I waited until I was 40 to start riding (I'll be 42 in a couple weeks) and I'm proud of myself for having the courage to do it.  I've never had so much fun in my life!  Even though the traffic in the Fort Worth, Texas area can be horrible, the weather in this part of the country makes for good riding most of the year.  So, it's a trade-off. Be safe!! -- Linda, Watauga, TX

I am 38, married to a great man, have 2 kids, Lora & Lucas.  Lora just had my 1st grandbaby & I can't wait to get her started riding too!  I have told her that as soon as she starts walking & can hold on, I am going to have her on the back with me. 

From April: I met a couple of VTwin Mamas at Biketoberfest for the Lunch Ride put together by Rain. Rain got a flat turning into the far end of parking lot for the Lunch Run after riding her new Honda 1300 from Illinois! The lady she was staying with, Marge, was a hoot and a great leader for the run. I got eat lunch around 2:30, had a wonderful time, and really enjoyed the VTwin Mamas I met: Connie VanMaldeghem, founder of the "kountry gurlz" chapter of "WITW" in Tennessee, and her husband Paul, and Molly Gilmer who rode in alone from St Augustine. Both ladies are excellent riders and great folks. We had some fun with Cindy & Paul of "The Lady Rider Show" from public TV out of the Tampa FL area using Rain's parked bike as a prop. -- April

From Rain: I'm finally back at home and what a trip it was! I pulled out of my garage here in Chicago with my new bike in temps reaching the high of 35. The threat of rain was in the air and rain it did. I made it as far as Southern Illinois, where I stayed with a friend, just before the great downpour. 450 miles. 

The next day I awoke to 30 plus temps as I headed toward Georgia to stay with another friend. 550 miles later after encountering yet another rain storm that traveled with me the entire way and temps finally increasing to low 50s I made it to Macon. I told my friend that she was lying to me about being warm, "Oh, we are having a cold spell right now." Figures. 

The next day I arrived in Florida to the temps being in the 70's again this was a cold spell to them, to me its a heat wave, especially since I had to stop every now and then to peel off outer layers of clothing.

Made it to the meeting place for the ride only to get a flat as I was turning in. Almost dumped the bike as the back tire slid out as I was turning. This tire was flatter than flat. Long story short, I jumped on another fellows bike as a passenger and as the sweep. As we started pulling out, I remembered my jacket laying on the ground. Went back for the jacket, got separated from the group, then missed the turn to the restaurant (by about 120 miles). One stop, I tried to get off the bike (something I don't do well as a passenger, nor can I mount on either) my foot got stuck in the saddlebags and plop, down I went. It wasn't even a graceful fall, just plop. My good knee hit the ground, my good elbow hit the ground and my left palm smacked right into the pavement, just missing smashing my head on the pavement as well. I laid there for about two seconds and then just started to crack up, while the guy who was giving me a ride just tried to ignore me and pretend like he didn't know me.

We finally got to the restaurant much to everyone's relief as they were starting to worry about us. I related what happened among much laughter and then I asked how everyone enjoyed the Rain Ride without Rain. It appears to have been a good ride and something I will be writing about in more detail, just wish I could have been part of it. What a hoot. -- Rain

From Veronica: We were small in #'s, but we had a great time.  I met some really nice people,  Got April, that lives in Orlando, interested in WITW, so she joined the Ocala "Silver River Chapter".  So am glad for her.  & Molly that lives in St. Augustine.  We were staying in St. Aug. with my mother-in-law, in the same neighborhood, as Molly & her husband lives.  So they live about 2 miles from where we were at.  Small world.  So we up & got with them the next day & had another full day with Molly & her Husband.

Saw Rain again, which was so funny about the situation with her bike & all (not then it wasn't), but she had a great outlook on it the whole day.  Was great seeing her & riding with her again.

Cindy, from the Lady Rider show was a hoot too.  We  all got along so well, people from all walks of life getting together & having a great time & making lasting friendship's.

Petra, I am sorry you didn't get to make it, hope you will next year.  The weather for the whole week there was wonderful!!!  Blue sky's & suuny days.  Then got home, back to reality, work, rain & cold! Talk to ya soon....Veronica (pcmystic)

1997 Fatboy (top pic) and the other.."my baby..baby" LOL..is a 1991 Softail Custom, been riding for 24 + year's, who can remember at this point. All I know is I ride..to ride.  The Fatboy is what I use to ride the "4" grandsons on. Ride safe and ride it like ya stole it! -- HDFlyer Omaha, Nebraska.

Thanks for such a great website, I look forward to visiting it almost everyday! Here is my new shiny 2000 883 Sporty! -- Cindy

Added 1/30/04 from Cindy in response to a VTwin Mama sister who admired her leathers:

Regarding my leathers...thanks for the compliment...I really love them too.  I had them custom made from Original Leather Factory in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada.  They have a website http://www.originalleathers.com/WhoAreWe.html   BUT!!! the pictures posted are lousy...they do fantastic work and every detail can be modified to your liking.  I was looking for something a bit more feminine and tailored...and I think that's what I got.

I believe they can do out-of-town orders and if you're in the States...your dollar will make the cost a bit cheaper.  I would send them a note (or call them) with my picture and ask them what they can do for you.  I actually saw them at the Motorcycle show last weekend...so they should remember the style of the jacket (I had it on and we were talking about adding an inside pocket).

Hi, it's TuG (Thank U God) …yes I’m still around. It’s has been almost a year since I discovered your site and was crying to you about not passing the MSF course and then passing it a few months later. Wow…time flies when you are surfing asphalt, I have put a little over 9000 miles on my Honda Shadow VLX600, meet and became close friends with a lots of wonderful bikers, crashed my bike, rode my bike to the Honda Hoot in Knoxville, rode to the Blue Ridge Pkway and camp for the weekend..

I have been checking in on your site and keep saying to myself “I have got to take that picture that I promise you a year ago”. So here they are! Keep Your Knees in the Breeze, TuG

(Note from Mama: second picture shows the very first "I've Got My Own" T-shirt which has the logo on the front and the words on the back! Now, both the logo and words are on the back!)

I want to encourage women riders who want a bigger bike, have some time under their belt, and who feel ready, to take the leap! I'm no marathon rider, but I hope to be soon (again, I'm depending on VTwin Mama archives to help me there too.) April

I sat down with my pencil and catalog and built my new machine in August of 2000 after returning from Sturgis, SD, riding my 1990 883 Sportster. We live in LA. I picked it up on January 2, 2001 (a space odyssey) Am I dating myself?

Before: is from the factory and
After: is my finished prize.

Hope you enjoy seeing it. I enjoy riding it. Cecilia Eckerson

Love to ride, loud Harley's mostly, I think because my Mom was a Woman Air Force Service Pilot ( W.A.S.P.) in WWII and the planes she flew were 1500 HP that were a lot louder~ compared to my 60 HP 1200~ love that thunder! Here is the link to the woman pilots they were amazing- http://www.wasp-wwii.org/wasp/

I enjoy your website thanks, the flag link was cool too, we just got ours delivered, its a beauty! 
      Kind regards, Jesse

A friend forwarded your newsletter to me and it is the highlight of my email inbox. I sold my sport a few years back, when I got pregnant with my son. Now he is four and I am looking to get back on two wheels in the next year or so. I only wish I knew how to get in touch with women riders when I had my bike. 

Lot's of times it was a blast being in the only chick in the pack, and I did lots of my own work on the bike so I could carry on a decent conversation mechanically speaking. but the comraderie of female to female was sorely missed and I  too encountered the problem of a boyfriend who had no interest in riding. Like I said, it's just good to know there are so many out there that run into the same things I did. and that we now have many alternatives to the old saying, "ass, gas or grass". take care and keep the rubber side down and the wind in your hair, Trish in Anaheim, CA.

VTwin Mama detects a note of sarcasm but is willing to let it slide given that the bandana is NOT available in lime green -- yet. Congrats Karen and welcome to the VTwin Mama clan.

VTwin Mama, aka Petra, at Mammoth Lakes with Joy Mullen out of Independence, CA. After riding for three glorious hours through the mountains, I got the chance to chat it up with 50 women who were attending the rally. Not bad for 4 hours of concentrated talking! Yup, that yellow sign in the 2nd picture says "Ask me about www.VTwinMama.com" -- classy, huh!

Joy told me about her love of riding with her husband, but confessed that she's thinking of riding on her own -- but where to start? Voila, we talked about VTwin Mama and the great forum of questions and answers that appear daily.

Meanwhile, I chatted up the Mammoth Times, met the publisher of The S Curve, a quarterly publication for Northern Nevada, CA and the High Sierras, ran into Mia, the woman who cuts my hair, talked with Scott Brantley at Super Lolly Bike Works about the ins and outs of T-shirt distribution and got invited to join a girl posse out of Reno for a little riding. So, all in all, a great rally. 

Too bad the bike ran on the rough side -- basically farting and backfiring a bunch of the time. A great guy listened to my list of bike symptoms and pronounced a verdict of new jetting. Something about moving from 0 altitude (Chicago) to 4,200 ft. (Carson City) and then riding to Mammoth (up to 8,500 ft. at places). Sigh, back to the tool bench and owner's manual for more work! By the way, that's the latest picture of me and my '76 Superglide. Yahoo!

However, in just 3 days and 200+ miles, I'm really loving the Super Glide's relatively smooth ride. Can't wait to try it out over the break-in speed of 55 miles per hour!

Thanks for the T-shirt. I wore it to a huge motorcycle function yesterday and got a lot of comments. I recommended your site! - Diane in Indiana

Riding motorcycles has truly become a passion for my husband Tim and I. Tim bought a HD Dyna Wide Glide in 1999 and I started out like most women, riding as a passenger. I took the safety course and eventually we started looking for a smaller bike for me to start on. In Nov. of 99' I bought a 535 Yamaha Virago. I rode this bike for 6 months to gain my confidence and get the much needed experience to handle a larger bike.

In March of 2000 I bought my Pearl White HD Fat Boy and I haven't looked back since. This bike is just like so many people told me. It's low center of gravity and balance make it a joy to ride. This bike has the lowest seat height of all the Harleys. I also had it lowered an inch front and back, put pull back risers on the handle bars and bought boots with thicker heels. My Fat Boy fits me so well now. I now have over 11,000 miles on my bike. I think that is pretty good for a year and a half.

Thanks again for a great website. - Julie in Louisiana