The End of the Journey in Sight

It's Sunday morning in Beckenham and I am enjoying a slow morning at Sal and Phil Baker's home with My Love. Phil should be starting breakfast soon! Last night I had a soak in their bath. It was heaven! Then, we all sat on their soft and beautiful Turkish rug and chowed down on pizza and beer. It was a cozy evening with what feel like old friends. It was just the thing after the intensity and energy of the ride.

My Love and I will be leaving soon. We'll grab a train and head for Heathrow early this afternoon. I'm going to miss being here, but I am coming home with so much more. And I'm going to share it all with you.

See you soon!

A Special Shout Out: To My Duck!

Hello, Baby!

Mama misses you and thinks of you every single day. I am waving toward to ocean and am picturing you playing in the surf with your cousins. (Hi, Lily and Rowan!) Jason, did Nathan have a great birthday? I love you, baby. I'm going to see you soon and give you lots and lots of kisses.

Good night, sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite!

See you soon, Stinky Pea!

Love,

Mama

Happy Birthday to Me!

I didn't think I'd see 40. Seeing 40 from a Harley in Scotland is beyond compare.

I've gotten some good wishes from the other chickies here and decided that I would love some more. OK, lots more. Please post heartfelt birthday wishes below. Be sure to include the part about how inspiring I am.

And it case it isn't coming across in my desparate 15-minute typing increments, please know how much you have all inspired me. I couldn't have made this trip without you all.

LOVE!

Today's Laundry List, Plus One for Pop

We had to be ready to go at 7:00 a.m. this morning. It is now 10:50 p.m. and I have no idea where the time went!

Today we road from Killen to Aviemore, with a stop to lead a HOG rally along the way. It was Amazon Heart that lead the way. The Scotish Highlands are beautiful. They do remind me of the Lake George area of New York. Lots of piney things, but with gorgeous heather tucked in here and there for prettiness. If they have a lot of something in Scotland, it's sheep. That's not a joke. So I found myself singing Bah Bah Black Sheep to myself much of the time. However, you should know that this is not a PC thing to do. You may only say "fleecy sheep" now.

Oh, I also learned the way to say "F Off" with a simple hand gesture. This was purely by accident, as when we would ride past other bikers, I'd toss off one of my American-style peace-out signs down to the right. Apparently, this can be misconstrued as F-off because a backward peace sign means just that. Yay me and my international relations skills.

Also attended the Scottish HOG rally evening festivities. FANTASTIC! I heard these amazing Scottish bands that rocked Highland style. Awesome stuff. I wore my Harley shirt with sleeves and made lots of new friends. Can't get them here. Between sets, they played good old American rock. Including Bon Jovi! Woah-oh, we're half way there! Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer! Fun to watch the Scottish rock out Jersey-style.

And, just for Pop: I ate haggis. And it was good.

Amazon Heart Thunder UK 2007 Blog

Come meet all the awesome women on my ride and see what we're up to here. Megan is doing a much better job of keeping up the blogging than I.

Practice Ride No. 1: Step One -- Dump Bike. Check.

Before you all lose your shit on me, know that I wasn't even out of the parking lot at the Harley dealership and all I have to show for it is a slightly skinned right knee. Plus, it wasn't a good bike for me and I knew it, but so many other women were nervous and changing bikes, that I was trying to be flexible.

So, my previously allocated Night Rod was reallocated to someone else who felt more comfortable on it. I was asked to try the Street Rod. Looked cool to me. The pegs where where I used to them, but, when I sat on it, it seemed a little tall for me. We couldn't take them out until they were allocated, so I just figured if it was tall, then I would just count on being able to throttle it. See, I had a plan.

Any way, I was the first rider in the first group behind the leader. So, I am lined up first to go out right behind Amazon Heart-founder, Meredith. There are 18 women behind me, two who just go licenses yesterday, waiting to see how this is going to start off.

So, I open the throttle, start going, engine cuts, I catch it. I start it up, throw the throttle wide open -- just in case it needs a good clearing -- and ease of the clutch. And the engine cuts. And now, because my feet don't touch the ground, I am trying to hold up a bike that feels like 1,000 pounds that is tipping to my already compromised right side. And... down it goes. Broke the end of the brake lever off, too. Harley dude comes over and tell me that the throttle is really touchy on this bike. Great. Information I could have used previously. Thanks.

So, of course, I hop back on. Really open the throttle and follow Meredith off down an empty road on a college campus with the rest of the women behind me. And... the engine keeps cutting out. I just couldn't seem to get the hang of keeping the throttle open wide enough and stalled every few seconds.

Meredith hops of here bike -- the Night Rod -- and asks if I'd like to switch. Damn straight I do! Of course, this bike has forward controls and my feet feel all funny on it. But, it's low to the ground, my center of gravity is great and I can stand up on it. Guess what? I can ride like a champ. LOVE IT!

So, the group completed its brief tour of Edinburgh, which, by the way, is just spectacular. I'm so in love with this place. And, we returned safely back at Pollack Halls, which is at Edinburgh University. Everyone on the trip is amazing. Everyone has come for their own reasons, but in spirit, there are all women who hate to live with limitations, take on challenges, have great respect for other people and are just dear.

I have been adopted by an Australian woman, Suzanne, whom I believe my mother has sent. She is forever asking if I'm tired and making sure I feel OK. She is also quick with a glass of Cabernet. We get along just fine.

I have a 30 minute Internet card here. And I've got 12 minutes left despite furious typing. So, I am not going to proof as well as I should. And I am not going to put in links for the bikes now. So, if you're interested, you're going to have to do some googling yourself.

Oh. One more thing. No symptoms of low platelets. Honest to God and God bless prednisone.

Cheers!