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Some Personal Information

I thought I would share some of the personal reasons that had an impact on my decision to make this journey.

I'm a 54-year "young" woman, and not in the best of shape; but they say attitude counts. I'm single (although I did put in an almost 30 year stint as a married woman) and have a 34-year-old son and two grandchildren. My son along with my parents played a big part in moving me to make this journey. A little over a year ago I saw my son go into a hospital because he was considering suicide. That was Halloween. He has since been diagnosed with the illness of Bipolar I disorder. My son is recovering well. I am very happy that he has finally been diagnosed properly and is receiving the help he needs. Not even one month after my son's troubles came to light, my father was diagnosed with cancer all throughout his body. That was Thanksgiving. He died two weeks after Christmas with my mom and I at his side every day. Four months later I came back from my first long motorcycle run to Laughlin NV to find my mother had fallen. Having lain alone on the floor in her home for over five days she was barely alive when I found her. She passed away about 4 hours later. She fell - it seems - on my birthday. Having suffered to witness my son's pain and to literally watch both of my parents die before my eyes in such a short span of time I was not happy with my life at all. I also saw what people in New Orleans had recently gone through and realized many of them had passed under similar circumstances as my mom. I at least still had my son and my home. This led me to take greater stock than ever in one of my favorite catch phrases, "life is short!"

I was not at all happy with my life, so I decided to Take Control and change it. I tried to think very hard about what would make me happy. When you get really truthful with yourself, you might find that there are only a few things that really make you happy. It’s usually not the things you thought would do it. Riding my motorcycle made me happy. I found that I craved the feeling of freedom it gave me when I needed it. I also love adventure and meeting new people, so meeting women from different walks of life, sharing stories and learning from each other would make me happy. Taking this ride and making it count for something would make me happy. So why not just do it.

A big part of the reason that I have the courage to take this ride and to follow my dreams and encourage others to do the same is through the things I have learned and the people I have met during my travels in the coffee and tea industries. They have given so much to me that I decided when I followed my dream and made this journey on my motorcycle, I would like to give back. Because everyone deserves health care and a home to live in, I would like to donate part of the proceeds of my ride to Grounds for Health and since there is so much still to be done in New Orleans - so many still without homes or the bare necessities - part will go to New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity's Women Build program.