How did that happen. Seems it was just a few weeks ago I packed up, bid the Island farewell and made the drive thru wind, snow, ice, dust and avalanches to the land of big skies, old friends, and a new life.
Oh don’t fret, I’m still the scatterbrained impulsive albeit irresistible chick i have always been 😏 just now, Im prepping for yet another new decade, back in Alberta, the land I adore! In 4 short months I’ll be 70. Seventy! Holy henshit who’d have guessed? And who would have said I would be living my best life? It is astounding!
A glimpse of my amazing life. Thought some will consider it boring after decades of adventures, moving hither and yon. Of many cats who’ve come and gone. Mr Big, Rosie, Diego, and Fat Casey. Reflecting on them I remain convinced beyond a doubt I am a cat person. But for now, and likely the foreseeable future, my home will be cat-less. I can live with that. I mean average age could be 15 years, and do I really want an old cat when I’m 85? No, not likely. So cats are off the menu.
Lets see what else is off my menu - motorcycles. And my life on 2 wheels. Oh I have loved them. Had a fair amount, starting with the 250 Honda, lol which my then husband ran ragged. Then onto a Triumph Bonneville, oh what a blast she was a trip to Sturgis, ripping thru Wyoming and Montana! Moving to the main course a 781/2 Harley Electraglide…many thousands of miles on that beast. Low, loud, slow compared to my other rides, it was great for meeting new folks. Like the welder in Utah to reattached my exhaust pipe mount. Took her across Canada to Nfld, dozen trips to Sturgis, all through the praries and USA. Lol. I estimate over 80,000 miles before it was sold on lime, waaaay before facebook, to a buyer who sent the cheque with the driver of a moving truck from California. Lol I was trusting. Or Naive?
Then onto my first Softail. An ‘86, a wreck from Arizona that was hauled to the local insurance yard. Poor rider was killed when he was knocked off his bike near where we lived at the time. Many calls to Customs, Insurance here and the US, and a new frame, it was resurrected after many many hours of rebuilding. Its where I learned about rebuilding and modifying a bike from the ground up. And that cutting out the main support bar on a bare frame to fit a 6 speed transmission may not have been the wisest choice! (Yeah it finally cracked many years later) that softtail made trips south, west, north, a wonderful bike! 180,000 Miles bore we moved to the NWT, and I sold it. There will never be another like her.
True there were years when I was bikeless, due to a wandering lifestyle with my late husband, but came the day I walked out of the Calgary Motorcycle Show with a brand new 1200cc Sportster! Okay, call it a girly bike all you want but it moved! Scared the bejeez out of me first ride when I cracked it! A week in California, Hwy 101, all over Western Canada…a really good little ride!
Then came the day I saw my dream Harley! A Dyna Switchback…103 cubic inches of pure joy! It was my favourite bike ever! Beautiful, till I lost a saddlebag lid on the hwy…lol Ah thats why I carried bungie cords and duct tape. Sure the rear brake dissolved and could have killed me, but it didnt. 😎 and when we were ensconced in the north, in Dawson Creek, one last ride to southern AB and for some ungodly reason, it was traded for a 749cc Russian made bike with sidecar - a Ural. At the time it made sense, Mac and I wanted on off road capability, camping, gravel roads, etc. But then Covid hit. Mac got ill. Really ill. We needed to return to Alberta, kick our “renter-from-hell” and her 3 hounds out and settle back in Milo. Sadly we ended up selling out Urals and refocused on getting well. So endeth the wild backroad adventure bikers! But wait theres more:
And now we head west, to the Island again, where we, perhaps unwisely, purchased 2 used HD’s. Not a lot of miles on them, I had to sell when sadly I became a widow. My favorite riding buddy and dear husband was gone.
I made one more big trip, this time by car, to bid farewell with his riding friends in Montana, Washington and Alberta with tears, laughter, some damn good scotch and the realization I Would Survive. And survive, nay - thrive! 😎 and I have.
I adore my new life in Alberta. I’ve moved into a very cozy condo, have awesome friends both new and old and a new love in my life. A while new family is now part of my days, My original family is doing well, and I have abundance.
So onwards! Farewell to my motorcycling lifestyle, but kept my wanderlust and quest for adventures. Just a bit slower, lol. Happiness surrounds me. My drinking partying days are Behind me. I remain a social butterfly. And still haven’t mastered the art of colouring within the lines! Lol
True story; My boyfriend’s son was sharing a laugh, shaking his head asking his pa “where did you find this one.” The answer “the Silver Buckle Saloon”…lol Truth can be stranger than fiction!
Then
Love your story.
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