Alisa And The Sisters Ride
Who knew Alisa would go out and create something like this?!
Right at this moment there is big deal motorcycle ride crossing the country. The Sisters’ Centennial Motorcycle Ride is to mark the 100th anniversary of the ride made by two sisters, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren, “the first women to cross the continental United States, each on her own motorcycle.” Serious math tells us this was 1916.
This modern ride started on July 3, in New York, and will end in San Francisco on July 23. And they’ll be coming through Colorado July 15-17. Their stop for two nights will be in Colorado Springs, with a side trip up Pikes Peak on July 15, or July 16 in case of bad weather.
So the reason I find this particularly interesting is that it has been organized by Alisa Clickenger, who I have known for a number of years now. And I’m doing this “Wow” kind of thing I think most people do when someone they know does something you never would have imagined them doing.
I first met Alisa in 2009 when she was a participant in the Adventure for the Cures “Dirty Dozen” ride that preceded the International Women and Motorcycling conference in Keystone. I was doing the full-time motorcycle freelance journalist thing at the time and I was covering the ride and the conference. I had gotten to know some of the women on that ride and most of my attention had focused on them and then I chanced to talk to Alisa. She didn’t try to hide a bit of hurt at being overlooked, considering that–she told me–she had made a point to reach out to me. Which I had let slip by.
So we spoke at length and as it turns out, she is the one person in that group who I have had the most ongoing connection with.
First I did a piece on her as demo ride leader for BMW. She had plenty of interesting stories to tell about that. Then she took off on a ride to the southern tip of South America and I followed her (journalistically) the whole way, largely by Skype, which enabled us to talk from wherever she was for free. And by the way, she didn’t get quite all the way there. But that was a heck of an adventure for a woman riding solo.
Meanwhile, Alisa had journalistic aspirations of her own. She and I have traded job tips over the years, of the sort like “Hey, this magazine is looking for stories that sound right up your alley.”
Well, the last time I sent her a tip she replied that she was much too busy to pursue this now–she had this ride thing she was planning that was taking all her time.
That was pretty surprising–ambitious!–by itself but then I started seeing endorsements and reports and support statements coming from a lot of sources. It wasn’t just happening, it was becoming a big deal.
And now I’m seeing pieces about it on places like CBS and a whole range of newspapers across the country. Wow. I knew her when.
So good for you Alisa. I’m thinking when you and your group go up Pikes Peak on July 15 I want to be up on top to greet you. But it’s going to be a surprise unless you read this blog post.
Biker Quote for Today
Riding motorcycles is like taking drugs . . . Bikes should come with a warning label that reads “Warning: Riding a motorcycle is addictive. It will change your life forever.”
