Superstition

I haven't been on my bike, Superstition, in almost 10 days. I didn't realize until I fired her up how much I had missed her -- and that's keeping in mind that I am NOT a weekend warrior rider. Yes, I am a girl in a large city but I still ride my bike 98% of the time. She's a Harley-Davidson FXDL (Dyna Low Rider) - 1450cc engine - and that girl can move!

Last weekend it was in the 20's and icy and then it rained all week and only stopped last night - not good weather to ride in. Today the high was 59 but it was sunny and great to get out.

A friend of mine once said that for a girl's bike, mine has a lot of testosterone. I was listening to her today, really zoning in on the sound -- very throaty, deep. I like it -- it conveys a sense of power.

When I first bought her, I described to the parts & service department how I wanted her to sound. Names like "Screaming Eagle" were being tossed out and I told them I wasn't parts savvy but as I had been raised around them, I knew what I liked.

I did a good job describing the sound I wanted because damn if they didn't nail it perfectly. She ended up being louder than the pipes on The Illustrious One's Road King. He was miffed and went and had an entire new exhaust system put on his so he was louder than me. My bike responded by blowing out one of her baffles so she was louder again.

Some people are offended by loud pipes on bikes - but when you are competing with blasting stereos and people on cell phones, every little bit helps and it seems like a good roll on the pipes works much better than a horn any day.

A cool thing about Dallas is that there are a lot of girl riders here -- both on cruisers and the sport bikes. It doesn't matter if they are college age, corporate types or girls with a wild hair after getting divorced -- once they embrace their bikes, they rarely look back.

I don't know what it is about a bike but it has the ability to relax you -- even if you are riding in traffic. There's a joke that you never see a motorcycle parked outside a shrink's office -- and so far that's been true for me.

I do wear a helmet -- not for safety reasons, but to keep the hair on top of my head from getting tangled when I ride...style v. substance.

Whether you are a guy or a girl - if you are itching to ride, set aside a weekend, take the beginners training course and go from there. I had never ridden a bike (only been a passenger), took the class and a couple months later bought one of the most serious Harley's out there. At first I thought I was going to get a Sportster to get a feel for it - but I never even rode it. All I did was kick up the kickstand and I could tell that thing was far too top heavy for my liking so the Low Rider it was.

I'm very glad I have my bike -- she's not a hobby any longer - she's the reason for the direction my career has taken, it's a damn lot of fun and I highly recommend it!