Alamo Gypsy Member Carol by Carol and Raoul
May/03/2011 Filed in: Member Profiles
Late last year I met a gal, Carol, who had just patched into the Alamo City chapter. The Houston chapter, Mouthpiece, Eyeball, Bill the Cat, our prospect and I were in San Antonio for Monty Mann and the President’s Meeting and were doing the Friday night fun run. We were at the last stop when I first heard Carol’s voice as I was walking through the bar and past the karaoke stage that led to the outside seating. I heard Carol belting out an old Beatles’ tune from the Abbey Road album called “Oh! Darling”. The quality of her voice took my breath away. I stopped and listened as she continued her performance and applauded when she finished. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself and talk with her that night.
Then in February, at the Fallen Brother Run, I formally introduced myself to Carol when I sat down at a picnic table to rest my bum leg. We chatted about this and that - I’m sure I asked her how long she’d been in the club and when I learned that she’d recently patched in I asked her what she rode and what kind of a rider she was. She told me about her ride to Milwaukee for the 105th Harley Davidson Anniversary and the Grand Prize she won for an article she had written for Ladies of Harley Motorcycle Memories. Carol had definitely gotten my attention, being a rider and a writer. Later, when I reflected on our conversation I decided I’d try and convince her to submit a story for our Gypsy MC web site.
What you’ll read in the remainder of this article is Carol’s story of how she became a motorcycle enthusiast and how she became a Gypsy. She’s also provided a copy of her award winning 2008 Motorcycle Memories story that was published in HOG magazine.
Here’s Carol’s Story:
My name is Carol Rynearson and I’m an Alamo City Gypsy member. I guess you could still call me a rookie since I patched in December 1, 2010. I loved being a Prospect. It was fun learning all I could about being a Gypsy and staying busy doing whatever needed to be done. My awareness of the Gypsys started when I was a HOG member and we volunteered to work at the Massacre. I did that for three years. Every year I always thought to myself that being a Gypsy looked like more fun than anything else. Massacre 2010 changed it all for me. I had met Mr. Fibbs one day in Schulenburg when I was making my way home on Elvis (that’s my 08 Road King) from College Station. At Massacre I met him again and he started introducing me to people. I had a great time on Friday and Saturday (although the memory of that day is a blur). I started hanging around with Alamo City including going to Del Rio and my first Acuna trip, Ein-Stein, meetings and such. Two days before Mandatory I asked to prospect. I was really happy when they said yes and I had a great time. I went the full six months before I received my patch. They joked they were going to put me on the 2012 plan because I was such a good prospect. My favorite prospect moment was the beer run at Erdin-Erdin’s funeral. Zero told me to go get an 18 pack of Bud and a six pack of Cokes. Before I turned around Mr. Fibbs was handing me money and said to buy as much beer as that would pay for and bring a bag of ice. Then it was “Where’s Prospect going?” and another request for a bag of ice. My saddlebags were already packed so I was a little concerned how I was going to bring it all back. I borrowed a couple of bungee cords and off I went up the road. At first I contemplated making two runs but then I thought “Nah, I got this.” So the two 24 packs were on the luggage rack, the 18 pack was on my back seat, the two bags of ice I tied together and wore them around my neck and the 6 pack of coke was in front of me and I just leaned into it to keep it in place. I got lots of kudos from that run. It’s a memory I’ll always cherish.
I wanted to ride and be involved in the biker life longer than I can remember but never made any steps to make it happen. In 2006, after being a single parent for 18 years, my Daughter got married and moved to California. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Then one day, a couple months before my 45th birthday, I received a flyer from my friends at Independence Harley in College Station. It said “Zero down and $150 a month for a 1200 Sportster”. I was on the phone the next day and the following month I had my first Harley. Now mind you, I brought it home in a truck because I didn’t know how to ride yet. I was just that certain that it would all work out. I went to Sturgis that same year on my Sporty. I went with a couple of guys from the HOG chapter that I had joined. Wrong choice. I was so bored. They shopped worse than women and I wasn’t having much fun at all. I told them I’d see them back in Texas and took off for Colorado to see family. It was a great adventure. My last day home I rode 738 miles on my Sporty. It was as a HOG member that I learned of the Ladies of Harley Motorcycle Memories contest. It’s for lady HOG riders to submit their stories and it has several categories for winners. I decided to write about my Sturgis adventure and I was thrilled when I received a letter and plaque congratulating me for winning first place in the “Most Adventurous” category. It was after that I made the decision to write every year until I won Grand Prize or they hired me. I missed a ‘07 entry but in ‘08 I rode up to Milwaukee for the 105th and back by myself. That’s how I ended up writing the following article and winning the 2008 Grand Prize. I was in a HOG magazine, received an even cooler plaque and won $500. My catch phrase was featured on the HOG website with the article too and I live by the words. “Some say ride it like you stole it. I say ride it like you own it.” I ride every day to work. I ride every chance I get. This year, I’m turning 50 in June. I was trying to decide what to do for my half a century mark. Well thanks to the Paris Chapter, the Iron Butt is the weekend after I turn 50. I’m so excited about going I can barely stand the thought of waiting. I hope you enjoy the following article and I hope to see ya’ll out on the road!
My first great gift happened on one of my longer days from Dallas to just past Kansas City. I stayed at the Best Western that night along with lots of other riders headed to Milwaukee. Elvis had to be parked several rooms away from my room. I was a little nervous and emptied everything out of the bike, even my windshield bag. The next morning I meandered out and just about fell over. Now you know you're really in trouble when you yell at yourself using your own middle name. Sitting there against the back rest of my seat was my billfold! The most valuable thing on my bike and I had left it there for the entire world to see. It had my cash, credit cards, tickets and license. Everything, but it was all still there, completely intact. No one had touched it or removed a thing. It was truly a gift. My thanks go out to all the honest people staying at the Best Western in Independence MO that night. If it had been stolen my trip would've ended there. There were many times that day that I would just shake my head in disbelief that I had been that lucky.
There were other memories along the way that I really enjoyed.
What you’ll read in the remainder of this article is Carol’s story of how she became a motorcycle enthusiast and how she became a Gypsy. She’s also provided a copy of her award winning 2008 Motorcycle Memories story that was published in HOG magazine.
Here’s Carol’s Story:
My name is Carol Rynearson and I’m an Alamo City Gypsy member. I guess you could still call me a rookie since I patched in December 1, 2010. I loved being a Prospect. It was fun learning all I could about being a Gypsy and staying busy doing whatever needed to be done. My awareness of the Gypsys started when I was a HOG member and we volunteered to work at the Massacre. I did that for three years. Every year I always thought to myself that being a Gypsy looked like more fun than anything else. Massacre 2010 changed it all for me. I had met Mr. Fibbs one day in Schulenburg when I was making my way home on Elvis (that’s my 08 Road King) from College Station. At Massacre I met him again and he started introducing me to people. I had a great time on Friday and Saturday (although the memory of that day is a blur). I started hanging around with Alamo City including going to Del Rio and my first Acuna trip, Ein-Stein, meetings and such. Two days before Mandatory I asked to prospect. I was really happy when they said yes and I had a great time. I went the full six months before I received my patch. They joked they were going to put me on the 2012 plan because I was such a good prospect. My favorite prospect moment was the beer run at Erdin-Erdin’s funeral. Zero told me to go get an 18 pack of Bud and a six pack of Cokes. Before I turned around Mr. Fibbs was handing me money and said to buy as much beer as that would pay for and bring a bag of ice. Then it was “Where’s Prospect going?” and another request for a bag of ice. My saddlebags were already packed so I was a little concerned how I was going to bring it all back. I borrowed a couple of bungee cords and off I went up the road. At first I contemplated making two runs but then I thought “Nah, I got this.” So the two 24 packs were on the luggage rack, the 18 pack was on my back seat, the two bags of ice I tied together and wore them around my neck and the 6 pack of coke was in front of me and I just leaned into it to keep it in place. I got lots of kudos from that run. It’s a memory I’ll always cherish.
I wanted to ride and be involved in the biker life longer than I can remember but never made any steps to make it happen. In 2006, after being a single parent for 18 years, my Daughter got married and moved to California. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Then one day, a couple months before my 45th birthday, I received a flyer from my friends at Independence Harley in College Station. It said “Zero down and $150 a month for a 1200 Sportster”. I was on the phone the next day and the following month I had my first Harley. Now mind you, I brought it home in a truck because I didn’t know how to ride yet. I was just that certain that it would all work out. I went to Sturgis that same year on my Sporty. I went with a couple of guys from the HOG chapter that I had joined. Wrong choice. I was so bored. They shopped worse than women and I wasn’t having much fun at all. I told them I’d see them back in Texas and took off for Colorado to see family. It was a great adventure. My last day home I rode 738 miles on my Sporty. It was as a HOG member that I learned of the Ladies of Harley Motorcycle Memories contest. It’s for lady HOG riders to submit their stories and it has several categories for winners. I decided to write about my Sturgis adventure and I was thrilled when I received a letter and plaque congratulating me for winning first place in the “Most Adventurous” category. It was after that I made the decision to write every year until I won Grand Prize or they hired me. I missed a ‘07 entry but in ‘08 I rode up to Milwaukee for the 105th and back by myself. That’s how I ended up writing the following article and winning the 2008 Grand Prize. I was in a HOG magazine, received an even cooler plaque and won $500. My catch phrase was featured on the HOG website with the article too and I live by the words. “Some say ride it like you stole it. I say ride it like you own it.” I ride every day to work. I ride every chance I get. This year, I’m turning 50 in June. I was trying to decide what to do for my half a century mark. Well thanks to the Paris Chapter, the Iron Butt is the weekend after I turn 50. I’m so excited about going I can barely stand the thought of waiting. I hope you enjoy the following article and I hope to see ya’ll out on the road!
LOH Motorcycle Memories Contest 2008
Carol Rynearson
I found out the day before I left for the Ride Home to Milwaukee that I was going to be laid off by the end of this year. I knew that I had to make it a memorable trip since I wasn’t sure what the future would hold. It had already been a good year as I graduated from my ‘06 Sportster to an ‘08 Road King which I named Elvis (because I’m riding the King). I hadn’t found anyone to travel with so I chose to go ahead and make the trip alone. I initially thought it would be fun to hit 105 dealerships to collect 105 “Dip Dots”. During my planning I realized I would need more than a week to make that happen so I set off to stop at as many dealerships as I could. What started out as a trip with a plan to make a memory actually became even more memorable for other reasons.
- Best Surprise - Meeting Gary and his crew from Other Side Customs at Longhorn HD in Grand Prairie TX. They did the custom paint job on Elvis.
- Best Bathroom - Pig Trail HD in Rogers AR. Everything a girl could want is in there.
- Best Conversation - Talked with Tom Eiden, the owner of Starved Rock HD in Ottawa IL. He told me a lot of HD history and made sure I had included several of the historical dealerships on my quest.
- Best Side Trip - Taking off of I 70 and cruising MO 100, MO-M and MO-AT to get to Bourbeuse Valley HD. The roads were winding and the scenery was beautiful. I almost missed the new store because all I saw was the 'shack' which is the original location. If you come that way just look back over your shoulder and you'll see the new one.
- Milwaukee - Riding out to the Basilica of Holy Hill, HOG 25th party, riding in the parade, the Museum, Bruce Springsteen.
0 Comments