This fall marked 10 years since I bought my first Harley-Davidson.

10 Years

Harley-Davidson has been in my blood since I was little.   The loyalty to Harley bloomed early on, thanks to my dad.

Live To Ride

Ride To Live

Those words signed every letter written between my dad and I.   Harley-Davidson was the only connecting piece for a period of time.

In some ways, it still is.

Harley’s; the lifestyle, the dream, the freedom.  It goes much deeper for me.  It isn’t about being a woman and “hearing me roar”.   It isn’t about making a statement.

Harley-Davidson is me.

Harley-Davidson is us.

I made a promise to myself that I would buy my first Harley as soon as I graduated with my Bachelors degree.   And I held to that promise.

October, 2004, my first beautiful blue baby came into my world.

And my world forever changed.

In that first year of riding, I met some INCREDIBLE people.  Several of these folks remain a very large part of my life to this day, one even a best friend.  My Best Biker B!tch. ❤

I learned a lot about myself that first Harley year.   That open road… I’m telling ya.

It does magical things.

I also learned that I looked like a dude with short hair and a do-rag.  Buying my first Harley also meant it was time to grow back out the hair.

I kept my Sporty until 2008, when I traded her in for a bigger, meaner, faster bike.  Why?  Because my Sporty was becoming uncomfortable.   And, because my boyfriend, now husband, had bought a new Chopper and I was immensely jealous of the newness and the attention his bike got.  I wanted a head turner too, darnit.

Enter Harley #2: The Rocker C.

She was a beauty.   She was fun to ride in the city.  And she got a lot of head turns with her “floating” back fender.  People were intrigued.  This was a new venture for Harley-Davidson.  It was a risk.   They were following the Chopper trend and attempted to make one of their own.

Just look at the big back tire.   Be still my heart.

I loved riding that thing.  It was fun riding around the city.  It hugged the corners on the back roads.  It had some get-up-and-go.   People asked me a lot of questions.

And then we went to Sturgis.

And Clint proposed.

This has nothing to do with the Rocker C itself, but, I can’t start a post about my love of Harley-Davidson and not include this incredibly precious and important moment in my life.

Clint and I bonded over bikes.  Our friendship began thanks to the two-wheeled lifestyle.  He and I never would have established a relationship, or even met for that matter, if it hadn’t been for two-wheels.   Remember when I said my love of Harley goes so much deeper?

Well, it just keeps getting deeper.

Let’s go back to that Rocker now.    After Sturgis?

I HATED it.

Dude.   That ride sucked.  That seat sucked.  That suspension could take a hike.

I was SO OVER IT.

Sorry, baby #2, but you’ve gots-ta-go!

Time to make room for my beautiful, sexy, old-school Baby #3.

My Softail Deluxe.

swoon.

I am in love with Baby #3.  She and I are going to have a long relationship.

I mean, she married me off, after-all.

I love my two-wheeled babies.  I love the life it has given me.  I love the people I’ve met.  I love everything that is Harley-Davidson.

It isn’t the brand to me.

It IS me.

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Cheers!