Readers Rides – Rachelle E. of Ellsworth, MI
Motorcycles are dangerous!! We don’t allow those in our house!! Something that had resonated through my entire life as a child and had been cemented as my career unfolded to being a full-time paramedic. All of that seemed to get thrown out the window after I married into a Harley family back in 2017. It was a jump on the crazy train or miss out on a lot of fun and adventures. At first, I found it difficult to embrace, but before I knew it, I had caught the bug! My son soon stole my back seat, and it was either learn how to ride, or get left home, and miss out on ice cream. I started out on a Yamaha 250 Enduro, and the year later my late husband gifted me my 1996 Heritage Softail for Mother’s Day! She was a tad rough around the edges, didn’t have a speedometer, and we guessed that her mileage was around the 40,000-mile mark. I spent a couple of years getting comfortable with her, and we finally decided that in the winter of 2021 we would take her apart and rebuild her. Well, life seems to like throwing curve balls, and my husband passed away early that fall. At first, I decided that I was just going to leave her be, but we had made so many plans! I couldn’t let them go. So, with some help from friends, Bad Dad, Hoggers Customs, and Frankie Serrano, White Lightning came to life.
We’ve had some great adventures so far, the last being our trip to Milwaukee this summer for the HD anniversary. We were both drowned multiple times by tsunami rains, rode the ferry, and made many new friends. A memory that I can look back on and smile.
While White Lightning still needs a few finishing touches, I look forward to attending more bike shows and taking adventures in the upcoming years.
I look back and am thankful for the love that was started in me for this way of life. I have made friends that have turned into family, visited places that I had never been to, attended events that make a difference, and found a great way to melt off the stress of life. Because of motorcycles, I have had the ability to give back to the community myself, by co-founding DYSUN (Do You See US Now), a 501(c)(3) that raises awareness for distracted driving and gives back to families and individuals that have been affected by it.
So, while I still am frequently reminded by my family that motorcycles are dangerous. I hope that everyone can find something in their life that brings as much joy to them, as the open road and White Lighting brings to me.
