My husband and I got back from Sturgis last week (we went pre-madness week to ride the Black Hills with friends). It was my first long trip on my very own bike and not looking at the back of some male's head. I put over 600 miles on my bike, rode through a howling electric storm that dumped inches of rain on us, not to mention more than a hailstone or three, down miles of gravel roads that were furrowed by that rain I mentioned, and up Iron Mountain on pigtail bridges and through narrow tunnels behind bikers much more expert and a hell of a lot faster than I might've been on my own.

It was wonderful.

I'm ready to go again. In the midst of all the gleaming Harleys and a few truly weird ass custom bikes, our good solid rice burners took us everywhere we wanted to go. I have a Yamaha Virago 1100 and my husband has a Honda Shadow 1100. The Virago is such a faithful Harley ripoff that it even comes with its own oil leak located in a seal that would require the engine be removed in order to fix it. I can buy a lot of oil for what the repair would cost, so Veronica and I happily continue to leak our way down the highway, doing our part to contribute to the economy and the well being of American Oil.

My husband's bike developed a problem with the fan and no one could decide exactly what was going on until we got it back home to our local guru of all motorcycles, Legacy Cycles in Casper. Turned out to be a bad fuse. On the slower roads, he had to spend some time cooling the engine, but as long as he could ride at a good clip, he and the bike did fine.

Finding things to eat wasn't quite the trial I thought it would be. I ate basically what everyone else ate, though far less and much more slowly. Nuts were a good source of protein and easy to get down and I even managed most of a taco salad one day. Had a long discussion with a riding friend who has considered banding, but whose insurance company denied her several years ago. In hopes that insurance companies are more enlightened now, she is going to apply again and I wish her luck

Not sure where the next bike trip will take us. I am ready to leave again this weekend, but alas, my husband is on call at work and it would really be too bad of me to make a run back to Sturgis for the final Friday, Saturday and Sunday without him. We are talking about going to Minnesota and Wisconsin this fall before the weather sets in.

I don't care where, really.

I just want to get on the bike, point it in some direction, and ride.