Her name was Tigerlily. I was obsessed.
When I first threw my leg over the saddle of my very own Harley-Davidson motorcycle I just knew that a brand new chapter was being written because I roared to life.
My obsession for two wheeled freedom machines began with a garage-sale bicycle that was ridiculously too big for my petite nine year-old body. Riding that bicycle was the place where dreams could be clearly visualized and I could be all that my heart yearned to manifest.
A failed engagement served as the means to acquire a down payment for my first motorized freedom machine. The ring was a stunning antique setting but I had to say goodbye to it because he wasn’t coming back and it was time for me to move forward. Free myself. Rock the throttle and not look back. Among the many good things about riding a motorcycle, there is no rearview mirror. You can’t lift your eyes and look behind you. There are side mirrors, yes, just to capture who may be passing through because they, too, are moving forward.
My motorcycle has taught me countless lessons. I’ve shared these wise treasures acquired from riding miles in the saddle in two books that I have authored: Bikerlady: Living & Riding Free! (Citadel Press) and the more recent, Chrome Cowgirl’s Guide to the Motorcycle Life (MBI/Quayside). I have more books in me, too. The epiphanies will forever continue, I’m sure, with every mile I roll. I’m also a musician and write and perform music having to do with the road, riding, life…hot rods. I’ve appeared in eight different films about motorcycles and I have more projects on the horizon. Yes. All these dreams and more have come true thanks to my motorcycle. She’s a phenomenon. Did I mentioned I found my “chrome charming” because of Tigerlily, too?
If my Harley-Davidson were personified, she would be ethereal. She’s my “Earl,” my guardian angel, just like Holly Hunter’s character, Grace, on the TNT show Saving Grace, has Earl helping her to navigate life’s unpredictable journey. The story of St. Theresa of Liseux reveals that Theresa was affectionately nicknamed “The Little Flower.” Oh, her story of struggle and mysticism gave me the desire to name my motorcycle after a flower. But what flower would I be? Easy. A Tigerlily. Because a girl has got to be both a tiger and a lily: roar through life and stake my dream territory while remaining a wild flower in the wind, swaying soft and gentle, seeking nourishment from the simple things. Oh, yes, Tigerlily would be the name of my motorcycle. My motoangel.
Of course naming her was not enough. I had to decorate her in Swarovski crystals and chrome tiger lilies thanks to my darling friends at Chrome Fusion. Sandy, whose mother was a biker chick in the ‘50s, understood me completely and went to work customizing the skins of my beautiful steed. He carefully placed the crystals onto the custom tank and fenders and etched into the chrome detailed tiger lilies. Then I had to extend her front end like a mustang sprinting long and far across a prairie. And now my motorcycle is a chopper thanks to Kurt at Seeger Cycle. I continue to modify her as she modifies me.
Riding a motorcycle is to know you are a spiritual being having an intense human experience. Because every sense comes alive in the wind. Senses are piqued to maximum capacity and you get to know the fullness of living because you can only be in the present moment when you ride. And the experience is heavenly and extreme all at once. To ride is to fly, just like when you have those especially unusual dreams where your soul soars high above and you look at your human life.
On a motorcycle, you have to be fully present in order to maintain strategic riding skills. You must pay attention to everything going on around you. It’s a matter of life and death. So you protect every second, no moment is thrown away. On a motorcycle, your peripheral vision is sharpened and your wisdom is challenged. You have no choice but to immediately evolve moment to moment with the changing landscape.
Tigerlily teaches me to live life to absolute fullness every day. She teaches me to keep it simple and lighten the load, because you can't carry too much baggage on a motorcycle. She teaches me to constantly ditch life as I know it. Sometimes I fail at this, so I trot out to the garage and sit on my bike and lay my head on her and reel in the lessons. She keeps me grounded and let’s me know that I can fly and reach my dreams. Rev it up! Rock that throttle! Gear up! Keep on keeping on and weather that storm! Yes, she teaches me that I can do anything. No matter what age.
A motorcycle keeps you ageless. What the hell is age anyway? I don’t want to cower and feel ashamed that I’m not this wrinkle free, cellulite-less, twenty or even thirty something, girl. I’m so pleased that I’m alive another day, taking my many millionth breath. Age should be beautifully defined as how many times you’ve danced around the sun. Tigerlily empowers me and I can do anything at anytime I want. She and dance in the sun to the rhythm of the road. I can be anything I want and experience my dreams without another human being telling me that I am too old to do so. To hell with that. Kiss my sass.
And no matter how many times I’ve been around the sun, I can always take another route and reinvent myself born again. I can always exit what isn’t working and look for an entrance ramp that can lead me onto a renewed sense of my divine purpose and into a new adventure to discover something thrilling about myself.
Because of my motorcycle, I continue to chase my dreams and live those dreams. Sometimes I’ve been led to experience unexpected talents that I never would have known had it not been for Tigerlily exposing these gifts to me. Oh, she carries me into some uncharted territory and helps me face my fears by virtue of the element of surprise and meeting new people and experiencing new places, new paths and new destinations. She throws me into the wild, and I become childlike. Like I know nothing and then I’m wonder filled. This is the finer experience of the evolutionary process that happens on a motorcycle, and being born again To become the wild child and run free….naked in the body of wonder, born to be.
My motorcycle fills me up with premium fueled thoughts: Courage, Desire, Wonder, Enthusiasm, Awareness, Love, Respect, Oneness and more flow into my mind and through my being. The wind rushing against my body teaches me to be open and accept what happens along the way of life. Two wheels soaring along the asphalt teaches me to course correct in a split second and sharpens my decision making skills. Exposed to the elements on a motorcycle, you have to be prepared for whatever mother nature gives you, with gratitude. Ah, the twists and turns and straight-a-ways of living and riding free on a motorcycle. Very engaging.
Maybe all these reasons penned herein are why women are the fastest growing market in the motorcycle culture. It’s interesting to note that the average age of a chrome cowgirl is 42, with an income of $50K plus -- a dream demographic for many. Women from all walks in life ride motorcycles. This makes sense because all kinds of females want to engage their ageless wild child and ride free, far and away, and simply take time for themselves--just like a young college chickie yearns for spring break.
“Come away, into YOUR OWN space, just you and me, baby,” beckons that sleek machine, “Let me let you be.” And you sink into that saddle, turn on that ignition, twist the throttle and fire up that engine. Your arrival is announced at the moment the motorcycle roars to life. Action speaking louder than words.
Life before the bike….ugh. I can’t imagine. She’s changed EVERYTHING. My life IS and I AM because of this motorcycle.
This summer I’m about to embark upon another Kiss My Sass journey because Tigerlily is urging me on a new voyage to course correct my way of thinking, to reveal even more power within my soul, to discover what dreams need nourishment, and to expose a new chapter in my 4th decade. I can’t let go of the young girl inside me. I love her innocent free spirit. I want to be forever young at heart and mind and activity. I want to embrace the new chapter, but I need help from Tigerlily.
Indeed, I continue to blossom thanks to the miracle growth nurturing that I receive from my rolling piece of artwork. She’s a piece of work alright, mysteriously reinventing me with every mile, whether I think I need it or not. She just assumes that liberty. Thanks to my precious motorcycle experiences, I now have a Tigerlily tattooed on my upper right shoulder blade. My soul symbol manifested onto my skin because my motorcycle is an extension of my soul. We have only just begun the reinvention journey that surely is all in the curves. There's roar to life than meets my mind.
Two wheels move my soul.
www.bikerlady.com
