Why I Ride: Rocky - Featured in Jonna Travels

Name: "Rocky"                          

Residence: Arizona

Occupation: CFO

When did you start riding?

I was three. It was my uncle’s idea of babysitting. He and my grandmother owned a biker bar named Murphy’s in El Mirage, California. We spent the summers there and he modified a dirt bike so I could ride it. I fell in love with it immediately. It had a clutch and I couldn’t really pull the levers, so I popped that clutch more than I can tell you. He made it really loose, so I could pull them more easily. He would fill up the tank and say, “Come back when you run out of gas or the sun goes down, whatever comes first.” At the very beginning, I didn’t get very far from the bar, maybe only about a quarter of a mile away. I’m grateful for that start and love every second of what I’m doing with bikes today. It’s part of what I’ve been doing since I can remember.

What was your first bike?

I got my first street bike when I was 11 years old. It was a 1979 Triumph. My uncle helped me rebuild it and he wouldn’t let me start riding it on the street until I took a safety course in health, like how to cauterize wounds and stuff. In other words, accident management. In California at that time, you didn’t need a license. You just needed the ability to ride a two wheeler. I was around 12 when I actually started riding it on the street. I basically used it to get to and from the beach. I made a thing for it that would carry my board. When I was 15, I started living on my own. My parents had kicked me out, so it became my only transportation.

What do you ride now?

I have three bikes right now. One is from the Biker Build Off here in Las Vegas. The Mohave County Sisters did it and we won. I was very proud of us. It’s a 1979ish Sportster. It’s got parts from 1979 to 1982. The body is 1979, but the rest of it is not. She’s a rat bike extraordinaire.

I also have a 1999 Road King and a 2012 Street Glide. I love both of them for different reasons. I was on the Street Glide when I took my three month trip. It’s basically a couch on wheels. I did my Iron Butt on that and it wasn’t that hard. The hardest part about that was staying awake because it took me about 18 ½ hours for a total of 1,079 miles. But, the Road King is a blast on the twisties.

What is a typical ride for you?

I started taking long trips when I was 16 or 17. I would go to places like Yosemite or Mexico and I always went on my own because I didn’t know anybody that rode. I knew my uncle and I knew his friends that rode, but they were in clubs and they didn’t let women ride with them. That was the crazy part about my uncle teaching me to ride because, in their club, they didn’t believe in women riding motorcycles. He’s always been progressive in that way. He is thrilled that I am in a women’s motorcycle club.

I tell everyone at work that I ride so I don’t kill them. *laughs* I had torn all the tendons in my ankle and couldn’t ride for six months after the surgery. They all kept asking, “When did the doctor say you could ride again?” It’s calming for me. But, I don’t really have a typical ride. From March to July this year, I have put 4,800 miles on my bike and that’s low for me. We have a trip planned for August where we’re going to travel from Tennessee to Key West and then head home over a course of two weeks. It’ll probably be about 7,000 miles. In October, we’ll be traveling to Houston to meet with the Texas Sisters.

What is your favorite thing about being on two wheels?

I thoroughly enjoy the freedom that a bike brings. I have met a lot of wonderful people because of riding my motorcycle. I have traveled and seen things that you wouldn’t see otherwise. I have experienced the United States, not just seen it. It’s a lifestyle that I would not change for the world.

What is your worst bike memory?

None from when I was riding, but I’m lucky. I’ve had close calls. Everyone has. But, I’ve never laid my bike down. I’ve hit the brakes pretty hard and came close to laying her down, but she stood back up. The worst memory I have in relation to biking was what happened to my girlfriend’s dad. He was in an accident a year ago in September. He was riding with her uncle, and they were both on separate bikes when an SUV turned in front of them. Her uncle was killed immediately. Her dad is still in the hospital. That was the worst phone I call I ever got. That’s the one thing we have no control over. I can control how that bike goes. I can control how I panic, if I panic, even though I generally don’t panic. However, I cannot control what a vehicle will do. I tell everyone if I die on my bike, I died doing something I love, so don’t mourn me. Celebrate the life that I had.

What is your best bike memory?

Two years ago, I spent three months riding around the United States. I rode almost 19,000 miles. In that time, I think I spent two months in the rain. It was a wet, wet trip, but I was on two wheels. I was out on the road. I was experiencing what it is to be free and do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want. I had the time of my life. I found the best road in Connecticut and they had just paved it, so I did that road ten times. It was hard to go back home after all of that.

How did you get your biker name?

When I first moved to this area, I was doing about 85 in the slow lane on a two lane highway. A semi passed me and kicked up a rock that was probably a good inch in diameter. I saw it coming. It looked like a basketball. It was going straight for my nose and I turned my head just enough for it to miss my nose or I think it would have killed me. It hit me in the forehead and just about knocked me out. I was not wearing a helmet. I went home and told the girls about it and they said, “Well, you know, around here, we have pebbles. Lots of pebbles. I don’t think it was a rock.” And, so they nicknamed me Pebbles. I was pissed. I am NOT a Pebbles. This went on for about six weeks. They even made me a patch. But, I was still having horrible, horrible headaches, so I went to the doctor. He ordered an X-Ray and an MRI. When the X-Ray came back, he said I had fractured my skull. I asked for a copy of the X-Ray. One, I wanted to put it on my bike. And, two, I wanted to show the girls it wasn’t a fucking pebble! When they saw that they said, “Holy shit! You’re not a Pebbles. You’re a Rocky!”

But, I’ve had a lot of those “holy shit” moments. In March of 2016, I was coming back home from South Carolina through Houston when they had that huge storm that flooded Louisiana and Houston and Georgia. I got tired of sitting in Houston. I had been there for eight days, so I finally said, “Forget it. I’m going to ride home. It will eventually stop.” Well, it didn’t stop until I hit the Arizona border. It was raining buckets. It was raining so hard I couldn’t see more than a quarter of a mile in front of me. I was doing 50 in an 85 mph zone. A guy pulling a Harley passed me, then slowed down, got behind me and put on his flashers. He drove his car behind me for about 50 miles. When we got to the Arizona border, I stopped so I could take a shower because I was freezing. I wanted to take a shower and put dry clothes on. The guy had parked by me and gone in. I got off my bike, took off all my leathers, and walked in. This guy sees me and says, “Holy shit! You’re a chick! I was the guy in the car behind you. I kept telling my buddy that guy is a bad ass!” He was trailering his bike back from Daytona and said if he’d had room, he would’ve put my bike on, too. I told him I would have taken it, which is something because I never put my bike on a trailer, but after four days of being in that rain, I was done. It was so cold. It was not a comfortable ride at all. I just kept saying, “One more mile. One more mile.” I was grateful to get out of it.

As a lady rider and president of a women's motorcycle club, what advice do you have for women who may be interested in learning how to ride?

Just get out there and do it. Don't let any obstacle stand in your way. I have ridden in snow, rain, sunshine, and everything in between. You don't have a bad day, ever, when you're on two wheels.