you out small. Shawn said you could ride his Nighthawk 250 around."

Woman whined, "but I took the class on a 450!"

Man sternly replied, "250 is big enough for now."

POOP!!

2006~ The summer of shame began~

Our pack of 20 guys on gorgeous Harleys and me, the only chic on that weenie 250! All summer the men would get on either side with pipes growling hand to their ear, "is your bike on?? We can't hear it! Bwahahaha!" All was in good fun mind you & we ALL had many good laughs that summer. 

In a month & a half woman cheesed big time as she handed the keys back to Shawn with 2700 miles added to the Nighthawk. (he was impressed) Okay Mr. Man, lets find me a REAL bike!

Woman test drove several bikes ranging from 550 to 750. She just wasn't bonding with any of them. Sad, but true. None were purple, damn it! If woman wasn't ready for a Harley, like man INSISTED! Then the bike would HAVE to be purple! Man & woman rode to Powersports in Coldwater. There was a purple bike there, man had stated.

Woman & man walked in, low & behold, not one but TWO purple bikes! Happy happy joy joy!! Oh look!! This Yamaha 650 Custom is loaded with Kuryakan chrome & has Jardine pipes!! SQUEAL!!!! Start it up! Start it up! Start it up! (whose the parrot now?) OH! What a beautiful sound!! SQUEAL!!! Let me ride it! Let me ride it!!! Woman rode & the bond was formed! From September '06 to June '08 woman logged over 13,000 miles on her beautiful steed! (remember, its Michigan folks :/ )

Man wanted to make the quest to the 105th Anniversary of Harley in Milwaukee. Woman was pumped! "Lets do it!" Man shakes his head at woman, "you can't ride a Yamaha over there! Its a Harley Anniversary, everybody is going to be on a HARLEY!" 

BIG EYE roll from woman, "Fine! You find me a HARLEY, I'll ride it!"

Man found woman an '03 Dyna Superglide. Woman rode it. It was ok. It was black, the chrome was scuffed badly on the pipes & fender. It was too tall. It was ok. Woman sold her beloved purple Yamaha & mourned her loss. The bond with the Dyna was not instant. She would need to personalize & accessorize this beast! And so it began....New footpegs, grips, handlebars, cables, saddlebags, windscreen, cupholder, easy pull clutch, lowering kit (woman very short), foglights, V&H Big Radius pipes & yes, the naked troll mounted front & center!!.....It is done! SQUEAL!!! Woman & bike bonded!

Then came the day......woman had to confess to Mr. Man, "YOU WERE RIGHT! I needed to start small & work my way up. Thank you. You kept me safe & built me up! And Kicking me off the back of your bike is the best gift I have EVER been given, even though it felt like rejection at first. I understand now. Thank you & I love you!"