Rider Profile - Patti P.
Like so many women of my generation, I started out on the back of a partner’s motorcycle. I tend to think of myself as a late bloomer. My first ride on a motorcycle, even as a passenger was at the age of 49 when I started dating a rider (not a biker). I was terrified probably for the first half hour; then I was hooked - on both the guy and the bike. I thought about learning to ride myself, but both my age and the fact I had never even driven a car made the proposition seem too daunting,
Unfortunately the relationship didn’t last and though I say “unfortunately” if that hadn’t happened, maybe I never would have taken that next step at all. Riding a motorcycle still seemed too daunting, but I thought that possibly getting my licence and buying a little 50 cc scooter was a reasonable goal. Once again fate and timing are instrumental in the final outcome, since at the time there was no ML licence for the small scoots.
After I wrote my M1, I went browsing. All the dealers I saw agreed that with no driving experience, starting on a motorcycle might be overwhelming. They also recommended a Suzuki Burgman 400 rather than a little scoot as best of both worlds. Love again played a part, as I fell in love with a shiny red Burgman 400S, and promptly plunked down my $7,500.00 about a week before my course.
I’d like to say I was a natural and shone at my Gearing Up course. Unfortunately that was not the case. In fact, I was horrible. I stalled and stalled and stalled and didn’t even make it through the first day. Even the instructor said some people just weren’t meant to ride motorcycles or bicycles and I should just be proud of even trying. I still remember so vividly walking home from the course, carrying my helmet and jacket, crying all the way.
Still crying when I got home, I told my daughter what the instructor had said. She pointed that I hadn’t gotten hurt and I hadn’t hurt anyone else. Secondly, not only could I ride a bicycle, it was my main method of transportation, including grocery shopping. My Burgman was an automatic, so I didn’t have to really get good at shifting, just enough to pass my test. I guess every story has a gut check moment, and this was mine.
That Monday I went online and booked another course. Despite everything that has come after, I still thinking getting that M2 licence was my proudest riding moment. That was August 21, 2005.
One of the things I’ve really grown to love since joining the riding world is the diversity. There are so many kinds of riding and levels of riding out there. Starting on the scooter, my biggest ambition was to make little day trips - maybe all the way to Niagara Falls. Then I made my first little road trip to Windsor to visit my daughter and suspected that my passion was going to be touring.
The scoot was quickly upgraded to my Kawasaki ZR-7S in May of 2006. When I traded in my Burgman, it had 18,000 kilometres on it. When I bought the Kawi it had travelled 11,500 kilometres and it’s now pushing 72,000.
My first experience with group riding was with Trillium and it was a wonderful way to start in a low-pressure environment. I have done quite a bit of group riding since then and there are many things I enjoy about it. Aside from the companionship, it is also a great exercise in discipline with respect to watching what is going on around you, holding your line, judging your speed.
Last summer I also explored some other areas of the riding world. I made three trips to Ganaraska to do some off-road riding and in August I did the F.A.S.T. riding school Phase 1. Both experiences were fun and educational and if I was the oldest person at both places, oh well, I’m getting used to that.
As much as I enjoyed the track and the off-road experiences, I still believe my true passion is touring. I’ve now made many trips to Windsor and up north to the French River, a couple of trips to Vermont and New Hampshire to view the fall colours, and to Lake George, N.Y. for my first Americade last June.
What keep me riding? - lol. What keeps us breathing? Coming back from my last trip to Vermont I took the ferry across from Burlington, VT and I was talking with group of riders. I was telling them how I was seriously behind schedule and now facing a gruelling last day of riding, but I had deviated from my planned route the day before, because whenever I saw a group of riders come off a side road I figured that must be a good riding road, and I wanted to explore it. And there always seemed to be one more road.
One of the riders I was talking with, who had been riding for about 40 years, just laughed at me and told me to get used to it, because there’s always “one more road”. And maybe that sums it up best of all as to what keeps me riding - there’s always one more road to explore.