I went to Americaid for the first time and felt like a kid in a candy store. I was so excited to be there that I lost my appetite. I couldn’t get over the number of bikes, the organized schedule of events, the mature crowd and the beautiful location. I met so many nice people that I didn’t want to leave.
I attended the Women’s Round Table Discussion which was a panel of 5 or 6 women who work in the mc industry. I was so inspired by their presentations that the next day I test road all the big bikes that I was previously too afraid to get on. I test road a Yamaha FJR which is a large sports touring bike. Although it is an excellent bike, it was scary because the bike is too tall for me. I almost dropped it when we came to a stop sign on a hill. Lastly, I test road a Honda Gold Wing. What a perfect bike. I was in absolute heaven on the Gold Wing. I felt little or no wind, the sit was like a pillow, the music system was excellent, the cruise control was unbelievable and the bike is so well balance that I felt confident. I have set a can on my desk called the Sandy Gold Wing Fund.
I also test road the BMW GS 650, the Triumph Scrambler 900, the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 and 2000, and the Moto Guzzi Norge. I enjoyed them all except the Moto Guzzi.
After all those test rides, I got on my FZ6 and felt like I was on the perfect bike for me given that I do most of my riding in NYC.
The only negative to my trip was that I road down with another woman who is not as fanatical about biking as I am and who rides a small bike. She didn’t attend any of the events and doesn’t like riding the twisties because curves scare her. She even refused to take certain major expressways there because of curves. The speed limit is 65 on the route we traveled, but she wouldn’t go over 70. I’m going alone next year, but I’m definitely going back to Americaid.
SanNYC