Two-wheeled Tales: Getting Back on That Bike
When Did You Start Riding?
I started riding a dirt bike when I was 37. My husband also rides. When I was about 50, I finally said to my husband, I want to ride a motorcycle on the street. That was about 14 years ago.
Favorite Place to Ride?
My longest ride ever was when we got out to Colorado two years ago. Our favorite place to ride is Maggie Valley, North Carolina. The roads and geography are beautiful.
Any Bad Experiences?
One day I was in South Carolina on Route 17. I came around a bend going 65 miles an hour. I used to have a sport bike, so I feathered the front brake. But there was gravel. It was like some pepper gravel that you couldn’t see. As soon as I hit the gravel it dragged me and flipped me over. I suffered some serious injuries, including a torn Achilles tendon and pelvis and hip fractures. The EMT came, and he said, “Oh, she’s alive!” He said to me, “Young lady, that helmet saved you,” and I said, “Yeah, my helmet and God!”
I said to my husband, “Is my bike rideable?” He said it was. I told him I have to get back on the bike. I knew if I didn’t right then and there, I would never ride again. So, I got back on the bike, and I rode another 60 miles up the mountain.
I was very afraid to ride after that accident. I was in a cast for nine months. I had to train myself again. The first day after I got out of the cast, my husband and I rode for 20 miles. The second day we did 40 miles, then 60, then 80, then 100. After about the fourth time I started feeling better because I wasn’t afraid to get back on anymore. I wanted to keep riding because it is the most freeing thing in the world. You’ve got the wind and the freedom, and being in nature, there’s nothing like it. I absolutely love it.
Interview by Gregory Andrus
