2023: A Girl, a Motorcycle, and a Gypsy Soul

Half of the fun of motorcycle trips is the ride TO wherever I am headed. Whether it's bugs, meeting cool people, or quirky roadside stops, I always try to entertain myself.  Thanks to websites like Atlas Obscura https://www.atlasobscura.com/categories/roadside-attractions  and Roadside America https://www.roadsideamerica.com/ , its not hard to find some way to giggle while on the road! We rode from Minneapolis to Hurricane Mills, TN overnight - nonstop - for the Tennessee Motorcycle & Music Revival Weekend!!  Stiffy and I left after work, raring to start our long weekend. We planned to ride until we just couldn't or didn't want to anymore. Turns out, that point never came! We just. kept. going! Sometime before sunrise, I saw a sign for Dix, IL. Since I have a childish mind, you bet we made a quick gas stop in Dix!  And naturally had to play around on this guy, probably named Dick.  Every gas stop, we thought we would be tired and need to stop. We ended up riding through

 Summer is upon us and I have had a lot of questions and heard a lot of fears around getting a motorcycle license with zero experience ahead of time.  I went from riding on the back of my dad's Honda Goldwing to taking the motorcycle class and getting my license. I didn't "study" ahead of time. I didn't try to get on someone else's bike ahead of time to know what side the clutch is on vs the brake. I just went for it and signed up for the class and let the skilled teachers do their job and teach me how to do it!!  I was nervous to take the class - thinking everyone else will already know how to ride, or they will know how to use a clutch, or that I would be the 'dumbest' one there and hold the rest of the class up. There were a few moments where I questioned what I was about to do, but yet I really wanted to ride my own someday, so I really had nothing to lose. Worse case, I don't pass the class. Either way, I will learn stuff and come out ahead. I