Kelly’s Korner: Riding Inclusion Separates Great from Good
Last Updated: February 5th, 2021
Riding Inclusion Separates the Great Trips From the Decent Ones
I love when a fellow rider I like and trust invites me to join a road trip with people I’ve never met. No matter the preferred style of bike or background, there’s an instant bond and appreciation. I experienced that feeling for the first time in a long time in late April when the lovely Mary Z., a TEAM Arizona RiderCoach, asked me to join her on a ride.
The plan was to take the weekend to go to and from the Phoenix area via old, scenic, relaxing highways — not busy, crowded, stressful interstates — to the Chiricahua National Monument and Willcox. That Saturday morning I met three women with whom I’d ride with any time. It didn’t matter to me that I was the lone sport bike rider amid three Harleys and a BMW touring motorycle — the point is sharing the same love for the bike under you, the sun on you, the wind through you, worries leaving you.
And when these ladies showed patience and support during my unexpected adventures, that just cemented my appreciation for them.
COMING UNDONE, COMING TOGETHER
No one likes when someone breaks formation unexpectedly but that I did in Safford when a bug flew under my jacket and stung the bejusus out of me and I couldn’t kill it just by smacking myself when not trying to navigate traffic. Pulling over became quite necessary.
And when I fell way behind on the road to the Chiricahua National Monument thanks to a wayward Camelbak bladder, it became a group laugh, not a guilt trip. The bladder slipped out of the Camelbak outside of Willcox, unbeknownst to me, for several miles. When I realized it had been hanging on the side of my bike, I had to hold it in my lap until we got to the monument; laugh-worthy for sure!
Finally, when one of the ladies volunteered to store my tank bag in her lockable saddlebags so I wouldn’t have to keep carrying it around as we hiked to look at the hoodoos and balancing rocks, that simple kindness took a lot of stress off me. No one wants to worry about theft when enjoying a new experience.
The riding inclusion that weekend made all the difference between a decent motorcycle road trip and a great one. Of course, that these women have amazing senses of humor, openness and all manner of stories amped up the experience. It has been a long time since I laughed that much. We had to be the loudest group in Willcox that Saturday night. Okay, not a difficult title to earn in that sleepy town, but that title was ours!
LIFE LESSON LEARNED
Part of riding is opening ourselves to new possibilities, and that includes new people. While what we ride may be part of our identities, the reason for being on a bike at all comes down to similar impulses — the need for self-expression and freedom. The kind of motorcycle ultimately does not matter. The people matter, the ride matters.
I’d love to hear about your latest road trip, preferably with riders on different kinds of bikes. How has riding inclusion made your life better lately?
