Rosie and the Iron Butt

Torsten at BMW of Santa Fe put me in touch with a really interesting and fun motorcyclist in Los Alamos. Paula and I met at Starbucks and I could tell right away how excited she was about the MotoFemina project and to hear about other women riders. I think she will be a great advisor. Here's Paula's story:

When Paula (pictured above with her sweetie) turned 40 she decided she wanted to learn to ride. Like many of us, she didn't really know anyone who rode that could advise and foster her learning. She signed up for an MSF class in Oregon and was the only female rider in the class. After Paula finished MSF and had some miles on her starter bike she shopped around for a bike. The bike she had her heart set on was in Chicago so Paula, being the adventurous type, flew out to Chicago and rode her new bike home to Oregon.

Paula planned a trip to take her bike to Baja one winter. As she didn't know many people who rode she decided to go it alone. A friend pleaded with her to find a traveling companion so she met someone on the F650.com (a.k.a. The Chain Gang) forum that was also going and they agreed to meet at the border and explore Baja together. They had a great time. Many details and months later they eventually ended up dating and are now a happy couple living in the Atomic City of Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Paula rode "Rosie" her red 1997 BMW F650 (similar to the GS) until it had over 50,000 miles on it (she just sold in and is upgrading to a larger bike). She put many of the miles on Rosie herself as she completed the Iron Butt with her honey recently. Paula is a great resource, she knows a lot about the mechanics and maintenance of bikes (especially the 650) and seems to embody the idea of MotoFemina.

Hopefully she'll comment below and let me know what details I left out (or got wrong). Thanks Paula!