ORRRR.. Ride 4355.191 miles... or 7009km....

 Sorry I had to .. I love the song so I had to make the funny..

The point however, is that this season.. my first riding my own.. I have to date travelled over 7000km.
Just incase you are wondering it is 6521km or 4025miles across Canada coast to coast.
So not to shabby. I may not have gone across the country like my parents did with me.. yet... I do know just how long that would be.

These km were made up of many many short rides and a few nice long ones. 

My first big ride was with a local group as a fundraiser.. it was 3weeks after getting my license and very early in the season. The weather was the worst I have been in all season. It was super cold.. Insanely windy and soooo very very wet. 
Luckily it was going over the mountain towards my mothers and when we hit the first stop (many km longer then Red and I were used to being in the saddle for) I was more then ready to just go to moms to feel warmth.. use of the drier and hopefully hot soup .. I tapped out.. It did win me a gift card which paid for our supper when we finally got back to town and met them for the post ride gathering. 

We had an amazing kick off to summer vacation with an awesome trip to PEI.. ok so day two was very very windy and more then a little scary crossing the highway over the island... annnnd it got very wet that evening.. our tent stayed dry and we still had TONS OF FUN!

DC and I, in the tradition of my parents, had an "us" trip that took us the long way round to Quebec City. I missed Red so much she is coming next year... but the trip was so amazing we are going further and for longer. 
 Instead of loading the bikes and traversing over some really sketchy and scary back roads, this time we are loading the jeep and trailer and gonna take the girls long to day trip on. ONTARIO HERE WE COME!!!  (stay tune this winter as we plan for that one)

Jezzy (the jeep) and Jim (the trailer) were all ready for a test run of next years trip just in time for camping at Walmart and touring Wharf rat rally.

There have been many little adventures in-between.. lots of lessons and so many more to come!! 

Watch as we spend the winter months editing the footage of the summer and filling in the details! 

​J

Warning .. I am being sentimental again! 

As I mention at the beginning of the video, I was blessed to have fabulous role models through my life.
 
 My parents taught me how to live a full life. Believe it or not.. my introverted Mom was the adventurous soul.. coming up with a dream and showing me how to make it happen, every single time.. . The first one (of many) I remember was our cross Canada ride when I was six.. I may not have realized then how monumental it was, but I do now. She decided she wanted to do this, so they went and got their bike license, bikes, packed their young children up and off we went. People said it was crazy, that we were to young.. it was so far.. she showed me to follow your dreams despite what others believe. 
 They took us on other trips and also showed me that their relationship was as important as our family’s by taking their own trips.  Not that as a child I was ever happy with being left behind, but I think the hopes of a new Barbie from Gram would soothe my injured soul.. I was fickle. Lol 

 Dad made sure I knew how to laugh.. not just at myself but how important it is to help others laugh with you. How to play and find joy in little things. He invested in me the love of the wind in your face and two wheels down. through him I realized what qualities I need in a partner and the value my own life has. He reminded me (often) to be true to myself. He taught me how to love true and deal with loss. 
​
 Of course they both shared these roles, they also shared teaching me how to work hard, how to love deeply, how to grieve loss (that one lesson may have been a bit harder to get through for all of us) 
  They taught me to cherish roots but not to stay rooted. 
 These are all lessons I hope to be passing down to my children. 
 They taught me that not all relationships are always forever but that they all have irreplaceable value. That change isn’t always a bad thing. 
They taught me the importance of loving myself and ensuring I live my best life, even if getting there is painful. Teaching this lesson meant they brought other important people into my life. 
My step father.  He taught me how to love unconditionally and patience (ok that one he may be still working on). That the road isn’t always easy but to stand your ground when it matters. Through him I learned that what may seem like a bad thing can really be a blessing. 
 My step mother. She taught me how to “work it out” when life throws a kink into an important relationship and to not just give up.  

My children, all of you.. birthed and found, all (7) of you make living my best life worth the struggle. You keep me going. You remind me just how unique we all are. You are my greatest prize and I am so proud of you all. 

My (3) grand daughters. You remind me that blood is a technicality and family is a bond. You give me hope for the future. 

There are more people, my friends, I treasure you all for helping me through the ups and downs. For loving me and reminding me that people are good. You laugh with me and at me. You all are there to keep me moving forward and never let me sit and spin to long. You support me and believe in me .. every single time I get ANOTHER new life plan.. that I am sure is my forever path.

All of you.. you know and love me despite my Gypsy soul.
​
DC. My partner in crime. 
You taught me what the poets always knew. Love is real. That when it’s right it is as easy as breathing even when it isn't perfect.. the breathing is just a little deeper.. hahah... Through you I see the great strength people have to overcome anything. You are proof that fighting for yourself is as important as standing for others. You bring my life joy and make the journey through everyday better.  Through every step I take on this winding path you are right there beside me. You are the one I can laugh with even in the odd moments, you are the one I want to make my now, soon and forever from now goals with and you always help me CRUSH THEM! 

I am so blessed to have so many people

Here is a few moments with just a few of those people. 

(disclaimer.. if you don't see yourself and think you should.. come get some selfies with me! )

Well here it is.. the beginning of what I hope will be our final little piece of cyberspace.. Hopefully I can use my website address as a residence address in the future, lol.. 

It is October and the federal election is in the final days, yet again I chant VOTE VOTE VOTE.. Then I am yelling RIDE.. ride while you can. The weather has changed and the days are numbered.  You may wonder how or why I would connect these things in my mind,.. aren't we all?? My mind is a wonderful thing,,. but You see... I am a woman. Sooo when politics arise and the debates continue, my brain always goes back to a time when women couldn't do something like vote. I think the impact of that is lost on a lot of youth today... sooo let's look at some places in the World today where women still have no rights... it is those leaders that strip those rights away. Leaders that the people may not get to elect, that they have no say over. SO why would you not use the right to have your say?
 Please don't tell me it is because you don't think it will make a difference,.. that your vote won't matter.... complaining on social media won't change your life but you do that anyway... IT DOES MATTER.. ALLLLL VOTES MATTER.

 Someday it could be our country that decides that I can not ride motorcycle anymore because I am a woman. Sounds silly right??? Almost as silly as someone telling me I can not have a medical procedure done to my own body, maybe it is as silly as someone telling me I can not marry the person I love.. It is certainly not as silly as my whole family being tortured and killed for what we worship in our own home.. or not being able to have clean drinking water and fresh air to breathe..... cus that stuff would never happen...
Never take your rights for granted.. 

WOAH.  Heavy stuff for a first blog huh? Well don't worry, I was just getting the deep stuff out of the way.. it will be all about the rubber down now, hahaha.


​J