Raising Money for Charity

Yesterday I rode my motorcycle in B.A.D. Ride - Bikers Against Despair. This is the 11th year the ride has been run. It is a 160 km ride to raise money for the Distress Centre which provides free counseling and phone support to people who are in crisis.

There were over 1300 bikers participating and we raised over $200,000. One of the best things at this ride is the sense of community. If anyone has a problem or runs off the road, the next 10 people behind pull over and help. I was one of those yesterday. I bee got into my helmet. After desperately trying to ignore the bee I pulled over quickly on some gravel and fell over. Luckily I wear full gear and a full face helmet. Had I not been fully geared, I am clear that I would have broken my nose and maybe some teeth because I landed prone on the ground after the motorcycle slid from under me. The worse injury was my pride :-) and besides that was the bruised tendon in my hand.

At the end they raffled off a Harley Davidson Motorcycle. I put off going home or going to have it x-rayed just to see if I won the motorcycle. I didn't win in - and my hand ended up being only bruised or sprained........all for a good cause!

Spring in Toronto

It is finally spring in Toronto. That means it's 'Motorcycle Time!'.

I took the motorcycle out of storage on Monday and rode it home from my cottage up north, down to my city home. The trip is about 2 1/2 hours and I loved it. I kept the face guard up, the vents open and my leather jacket partially open. I could feel the wind in my face and caught inside my jacket.

Turning those corners, feeling as one with the bike really made me connect with nature. As I rode, the sun was shining full on, I could smell the smokey smell of fire or the earthy smell of new plants and flowers growing. I felt totally free.

This is life!

Freedom Ride

I recently came back from a 12 day motorcycle trip through the Blue Ridge Parkway with my boyfriend. I thought. when I first started out that I had decent motorcycling skills. By the time we left Toronto, which is flat and straight, and got to Pennsylvania, my skills were being challenged. I almost missed a curve and hit a parked car. I, understandably, had a meltdown and wanted to return home. Thank goodness, my boyfriend is a motorcycle instructor and he kept reminding me of the skills I already possessed, but was not using. On the curves, you naturally look at the obstacle or edge of the cliff you want to miss and slow down if you are losing balance. Those two things are the worse thing you can do in a curve. You need to look where you are going and accelerate out of the curve. It took about a week of continual challenges and practice before I could take any curve naturally and with ease. I started this trip from a place of fear and despair, and through perseverance, ended up boosting my confidence and conquering a challenge I thought would do me in.