Best friends for 35 years, Dick & Shirlene are always looking to share new adventures. Dick sold his old dirt bike 30 years ago when he learned that Shirlene was expecting their first child. He didn't get the bug again until their kids were grown and gone. Shirlene came home from work one day after a friend had given her a short ride on his new Harley. "You know, my heels aren't dug in quite as firm as they used to be about motorcycles!" That was all Dick needed to hear.

For Father's day, 2002, Dick got a 1200cc HD Custom Sportster. Knowing that Shirlene really wouldn't want to ride very often, he felt the Sportster would be just the bike for him. As the summer passed though, Shirlene was enjoying the ride more and more. For their anniversary that September, Dick & Shirlene welcomed a 2003 HD Softail Deuce to their family. They have had many adventures riding the Deuce two-up. Their first big trip (better known as 'The Ride') was in the spring of 2003 when they rode with Tom & Louise Andersen and covered California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. After riding a few thousand miles on the back of the Deuce, Shirlene realized that she could ride her own bike, and miss a heck of a lot more bumps than her husband did.

Shirlene made up her mind and decided to learn to ride. For Valentine's Day 2004, Dick got her a little 500cc Buell Blast (is he a great husband or what?). Figuring that it was probably just a passing whim and that the Blast was just a training bike, Dick didn't think too much about Shirlene's biking future. But after Shirlene rode up to Canada and back over the long 4th of July weekend, Dick realized his wife was just getting warmed up. After gathering her resources, Shirlene ordered herself a 2005 HD Softail Deluxe. She took delivery right around Christmas 2004. Since then Dick & Shirlene have been cruising the redwood area and enjoying the ride. You can tell that Shirlene is still thrilled; she has the biggest smile when she rides. And bugs or not, she doesn't close her mouth -- she just laughs out loud.