As Editor and Publisher of Biker Ally Magazine I’m often asked about my past experiences as well as the story of how I came to create Biker Ally.  I guess in order for everything to make sense, I need to start at the beginning.

I was born in Hoechstadt, Germany on September 28, 1954.  I truly believe this is were my love of motorcycling began as my parents use to sandwich me between themselves on their Zuendapp (a German Model bike) wherever they went, as that was their only form of transportation.

Being that times were pretty tough my Dad decided to move to the United States by way of Canada.  He took the giant leap to find a place to live as well as a job.  He brought my mother and me to Canada one year later.  He accomplished his goal of reaching America “where the streets are paved in gold.” shortly thereafter.  We ended up on the south side of Chicago, Illinois where I learned how to speak, read and write English.  Later on, we moved to a little town west of Chicago called Streamwood.  This is where I spent most of my teenage years.

Much to my Mom’s chagrin, every chance I could, I would always take a ride on the back of someone else’s bike.  I just loved that special feeling you get when on a bike, something I’ve never really been able to describe.

In 1968 I became a U.S. citizen, which I consider my best accomplishment and one of my proudest moments.  I’ve held various positions in the corporate world, all of which has helped me in producing Biker Ally.  I never really felt like I achieved much during these times.  I always had a great interest in learning different computer skills and kept switching my fields.

I have two children, one daughter born in 1979 and a son born in 1982.  Being a divorced, single mom, lead me to an organization called Young Single Parents.  I took a volunteer position as Family Director as well as DJ for the Parent’s Dance night. 

Being a Family Director my job was to provide entertainment for Parents to do different events with their children as a group.  I arranged for activities such as outings to the Zoo, museums, picnics, movies and so on.  This is where I met my husband Bob.  He was a divorced parent of three sons born in 1979, 1981 and 1983.  Bob is in the printing industry.  He was also a part time DJ, as well as owned his own sound and lighting company.  It wasn’t long before he and I took turns being DJ’s and we soon became friends.  Long story short, we married in 1990 and I became the proud mom of five kids.

I was fascinated by the sound and lighting company that Bob owned.  I used to go on different circuits with Bob and helped out where ever I could.  It wasn’t long before Bob taught me how to be a lighting engineer.  I use to set up all the lights, wire them in and arrange different computer segments to help me out with different lighting sets while directing the spot light operators on what type of spot I wanted to see on the performers.  Our concert sound and lighting days took off like a rocket and we ended up doing a lot of different country singers.  So much so, that my name was listed in the County Music Association as the only woman lighting director, at that time.  We had grown so big, it was time to choose between our regular 9-5 jobs or go full time with the sound and lighting company.  Being that we had five kids, we decided that this was not the type of life we wanted to subject our children to and decided to get out of that business.

Not having to do the concerts any longer, allowed Bob and I to pursue other interests.  I would often hop on the back of Bob’s bike and we would take off for short trips around the neighborhood.  One day, after watching Bob handle the bike during a ride, I refused to get off the bike.  When questioned why I wasn’t moving, I asked Bob “Do you think I can learn how to ride one of these by myself?”  His answer was “Heck, yeah.”

The next day he went out and bought me a Honda 250 Nighthawk.  This was the beginning of my passion to do everything with a biking appeal.  That little Nighthawk lasted one year before I progressed to a Yamaha Virago 750.  Being that Bob and I both had Virago’s we decided to join the Virago Owners Club International in 1996.  We immediately became involved by opening up a chapter in the Chicago area of which I became Treasurer.

In 1997, I also became the Dealer Director for the Virago Owners Club.  This is where I performed the task of signing up dealers to offer discounts to the members and encourage members to support these dealers.  I took the program from 25 dealerships to 150 dealerships.

In 1998, Bob and I started a new chapter of the Virago Owners Club, which has since become an independent motorcycle club called the Chicago Cruisers.  Here I was voted in as President and remained as a President until I stepped down in 2002.

In 1999, I was voted in as the U.S. Vice-President of the Virago Owners Club.  My duties were to oversee all the Chapters and the Coordinators as well as promote the club.  When I first held this position I was able to increase the number of Chapters belonging to the club.

I then went on to become the first woman President of the Virago Owners Club in 2001, a position that I had maintained until August of 2003.  I had to step down at the end of this term due to the increasing responsibilities of Biker Ally Magazine, which was put into publication in June of 2000.

So why did I start Biker Ally?  My inspiration came from Linda Jo Giovannoni, who was the founder of Harley Women Magazine.  Since Jo and I live only a few miles from each other, we both attend many of the same biker events.  Through the years, a friendship developed, which is still going strong today.  I truly enjoyed Harley Women Magazine and really missed it when it ceased being published.  Because Jo is my friend and mentor, I had spent long hours getting together with her to get advice on how to start my own magazine.

The monetary value that I get from the magazine is good, but what makes it all worthwhile is when I receive mail and e-mails telling me that my magazine was an inspiration to move from the back of the bike to riding their own.  Many have also stated that Biker Ally has given them the courage to move out of the neighborhood and see some of the countryside.

I have held memberships in Women on Wheels, Women in the Wind; ABATE of Illinois, Canadian Motorcycle Association, Windy City Riders, Chicago Cruisers, Motor Maids and the American Motorcyclist Association.  Last but not least, I am also a member of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum and I believe I still have a plaque hanging on their wall.

In 2001 I took a 20,000-mile trip that covered 33 states and two Canadian Provinces in 76 days all by myself.  This was only one trip that year as I had also gone on two smaller excursions that covered only a little over 1,000 miles each as well as some neighborhood riding.

A typical summer for me is being on the road from one coast to another attending as many events as I can cover and as time allows.  More often than not, my family doesn’t see me for sometimes months on end.  I’m not sure how many miles that I’ve traveled since I’ve been riding, but it’s got to be over that 100,000-mile mark by now.

Of the five children that Bob and I have, three have an interest in motorcycling.  This would be my daughter and my son as well as Bob’s middle son.

Bob has one son that is in the Army and has served his country in Bosnia for six months, as well as Iraq for two terms consisting of one year each.  I too have a son in the Army and he has also served his country in Iraq for over one year.

So now that you know all about me, you can tell there really isn’t anything special, just a typical, normal American girl, still looking for those streets that are paved in gold…