June 27, 2016

June 2016 Wrap-Up

Final two weekends of June in review starring:

Harley’s, Beers, Best Buds and the Hubs.

Two weekends ago I parked the Jeep on a Thursday night and didn’t get back in it until the following Monday morning. I miss those days like summers past. Teaching + Summers Off = no 4 wheels unless I had to. Life now doesn’t give me that luxury anymore, so when I get the opportunity, I take full advantage!

Friday, June 17th

Jeans Day Friday’s is my favorite day of the work week. These have only been implemented in the last year and when it did, my Harley and I sent a Thank You note to our President.

No, I am definitely not kidding.

This was big time, kids. BIG TIME!

An invite to Testicle Festival in South Bend, NE with a group of friends had us on the road for a fun little Friday.

An evening of cold beers and fried testicles? How could you say no to that? 😉 After a handful of hours, four of the five couples in attendance decided to ride down to Louisville to Heron Bay, my fave little bar on the river. Unfortunately some bike issues had Tracey and I sidelined while we waited for the boys to work their magic a few miles back. The neighborhood dogs didn’t much appreciate our presence, however, the neighbors were eager to help out a few damsels in distress. Even offered a beer while we waited. Thanks small town Nebraska.

Soon after we were rolling on home to a sweet lightening show and a few sprinkles. A most perfect and serene Friday night ride. Some of the best!

❤

Saturday, June 18th

Each year Tyree and I head out on a Thelma and Louise day, without the lunatic ending. The last few years we’ve used it as a not-so-dry run to the annual B!tch run. I like to test out my map, check the roads, notify the bar owners of the date and use that day as my chance to make any necessary adjustments, which works out perfect. Our day began at 10am and we were off!

Slightly overcast in the morning but after a few of these ridiculous shots of hell, recommended by a bar patron, we were nice and warmed up.

Many miles, new friends and laughter later, our photos always turn into nonsense.

Certainly nothing to do with these…

Now the question is, were these our shots of schnapps and crown … or something more yummy and a new location?

We don’t shot and tell.

A perfectly magnificent Thelma and Louise day and have the 11th Annual B!tch Run nailed down. Check Check to another lovely June summer day.

Sunday, June 19th – Father’s Day

Due to an unfortunate last minute Fathers Day plan cancellation courtesy of an illness, I found myself flying solo Father’s Day morning.

Which was a-ok with me!

I set out mid-morning for some solo riding, of which are most often my favorite rides. I started riding 12 years ago and when I wasn’t on a poker run (which seemed to be every single weekend back in the day), I rode on my own during the weekdays. I’d set out in a direction and go, just me and my Sporty. I was in a deep transition period both physically and mentally while I was closing out my life in Clarinda and making the plans for a clean slate in Omaha. It’s those solo rides that always put everything into perspective and truly helped define who I was. I still love those solo rides and heading out on Father’s Day Sunday was like a breath of fresh air. I rode all the backroads leading out of NE into IA for a few hours and then soon found myself in Clarinda, crashing Clint’s fathers day plans with his dad, Kyle and the rest of the fam bam. Ok, so I didn’t crash it, I was always welcome, but I had planned to be elsewhere, so I like to say I crashed it. 🙂

They had just gotten in from riding the horses around the acreage when I rolled in. How cute is this pic of Clint and Kyle? They are alike in so many ways.

riding

A few hours of shooting the shit, beers and dinner on the breezeway was a perfect ending to what started out as a botched Sunday.

fathersday

And then it was time to roll!

For my two-wheeled riders, you know how much gravel sucks. But, I’ll do it. Just give me time.

Tuesday, June 21st.

Justin Bieber – Lincoln, NE.

Brooke had some extra tickets.

Jessica asked, “wanna go?”

I said, “You bet!”

Belieber? Nope. Life experiences? Yep.

Bieber was a total douche on stage, lacked enthusiasm in the worst way imaginable, rarely interacted with the audience and was so self-righteous he paused to take at least 6 water breaks during the concert and made a complete spectacle of it by pausing all music, standing center stage, spotlight on him.

While he chugged a water bottle.

Really, Biebs? REALLY?

Get over yo’self.

Friday, June 24th

Date night with my hubby and my first glance at his newest bulletin board! Walkup Woods is coming along, folks!

Saturday, June 25th

A day of riding through Southwest Iowa with Tina, dodging rain drops and rain clouds.

A few hours spent with Troy, Sara and their two girls in the late afternoon before heading back to Omaha for dinner with Clint, his mom and Gaylen rounded out Saturday and as for Sunday, an early afternoon INSANITY class followed by some pool and sun time with Claire and Briton. I might have gotten schooled on Shopkins too. 🙂

Basically,

Summer needs to NEVER end.

Cheers!

November 17, 2015

Solitude

The last two weekends have allowed me to get on my bike and get in some solid open road miles, just me and my girl.

I cherish those rides

When I bought my first bike I was fresh out of college having just graduated with my undergrad. It was a gift to myself after obtaining my Big Girl job and a few paychecks.

Riding on my own was what I did. I had a few folks to ride with those first months and I greatly appreciated the backup while I gained my riding wings. A year into my riding career I met my bestest Biker B!tch Sara and embraced the new riding friends I gained. But that group of riding friends lived in a neighboring town, so it was always me and my Sporty making our way to them. And then finding our way back home at night.

It was those first few years when I learned to appreciate the solitude.

It’s also when I learned a lot about myself.

I love riding with my husband. I love riding with my girlfriends. I love riding with groups of people, small and large. I wouldn’t trade those days and rides for anything, ever.

But, when given the chance to ride by myself…

I go.

The solitude of riding on your own opens up your senses. It clears the mind of the all the uncertainties. It brings a sense of empowerment and breathes life back into the body and mind.

Fear of riding alone? Absolutely not. You are talking to the girl who is known to intentionally wait until night fall to ride the 90 miles back to Omaha from Clarinda.

Riding alone forces a person to really understand their surroundings and be in tune with every last sound, light and movement that’s out there.

It’s intoxicating.

I have a few rules for my solo days:

Full tank of gas.
Layers of gear in case of inclement weather.
Cell phone charged.
Decide a direction but never a destination.
Take the road less traveled, even if it means it leads to a dead end. That dead end? It tells a story.

This most recent Sunday sent me out West. I rode out for about 50 miles before winding my way back home. The air was brisk. My full leathers warm. I set out in sunshine and 55 degree weather. I returned with an overcast sky and very cold wind. The kind of wind that had me riding sideways at times.

It was a low 100 miles of everything I needed and wanted.

I encourage people to get out there. Explore the world on your own. Find out who you are, not who you are with others. Find out what the open road has to tell you. You will find a piece of yourself out there that you never knew existed. Think of it as personal development.

🙂

I found a few quotes that seemed to describe the importance of solidarity and I combined them to fit what it was I was hoping to express, so I’ll leave you with this:

Many people suffer from the fear of finding oneself alone, and so they don’t find themselves at all. Solitude gives birth to the original in us, to the beauty of who we really are.

Cheers, friends. ❤

September 13, 2015

Weekend in Review | September 11-13, 2015

Friday

A little dinner and VFC Fights with friends at Stir Cove. Hello fall weather and sweatshirts! It was chilly!

Clint loves taking selfies with me. Adores it, y’all!

An easy, breezy Friday eve!

Saturday

Full leathers, Harley time, Girlfriends, Memorial Poker Run and a whopping 352 miles round trip for this girl. It was a legit day on the bike!

Stop 1: Emerson, IA

Our stop in Emerson was to support Sara at her first annual JunkFest. Check her out at SW Iowa Primitives, Antiques and Furniture. It was also Emerson Days and they just so happened to be lining up for the big parade while we were there. We contemplated jumping in on it, but sadly we had to get rolling before the parade actually started. But, that didn’t stop us from first getting distracted by big shiny firetrucks, apparently. Good thing the Fire Chief in town is fellow biker sister, Liz. 🙂

Stop 1.5: Villisca to pick up Tina and on to Stop 2: Clarinda to sign up for the Shane Scroggs Memorial Poker Run. Shane is a Clarinda native who passed away far too soon. His family started this Poker Run in his name 6 years ago and all donations go to Scholarship Funds for Clarinda graduates.

This is also where we met up with a few more sista’s before hitting the road!

Stop 3: Hayloft, Grant, IA

Can’t be on the bike without Tootsie Pops. It’s a rule, folks. A Jordan Rule.

Stop 4: Huffy’s, Anita, IA

Stop 5: Marne, IA

Stop 5.5: Avoca for Fuel

Stop 6: The Back Forty, Macedonia, IA

Where the staffing was short and two of our Biker B’s hopped in to help.

#onceabartenderalwaysabartender

Nice work, Liz and Tyree!

We hung out at this stop for quite a while. Food was the common denominator.

And becoming SnapChat friends was critical.

This stop is where some of the gals bounced. Some to Missouri Valley, one to CB and the other to Omaha. The rest of us motored on to…

Stop 7: Stanton, IA and then on to Stop 8/9: Clarinda, IA

Final Poker Hand Drawing:

This guy rode his bike the entire Poker Run Route: 180 Miles.

There were three men total. One guy make it 130 miles. One made the whole run but bounced home instead of coming back to the bar. Can you imagine?! That is a lot of miles… but for such a great cause. Good money was raised.

The last group event of the night was a loop through Clarinda led by Shane’s brother in the truck he and his dad were rebuilding 6 years ago. Cars, bikes, loud pipes through the town of Clarinda.

A very touching tribute and tradition.

Then it was back to the bowling alley to leather up for the chilly and dark 90 mile road back home.

But, not before a butt shot and Ski trying to steal Liz’s bike.

Those silly girls…

Back to Omaha and in my driveway by 10:30pm. 352 miles and 14 hours of awesome. Night riding remains some of my favorite times to get out there. Your senses come alive.

It’s exhilarating.

Sunday

A lazy day. Lash appointment, grocery store and an entire afternoon sitting in my back yard reading, blogging, enjoying the fire my husband has started and love from this guy:

Yet another perfect weekend.

Cheers!

September 9, 2015

10th Annual B!tch Run | July 25th, 2015

↓ Girls, Girls, Girls

What a day …

with all these girls

❤

And to think that it all started from these two minds.

🙂

So, how on earth do I even begin wrapping up an entire days worth of photos into one post? This is the main reason why it has taken me darn near two months to even start this entry. Do I make multiple posts? Do I make one giant one? And what photos of the over 450 do I share with you fine people?

You feeling my dilemma here?

And so, it was decided. This giant, noteworthy, epic day is going to be wrapped up into one GIANT, beautiful, powerful, kick-ass post featuring some equally beautiful, powerful, kick-ass women.

Here we go…

The Hard Luck Saloon | Council Bluffs, IA

The Hard Luck served as our meetup point. The start of Bloody Mary’s, shirt exchanges and pre-run group photos. Because rain, of course.

11:45am | Kickstands up. Time to start the day.

Nothing hotter than THAT view right there.

Hey ladies. ❤

The Wild’s | Bartlett, IA

Where the drinks were cold, conversations started flowing, people loosened up and epic gift giving was had.

Now, why on earth they wanted to pick up my butt is beyond me.

But it served as the perfect opportunity for the girls to give me the most thoughtful, hilarious, absolutely PERFECT gift of all time. Sneaky little sisters, I tell ya!

I’m just going to allow the photos to do the talking from here on out.

Brace yourselves for this awesomeness.

Oh, NO you DIDN’T!

Oh, YES you DID!

ya Betta Recognize!

The Story. Around the 4th of July I found a photo of this jacket on the good ol’ Internet and posted it on my Harleys & Heels page reminiscing about my Junior High years when I actually DID have this exact jacket. Fringe and all. Who knew that a few of these girls (I believe Tracy was the mastermind in getting this all going – LOVE you, doll) would pull off searching, finding, buying and organizing a group card.

Best, sistas, EVER.

And with that… we moved on.

❤

The Riverside Inn | Riverton, IA

Kayla, Sara and Jess were the Jeep crew.

Fortunately, soon after this photo, they were able to take the Freedom Panels out! It wouldn’t be a B run without a little rain! 🙂

Cocktails…

Selfies

And more…

Riverton was a short and sweet stop. Enough for a couple cocktails and a little ruckus before leaving this quaint little town. What kind of ruckus you ask? Click here.

On to Shenandoah, IA where we caused a mild curiosity amongst the local PD. I think we counted three drive-by’s? I promise, we were on our best behavior.

All those women on two wheels?

Ya, I’d do a few drive-by’s myself!

❤