My Application For Suzuki’s “Ride of A Lifetime” Contest

Have two long-time motorcyclist friends? You know, the ones you’ve shared the highs and lows of the road with for as long as you can remember? Perhaps more importantly, two that could put up with you for 1000+ miles on a bike road trip?

Well get your riding gear ready, because Suzuki is looking for three close friends (and licensed motorcyclists) to take “THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME.” The chosen few will ride new, 2007 Suzuki Boulevard cruisers on a 5-day, 1000+ mile road trip through some of this country's most beautiful scenery, on roads that you'll swear were made for motorcycling. To top it off, the entire trip will be filmed for Suzuki’s new 2007 Suzuki Boulevard advertising campaign, and you & your friends could be the stars!

APPLICATION:

Rider 1: me
Rider 2: Luke
Rider 3: Keith

Riding Experience: four years

Current and Previous Motorcycles Owned: none
Current and Previous Motorcycles Borrowed From Husband: ’83 Honda Nighthawk, ’00 Buell M2 Cyclone

How Long Have You Known: Luke – 16 years, Keith – 5 years

While addressing a large group of people, select which of the following is going through your mind:
Great Group! Can we hang out later? ___ I’ll be glad when this is over! _X_ Just shoot me! ___

Describe yourself and your two friends’ personalities on the road, either Leader of the Pack/Navigator, Mid-pack, Bringing up the rear, or Where’s lunch/are we there yet?
Me: Mid-pack
Luke: Leader of the Pack/Navigator
Keith: Mid-pack

Describe your favorite motorcycling memory:
I have some great memories of gorgeous days and twisty roads. Of realizing the power beneath me and that capability within me, but my favorite memory is from early on, before I even had my license. I was taking the motorcycle education class and the big, burly teacher went around the room and asked why we all wanted our motorcycle licenses. I said that I wanted mine to make my dad proud. My dad really wanted me to learn and I wanted to do well for him. We were on our first day of the road course and we were doing the typical exercises of circling and swerving, going around cones and I was having a great time. We were all doing one last big circle around the course and as I came back in to the parking area, the burly instructor said to me, “why did you say you wanted your license?” I said, “to make my dad proud”. He said, “I think that did it”.

Describe the funniest thing in your motorcycling life:
That would have to be Luke. He’s hard on me when I make mistakes riding, but he’s also the only thing that can make we laugh when we’re on a long, wet ride or stuck in traffic on a 90-degree day. He’ll reach out and pretend to pinch bicyclist’s butts as we pass them by on the road. If we see someone bending over, working on their garden and their showing a bit of “plumber’s crack”, he’ll make a hand motion like he’s dropping a quarter in a slot machine. If we’re in traffic or behind a slow driver, he’ll motion like he’s pushing himself along with his feet. It’s the stupid little things like that that keep us both going on long days. With no radios and helmets covering our faces, we have to rely on creative sign language to pass the time.

Describe what it is about your two friends that makes them worthy to be part of the Suzuki “Ride of a Lifetime” with you:
To put it very simply, if it wasn’t for Luke letting me ride his motorcycles, I wouldn’t be riding. He cautiously encouraged me to learn to ride and offered his bikes for me to ride on. He’s been my constant riding buddy and I feel like I’ve forgotten something if I ride anywhere without him. That, and we’ve been together forever and he’d kill me if I did this without him. If it wasn’t for Keith getting his license, I wouldn’t have mine either. When he was getting ready to take his test, he needed a bike to ride and the old Nighthawk had been sitting, unloved, in our garage for a while. It needed a little work but since Keith needed a bike, we took her out and dusted her off and got her up and running. After Keith got his license, he bought a bike of his own and the Nighthawk was free for me to ride. The rest is history. That, and he’s really tall so our awesome leather-clad trio would look proportionate on the promotional posters with tall Keith in the middle and me and Luke like short bookends on either side. He also sent me the link to the contest, so it would be mean if I didn’t include him.

Describe something that each of your two friends did that drove you crazy:
Well I’m married to one of them, so eventually everything he does drives me a little crazy. Keith, I cant say there’s anything he does to drive me crazy, but give me five days and 1100 miles with him and I’m sure I’ll change my story.