Sunscreen: protect your face and lips

After the brutal rainstorm we endured, we dried out in the summer sun.  One fantastic thing about the weather in the midwest, is that storms blow up quickly, but leave quickly.  After the storm you are left with a beautiful sunny day (at least in August).  Riding your Harley Davidson on the highway in 90 degree heat will, thankfully, dry you out quickly.
When we arrived at our hotel in Rapid City late the second day, I learned another lesson, but thankfully this was one that I learned at the expense of some other poor woman rider.  We saw a young women with tousled wind blown hair, in a bandanna, sitting in the courtyard of the hotel on her cell phone.  She appeared to be hunched over in despair, with her back was to us, as we heard snippets of her conversation.  Here is what we heard:  "but you don't understand, they are very burned", "pain", "bleeding", and "please call in something for me".  It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out she was making a call to her doctor.  I became morbidly curious to know what had happened to her, so I loitered around the courtyard to catch a better glimpse of her.  When she finally hung up the phone and turned so that I could see her face, I saw the issue she was dealing with.  She had the most painful looking lips and face that I had ever seen.  It was clear that she had ridden a long ways, maybe several days to get there, without sun protection for her face and lips.  Her nose was bright red and her cheeks were burned, but by far the biggest problem was this poor girl's lips!  They were at least twice the size of Angelina Jolie's and I doubted that they were originally enhanced.  Her lips were swollen, bright red, cracked, and oozing.  It was a painful sight just to look at, let alone for her to experience.  I hoped her doctor had been able to call in a prescription for something to fix the problem, although I suspect only time would really heal those monster lips.  I felt so sorry for her, but I learned a valuable lesson for all women riders:  Wear sunscreen at all times, and pay close attention to a lip balm that has a high SPF factor!  I would have to hope that she learned that as well, the hard way.

The first day of our first long trip

We were excited to get on the road for the first day of our nine day adventure.  We had our Harley Davidson Electra-Glide packed to capacity.  Both side saddlebags stuffed full, the touring bag in the back was full and I had all the clothes I could pack in a bulging canvas bag tied to the top.  I mounted the back seat preparing to be one of those women I see relaxing in the passenger seat, and we took off west.
We rode an entire day, leaving early in the morning.  The sunshine felt wonderful and warm, the wind was in back of us and we were elated to begin our trek.  After riding west on Interstate 80 and connecting with I29 going north, we crossed the South Dakota border, we tired of interstate travel and thought it would be great fun to take a two lane road west, the rest of the way through South Dakota.  There is so much more to see and experience on a two lane highway, so we chose highway 16 to take west. 
Heading west on highway 16 we noticed there were not as many places to stop or pull over.  That was not so bothersome at that point because we saw a small town with a gas station for a break every 45 minutes or so.  We stopped frequently that day, not used to spending so much time "in the saddle".  It must have been about 3pm when we were riding along that highway and a storm cloud came out of nowhere!  The sky turned totally black and the wind picked up.  We could smell rain in the air but had no where to go.  We continued, battling a strong cross wind that practically took our motorcycle into the oncoming lane.  Talk about scary!  I pictured us being picked up in that wind and hurled to OZ to see the wizard with Dorothy.  Then the storm really squalled and we were caught in a torrential downpour along with the wind.  My poor husband could not see in front of him or keep the bike safely on the road and there was NO WHERE for us to pull over.  We were forced to stop on the shoulder of this little stretch of highway.
So now we were out in the open, in tornado country, off of the bike, and literally trying to keep the wind from blowing the bike over.  There was no place to take cover out there, not even a tree.  Since my canvas bag was on top of the touring pack, Mike removed it and put it on the ground to make sure the bike was a little more stable.  We stood that way in the downpour, holding up the bike for what seemed like hours.  It was probably only a few minutes but you can imagine. 
Eventually the rained stopped.  Those prairie storms come and go quickly.  We have experienced even more of them since, in South Dakota.  So we strapped my wet bag back to the top of the touring pack and rode on west for about 20 minutes, to the nearest town with a gas station.  We were so wet that I could hardly get off the motorcycle.  My pants, boots, socks, and jacket were dripping wet.  I even had water in my boots.  I couldn't wait to change into some dry clothes at that gas station!  I took the bag into the bathroom to find some dry clothes and guess what?  Every stitch of clothing I had brought with me was wet too!  A canvas bag does not withstand a downpour, and especially when set down on the ground in a running puddle of water during a storm.  The bag had taken water from the top and bottom.  I almost cried right then.  But the sun was out and it was at least warm, and we had an adventure to continue.  I literally took off my clothes to wring them dry and returned to my perch on the back of the motorcycle to head for Rapid City and our first night in the hotel.

Packing for our first long motorcycle trip

We were preparing to leave for the Black Hills and Sturgis, South Dakota at the end of July 2006. I made my usual list of what I took with me on a typical vacation... my comfort items. We were to be gone for about 9 days so I figured on 9 pair of pants and shorts, 12 shirts (in case I couldn't decide what to wear), all my toiletries, make-up, jewelry, several pair of shoes, and various other odd items.  When I laid all of that on the bed, I realized it would have fit in a trunk, not a saddle bag.  This really concerned me... how could I pack enough for 9 days in a saddle bag and the duffel bag my husband insisted I use.  Toiletries, make-up, and blow dryer alone would have barely fit in a saddle bag....  So I had to make difficult decisions.  I could not imagine how to pack for this trip.  I was told to prepare for all types of weather.. we were roughing it..  but it was August in the midwest, surely it would not be cold on our trip.
I begrudgingly began to eliminate items from my "necessities" list.  Women face unique challenges and higher standards so I still packed make-up, jewelry, hairspray, hair styling tools, 3-4 pair of jeans, 2 pair of shorts, sandals, boots, 9 smaller shirts, jacket, sweatshirt, bandanna, and lots of other useless items.  I managed to pare down enough to literally stuff a canvas duffel bag full and a saddlebag full.  It was a miraculous feat and I was so proud of myself for trimming down my necessities.  My husband, on the other hand took only one pair of boots (on his feet), 2 -3 pair of jeans (including the ones he wore), and 7 shirts (he said we would buy some while we were out).  He packed like a guy and fit 9 days worth of his stuff in one saddle bag.  There is an extra "touring pack" on the back of the Harley Davidson ElectraGlide and it held things like our leather jackets, rain gear, his chaps, helmets, etc.
We had many adventures during those nine days on the road but fast forward to our return home and what I had to unpack that didn't get used:

• Makeup:  Seriously women, if you wear makeup while riding down the road at 75 miles an hour for very long in August heat, make sure it "sticks" well and is waterproof.  I tried to put on makeup for the first few days but we got caught in rain and I looked like a raccoon on day one.  The makeup quickly became untouched in the bottom of the bag.
• Jewelry:  What was I thinking?  A fashion show?  NO.  The road is no place for jewelry.  I had silver dangle hoops that look great but almost ripped my earlobe off at 75 miles an hour.  
• Sandals:  Nope again.  You need protection for your feet when riding, and to get anywhere, you ride.  Where are you going to go to wear those sandals?  
• Hairspray, gel, styling tools:  Are you kidding?  The minute you get on the back of that bike and put on a helmet, bandanna, or worse yet, let the wind take it, your hair becomes a nightmare!  I now know why "bikers" wear that bandanna all day and night.  They don't want you to see their awful hair-do (or hair don't). 
• Shorts: I tried that.  Got a pipe burn on my calf.  Then got a sunburn on my thighs in the dessert, then gave the shorts up!  I always have to learn the hard way...  my husband kept saying "don't wear shorts on the bike".  I didn't listen.
• Clean clothes:  If you are going for days on a motorcycle, forget the untra-squeaky clean feel.  You will feel clean only 1 hour a day (right after your shower).  The rest of the time, you will feel like a dirty sock..  kind of covered with road grime.  Just get used to it and enjoy the ride.

Valuable lessons were learned that year!  Not only did I pack it like an idiot, with unnecessary things, but I had to carry my heavy bags into the hotel every night and back to the bike every morning.  For a distance trip, think comfort only, not glamour!  Take just what you need.  I will help you with a proper packing list in a later post.

Our first Harley Davidson

After our family visit to Sturgis in 2005, we vowed to return on our own Harley.  Mike and I went to the local Harley Davidson dealer in the spring of 2006 so he could test drive a new Electra-Glide.  He fell in love with so much about that beautiful black bike, that he bought it immediately!  The best part about it, he told me, was the room and comfort of riding on it.  He finally fit well on a motorcycle.  He had leg room, a bigger seat, saddle bags and a touring pack for storage.  You see, Mike is a big guy too, at 6 foot 2 and over 250 pounds.  He brought that bike home and told me to "gear up" for a ride.
I was skeptical at first.  I remembered being cramped on a little seat behind him, having my knees feel like they were under my chin and feet resting on little tiny pegs.  It had been some years since we had enjoyed riding together.  That first ride for me on the Electra-Glide was WONDERFUL!  I had a nice comfortable seat with armrests and plenty of leg room and he still fit comfortably in front of me.  It only took that first ride for me to remember the joy I felt riding.  I am really not a bike snob for sake of one brand over another but it is hard not to be partial to comfort.
We took many rides that spring; short ones and longer ones.  It was wonderful to spend that time together with him on the open road.  It was that spring that we finalized our plan to attend the 2006 Sturgis Bike Rally.