You might remember the days before corporate, mega malls, when small, owner-occupied shops prevailed. Each had its own character, was sometimes a little messy, but always made an interesting stop along the way of a ride. Motorcyclists have always had a homing instinct for finding local bike shops when on the road. They are secretly in search of a heartening experience to complement a trip, no matter how short. Because bike shops aren’t car dealerships. A bike shop is more of a club. When you buy a motorcycle, you purchase membership into the club. And a club should have its own unique atmosphere, with its own unique cast of characters, not complete without flaws. It doesn’t necessarily have to be small in size, but it should feel welcoming and comfortable to everyone, including those who haven’t joined yet. In an increasingly impersonal world, it should be a personable corner of refuge from it; a lively place where adventurers can converge, tell their stories, and be recognized for their courage and individualism. It should be a place driven to honor the sport, and the people in it. Not a place that sees conformity as the only way to achieve a good profit margin. We, at Life Cycle, know that conformity is the pitfall of individualism. And aside from all the freedom and fun, motorcycling celebrates individualism most of all.

So, coming up on June 10, at our anniversary party, we would like to celebrate the spirit of motorcycling, and all the individuals whose lives it has enriched. Also, we’d like to thank all the individuals who have personally enriched our lives through the years, many who have become like family, and hope they will come join us in the revelry, as we continue the legacy of one-of-a-kind shops that care.

There has always been a small number of women who ride. By 2003, the numbers increased to an estimated 4,304,000 American women who were operating motorcycles. Surely, that number has shot upward in the past couple of years, as dealers witness a surge of women in their showrooms and service areas, many of them taking care of business without men. Personally, Dave and I are delighted to be socializing with more women in an industry that used to be a sea of men. Dave has been an advocate for women riders his entire career.

Which brings me to Maggie Willette, newly hired to sell accessories in our store, and who will be specializing in women’s apparel. With thirty years riding experience , and tens of thousands of miles under her belt, Maggie knows her gear. She’s tried just about everything. She knows what leaks, what doesn’t rip, what can take a beating, and how to pack for a 10,000 mile trip. Need advice from someone who eats and sleeps on their motorcycle? Come ask Maggie.

She’s been an active member for 18 years in Women on Wheels, an international women’s motorcycle organization that promotes the positive image of women in the sport of motorcycling. They do fundraising, promote riding safety, mentor new woman riders, and, of course, organize rides.

After earning her Iron Butt Saddle Sore Certificate in 2001on her Kawasaki Vulcan (1000 miles in 24 hours), she started enjoying long distance rallies, proudly earning fifth place on Team Strange. (These rallies are basically a lengthy, round trip scavenger hunt for points, in which the goal is to make it back to the start in 24 hours with the most points.)

Last summer, she completed the SCMAs (Southern California Motorcycle Association) Four Corners Tour of the United States. Proving her butt still made of iron, she finished it in 16 days. This trip starts its first corner in Blaine, Washington, goes to the second corner in San Ysidro, California on the border of Baja, continues to Key West, Florida, then finishes in Madawaska, Maine, where the locals love them so much, there has been serious talk of building a monument to commemorate the bikers.

Also, she earned her Pro Star drag bike license in 2004, just for fun, by taking the women only drag bike class from drag bike champion, Ricky Gadson.

All this, and many more rides around the country throughout the years, including her first bike trip with husband, Scott, out to Colorado. She led him into the sport then, and after 23 years together, continues to take the lead as the motorcycle enthusiast of the family.

Just ask, and she’ll say, “You can never do enough motorcycling!”

May 12th and 13th Coming right up! Experience the new Testastretta S4Rs, bred from true Italian Superbike heritage. See and test ride the new Ducati Monster S4Rs during this National Open House weekend. Enjoy complimentary refreshments, demo rides, posters, giveaways and come check out the most powerful Monster ever produced.

The Thruxton Cup Challenge features very close competition and attracts racing legends as participants. Regulars in the series have included Doug Polen, Gary Nixon, and Jay Springsteen. You can also watch old two strokes from the 70’s oil burn the track, along with other rare bikes from the 60’s to the 80’s duking it out. The races start late morning, and go until mid afternoon. To read more about our events, visit our website:

http://www.lifecyclemotorcycles.com/event_calendar.asp

Supermoto combines the thrill of Road Racing with extreme lean angles and cornering on pavement, with the jumps of a dirt Motocross track, and the sliding of Dirt Tracking, all together in one lap. KTM area rep, Keith Lewis, brought four KTM Supermoto demo bikes to ride, and, all in all, about 70 people took them out to evaluate the new experience.

The sessions were five laps each. Dave and Bruce were waiting their turns to ride, and trying to talk Jayson into going home to get his riding gear, when up walked V-Strom Tom, the man on the Suzuki that joined us for the wet ride to and from the Holland Blessing a few weeks ago. Being from Hillsdale, he couldn’t believe he was running into part of the Life Cycle RAT pack again. He had only wandered into the Speedway to see what all the motorcycle hoopla was about. So now, they not only talked him into riding the track, he ended up going first on the KTM Supermoto 450! He said later in an email, “What a ride that bike is!!! Those were the ten most fun laps ever; I haven’t stopped grinning since.”

Tom did pretty darn good for a newbie, hanging in with about 15 other Supermoto bikes “haulin’ ass.” He accomplished the Motocross dirt section once, then avoided it the other four laps, having had little dirt experience.

Back in the pits, he was so hyped up, he managed to convince Jayson to go get his riding gear. Once geared up and ready to go, Jayson began his ride cautiously, getting used to the racing slicks and the combination track. The sharp turns were very difficult to navigate, so when he cheated and cut a corner in front of the guys, they had to wave and shout and generally try to embarrass him. The next lap, he cut the corner again, and that time, Tom was so enthusiastic, he ran alongside Jayson’s bike throughout this slow, tight section of the track, and actually got ahead of him. He got such a kick out of it, he did it again the next lap. Jayson finished his five laps without a mishap, only to endure more ribbing in the pits.

(According to Tom’s email, there are more stories to share about Jayson, but he’s going to savor them for a while, until he can share them with us in person at our anniversary party. And he doesn’t care what they say, “You’re a good sport, Jayson.”)

Dave and Bruce had enjoyable runs on the track, with no problems in the dirt, both being well seasoned motocrossers. Dave was pleasantly surprised how much traction the racing slicks offered in the dirt, although, when he pushed it a little too hard and fast, they were slippery to stop. The front brakes on the 450 SMR were phenomenal, but required practice learning how to modulate them on the different surfaces. He overshot a couple of tight corners, both dirt and pavement, but otherwise loved the bike’s capacity for absurd, footpeg-dragging lean angles that seemed impossible . The bald tires really made it fun to power slide in the dirt just like a flat tracker, with the back end stepping out. And the suspension was very impressive. That which usually has to be very stiff for Road Racing, was still compliant with the big bumps and jumps of Motocross, swallowing them up with no problem. After taking a beating in that section, the suspension was still able to maintain control and stability on the pavement.

Bruce was also having fun on the 560 SMR, until he stalled it in the dirt section when landing off a jump. Dave and Tom, (running his second session), passed him and a track worker off to the side trying to get it started. They eventually got it back on track, and Bruce finished the session. He wanted to go out again and follow behind Dave to pick up some pointers, but after a minor crash involved two of the demos, KTM decided to call it a day.

This kind of combination motorcycling definitely attracts a wide range of riders: ice racers, motocrossers, flat trackers, road racers, and anyone else who ever wanted to try all these types of racing, without having to go whole hog. You can either wear street gear or dirt gear. The fun is in getting to cross over. It also accommodates all ages.

The next KTM Supermoto Demo Day will be on 10/22/06 at the Jackson Speedway.

For more information and future events, contact MISuperMoto.com. 810-459-1806