Retro Motorcycle Girl & My Trip to Harley Davidson Summer Camp

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Today I'm offering this cute Retro image of a Woman riding a Motorcycle. I hope you'll stick around for the rest of my post, there's a GIVEAWAY at the end!

Recently I was invited to attend a Sponsored Trip to Milwaukee, along with 11 amazing Bloggers! The event ... Harley-Davidson Summer Camp!

I have to say I was ridiculously nervous about the whole thing, having never been on a Motorcycle before, but also intrigued. I knew I was in for an amazing experience when I opened the door to my luxurious hotel room at the gorgeous Iron Horse Hotel and was greeted with these gifts! A fab Harley Davidson Jacket with matching gloves and protective eyewear, too.

Our first night there we were invited to a Garage Party at Hal's Harley Davidson in Milwaukee. No not a garage sale ... a Garage Party! These are super fun events that are held all over the country, at Harley-Davidson Dealerships, and they're geared towards women! It's an excellent way to get a taste of what it would be like to start riding. In the photo above we're learning about proper riding gear.

You also get to check out all the cool bikes while you're there. I'm so in love with that Turquoise one!!

So pretty ... right?!

It's amazing how many choices there are! They explained to us that you pick out what you like, and what feels comfortable to you, and then they can work with your bike to make sure it fits you properly. Love that!

Next they taught us how to pick a bike back up if ever you drop it. Here's Kelly trying it out! Several of the girls tried it and they were all successful. It looked quick and easy actually.

Next up was the Jumpstart. So fun! This is an actual Motorcycle that's placed in a device to keep it stationary. It's a great way to get a feel for the bike and try it out without actually going anywhere. A great confidence booster! Heather looks like she's having fun, doesn't she?
If you've ever wondered what it's like to ride a motorcycle I would encourage you to check out a Garage Party in your area, it's a great place to start! It also makes for a fun girls' night out, so grab some girlfriends and check it out ... they also have really cute clothes there!

The next day we went to HD Headquarters for a breakfast meeting. What a fantastic place! I'm going to do another post on my DIY Blog soon to show you some of the fab Industrial Chic decor at both Headquarters and our Hotel. Amazing! While we there we learned about the History of this iconic American brand. Everyone we met had so much pride about working there, and rightly so. They are committed to making quality products in America. Yay!


We watched this video about Roshani, a young female teacher with 3 kids, who learned how to ride by taking the Riders Edge Training Course, which is offered at most Harley-Davidson Dealerships. It was so inspiring to see her story and how learning to ride a motorcycle really empowered her and gave her confidence. We all shed a few tears while watching it!
We also learned about the concept of "No Cages". Bikers apparently refer to cars as cages. When you ride a bike you are uncaged and free, out in the open. But it has a double meaning in that we often cage ourselves, and keep ourselves from trying new things, out of fear. When you try something new, like learning to ride a motorcycle, you free yourself from that inner cage. Love that!

While were there we toured the Harley-Davidson Museum. What a cool place! There was an exhibit called "Worn to be Wild", that chronicled the history of the Leather Jacket. Which included this long 1920s Leather Coat.

And a bike from the same era. There were also more modern pieces like a jacket that Michael Jackson wore!

Of course I loved the Graphics Arts section!!

There were so many cool and unusual bikes, like this Speedy Delivery bike.

And this Harley that Elvis bought in 1956.

They even had the original receipt with his signature on it!

We were also taken back to the archives section to see the bikes that only come out on certain occasions. There were loads of them, many of them had fascinating stories attached!

The most exciting part of the trip was when we took an intro class to motorcycle riding. This was a step towards The Rider's Edge Program . I was nervous ... so, SO nervous, I prepped myself by saying positive affirmations when I got up that morning!

Yep, that's me; I did it! I'm pretty sure I was the most terrified one in the group, but I pushed through and even though it was nearly 100 degrees outside that day, and I was nauseous from the heat, I made myself stay on until I was comfortable with it. And let me tell you it was AMAZING! I had so much FUN!!

So confession time. I actually have a fear of driving ... as in cars, or anything with wheels and a motor. I do fine around town, or in the country, but I have a huge fear of city driving, driving on big highways, tunnels, high traffic areas, or driving any place I haven't been before. I can't even begin to tell you how huge this was for me!
What I found after this experience was there was a carry-over effect. The day after I got back home, I had to drive my son to a friend's house in Virginia, about a half hour from D.C. , a very congested high traffic area. Normally I would have had tremendous anxiety, and would have asked my husband to drive us there. But I didn't ... I drove and I really wasn't even nervous! In my book, that's a pretty big deal, and I'm so VERY grateful for this experience.
If you've ever wanted to learn how to ride, Rider's Edge is the way to do it. The instructors are amazing, and the full course looks phenomenal. As a bonus, depending on your state's laws, if you pass the course you get your license at the end of it with no additional testing at the DMV involved!

Big thanks to our amazing teachers Deb and Tracy for being so patient with me. You girls rock!!

The other bloggers on this trip: Heather, Michelle, Carmen, Missy, Mona, Sugar, Stephanie, Kelly, Morgan, Jill & Susan

Before this trip, I thought Harleys were for big burly men with beards. Now I know better. They're for everyone, including women just like us! Why should men get all the fun? To read more about the other ladies experiences you can visit the Blogher Brand page Here.
Want to read even more inspiring stories about Women who ride? Check out HD's My Time to Ride Series or the Harley-Davidson Buzz Wall.

About the GIVEAWAY:

Tell me what life with "no cages" means to you for a chance to win a Harley-Davidson Women's Pink Label Embellished Nylon Jacket.

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the
following unique term in your tweet message: ""#SweepstakesEntry""; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from July 31, 2012 to August 27, 2012

Be sure to visit the Harley-Davidson No Cages brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!