<=
/p>
<=
/p>
Barbara P=
<=
img
border=3D0 width=3D507 height=3D24 src=3D"barbara_p_files/image001.gif"=
alt=3Dgrapev
v:shapes=3D"Picture_x0020_2">
What was your first=
bike?
And why did you choose it?
My current bike – a
’83 Yamaha 650 Maxim – is my first; I’ve have had it =
for
3 years. (Coincidentally,=
I
bought it from Missy’s husband Ron. I think that may be where I fi=
rst
heard about WITW.) =
I love
this bike! I’m plan=
ning
to up-size soon, but I think I’ll always keep this one because
it’s such a blast to ride.
What advice do you =
have
for anyone just starting out?
It’s been said before but here it is again…I think an=
yone
just starting out or getting back into riding after a break should take
some lessons from a professional.
I used to ride many years ago and thought I was pretty good at
it. But taking the Alberta
Safety Council Gearing Up and Street Skills courses showed me that I ha=
d a
lot to learn. I’m g=
lad I
took the time to get properly trained.=
What was one of you=
r most
memorable moments/rides (fun, exciting, meaningful) and why?=
O=
ne
of my most memorable and fun rides was in 2004 as a passenger on my
friend’s Suzuki Cavalcade.
We completed the Northwest Passage Rally, hitting 4 states and 2
provinces in 55 hours. Ev=
ery
kind of road. Every kind =
of
weather. Only got lost 3 =
or 4
times…a day. What a=
ride
and what an adventure! If=
I
remember correctly, we finished 5th (or maybe it was 7t=
h…)
When I get a bigger bike, I’d like to do more of these rallies, b=
ut I
think I’ll stop short of the ‘Iron Butt’.
What is one little =
known
fact about yourself that you would like to share with the other members=
?
I’m the first
Canadian-born in my family. I
was born in Montreal shortly after my
parents and two brothers immigrated to =
Canada
from Austria. In those early years, the fami=
ly
spoke Austrian (which is really just German with a dialect) at home and=
I
picked up French from the neighborhood kids, so I didn’t really b=
egin
to speak English until I started school. I moved away from Montreal in 1978 and, sadly, my Ger=
man
and French have gotten rusty from lack of use.
=