For auld lang syne, my friends 💖

Glancing in the rear-view at 2016

Well - here we are, another year older and hopefully wiser. Like everyone else, I like to take a quick review of the passing year. But in true Biker fashion, it'll be just a glance in the rear-view mirror!

Is it me or did this year go by fast? With the passing of so many celebrities this year it serves as a good reminder that our lives - celebrity status or not - are all too short. So we've really got to live, laugh & love while we can!

Me & Nancy at Bonnie Castle for the NY H.O.G. Rally

And part of what living means to me is riding my motorcycle with friends. With the NY H.O.G. Rally being in Alexandria Bay this past July, I met lots of new riding buddies. A group of NNY H.O.G. and Fairfax, VA H.O.G. chapter members even rode down to the Baseball Hall of Fame (even though I live in NY, my team is the SF Giants, baby!!) 

Riding out to Boston for the H-D Annual Dealer Meeting and the reveal of their newest motor: the Milwaukee-Eight.

Trying the new Milwaukee-Eight motor

Thanks to the Watertown Chrome Divas & Azz Dogs - they rode along with me and helped lead the Red Cross Ride. 

Last but not least I froze my butt riding out to meet Adam Sandoval & Scooter of #ScootinAmerica. ICYMI Adam was on a quest to ride around the lower 48, going to every Harley-Davidson dealership to raise money for Veterans Families and the Wounded Warrior Project.

As part of the New Year's traditions, I asked the guys

Me, Adam & Scooter

I work with if they had any resolutions. Usually they don't, but if they do it's to ride more miles - which is the only resolution I have.

Of course I'm already planning lots of rides for 2017 - I just hope I can fit them all in!! I'd love to go to the H-D Museum, which I can roll in with the National H.O.G. Rally. A little bit closer to me is the Revolution H.O.G. Rally. I can't forget the 10th Annual Ta-Ta Watertown Chrome Diva Ride! And since the Annual Dealer Meeting will be in LA, I'd love to ride most of Route 66 rather than fly (keeping my fingers crossed on that one!). 


As promised, that's it! Short and sweet. Now it's your turn: What riding did you do this year? Are you going to try and get more miles in 2017? Where do you hope to be riding to? Don't be shy!

And so, I'll close this last Life Behind Bars blog for 2016, from all of us at FX Caprara Harley-Davidson: Let's drink "a cup o'kindness yet, for auld lang syne!" Cheers!!

Getting outside your 'comfort' zone - part 2

Got my leathers on to lead the
9/11/2016 Ride for the Red -
American Red Cross Ride

We're nearly into Autumn officially, I had to put on my leathers to ride in to work at F.X. Caprara Harley-Davidson, and we're getting close to the end of the riding season... At least for people like me that stay in snow country during the winter months. 

Even though it's coming to an end, now is the time that I take a quick look back and say a quick
"Thank You" for a great riding season so far. With the drought in Northern New York (which reminded me a lot of growing up in Northern California - hot & dry) that we had most of the summer, it did make for some fantastic riding, events and rallies! 

The 10th Annual Thousand Islands River Run, NY H.O.G. Rally in Alexandria Bay, all the rides that our NNY H.O.G. Chapter has done, and riding to & back from the Annual Dealer Meeting in

Me "riding" (Jumpstart) a 2017 Street Glide with the all-new
Milwaukee-Eight engine!

Boston!! And all summer long myself and my fellow Harley Enthusiasts are out on the road, cruising through your town, stopping for a bite to eat in your local diner, and maybe having a few at your local watering hole (ALWAYS after my bike's kick stand is down for the night! Please don't ever drink & ride/drive!! Exceeding that comfort zone is totally NOT worth it!!).

I was supposed to be able to get on the Mass Turnpike
"using any lane".... but no signs for I-90!!!

So far this riding season I've led three group rides (when it comes to riding I'm usually by myself, riding faster than the posted speed limit, and decide spur-of-the-moment which route I'm going to take - not a good combo when you're supposed to be leading a group!), have done a few videos, have successfully challenged myself to projects at the shop & home I normally wouldn't have taken on, and have ridden my motorcycle through not just one, but four - count 'em: FOUR - tunnels while making my way home from Boston because I got lost soon after leaving our hotel. (Did I mention I'm slightly claustrophobic??!!)

I'm also working on taking better "selfies": here's me and my husband at the
Annual Dealer Meeting at the Boston Convention & Expo Center!

But just because the riding season is winding down doesn't mean we get to stop exploring. I must keep getting out of my comfort zone! So the same goes for you, to!! Chase that sunset and smell freedom on the wind. Because bottom line we are all human beings and we are connected by that.  

There's still plenty of events and riding still to be done this season!! Check out FXCHD's Discover More Open House, September 23-24. Can't make it in to see me?? Then find your local Harley-Davidson dealer - they'll be having a Discover More Open House that same weekend. 

Get out and meet some bikers, maybe even make some new friends. Still don't feel comfortable getting out of your comfort zone? Then try reading this blog.

Packing & Getting Out of my Comfort Zone

When I was a kid I was shy, and I still am to a certain extent. That's why I was nervous about starting a Youtube Channel/Video Blog.... But I did and I posted my first video last night, with the help of a few drinks of liquid courage (of course I wasn't driving anywhere, so no DUI for me!)!! 

Since I'm getting ready to go on my big motorcycle road trip, I thought I'd post something about packing (I'm riding out to Boston for Harley's Annual Dealer Meeting where they'll introduce the 2017 lineup). Because when it comes to packing for a motorcycle trip, you've got to think about things a little differently.

Cagers (definition of "cager") have lots more room to pack what

they want to take. Bikers, on the other hand, have a finite amount of space for what we need to take. Plus I've got to leave room for all the souvenirs & dealer shirts I'm bringing back!!

So keep checking my Youtube Channel for more posts about packing for a motorcycle trip as well as what I see at the HDMC Annual Dealer Meeting. I'll work on my shyness too!!