The Go Big Tour

I've been watching the Atlanta Race Shop guys on the Go Big Tour (the Trans America Trail) and have been wishing I had done such a thing once upon a time. Then I was wishing I had just gone in the support truck and covered the ride for them with blogs and tweets since I no longer have a bike on which to ride. Now they've got me watching for Husaberg's 2010 releases and thinking all kinds of motorcycle thoughts. And I remembered my first bike, a Honda 50 which Aunt Joyce attempted to ride and it bucked like a bronco..... sweet. But mostly I remember my second bike, a Suzuki 75 two-stroke, 17" wheel on the front, 15" on the back..... er.. something like that.

... and if you're lookin' at the stinkin' shorts and knee socks, you're knowin' I had burns all over my legs for about 3 years, but it was worth it, man, to wear the shorts (they matched the bike). Motocross was still pretty young back then; Enduros were using mostly the 50cc and 75cc's. I had never heard of either term, I just knew I liked to ride my bike in the shale pit and on an abandoned baseball diamond with Julie hanging off the back and Lisa and Matt racing alongside.

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My very next bike came almost 20 years later and looked a little something like this:

"Short N Sassy"
Ain't she a beaut? Doug found her for me all wrecked, abused and lonely. She went to court-appointed rehab in his shop and came out purring like a kitten. But when Tom took her to Charleston one morning, driving off in the mist with his 200 lbs in a leather jacket, oozing off a pink bike that's screaming "Short N Sassy!" well..... I figured it was time for a paint job.
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Thomas Love dug out his painting gear and changed her to teal and white and she looked a little something like this:

(Why dadgum if that isn't Cousin David to the far left, head bowed, in a blue jacket!)
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I rode that sweet little bike to and from work for a year or two, taking Tommy to football practice on it now and again. It was great fun. But in the short time I had it, several guys, excellent, experienced riders in our small town were hit and killed in several different accidents. I decided it wasn't a safe place for a mom with three small children and I sold the bike. No regrets. (until the Go Big Tour came along)