Once again 2011 had us faced with great entries and it was a tough choice to narrow down to the final 4, but after everyone here at Garage-Girls and Carlisle events voted, here are our final 4 choices, the rest is now up to you!
Please read the stories for each contestant and place your vote for who you feel most deserves to win the Garage-Girls Ultimate Biker Makeover. The 2 with the most votes will be awarded tons of prizes for the rider, but the one with the most votes will also be staking claim to some extra's for his or her motorcycle.
VOTING IS NOW CLOSED. WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO VOTED.
Rebecca Wood
Why I Need an Ultimate Biker Makeover!
Hello my name is Rebecca Wood. I started riding in 2004, when my husband bought his first Harley on his way home from Iraq. I weighed in at 260lbs and wanted to ride with him every time he came home. So he decided to teach me how to ride my own. He bought me a Honda Nighthawk 250 to learn on. Within 6 months I went up to a Honda Shadow 750. Within a year (2006) I went up to a Harley Sporsters 883c. Still not happy a year later (2007) I bought me a Harley Nightster 1200. Had to depart with her due to the tough economy times in 2009. I know have a Honda Shadow Ace 1100. And I have also lost 100lbs and none of my riding clothes fit me anymore. See attached before and after pictures. So that is why I need and would love to have an Ultimate Biker Makeover. Please, Please consider me in your choice of winners.
Janet Whitehead
I am a single grandmother and have been raising my grandson for that last 7 years by myself. I have been unemployed for the last year and a half, and money is very tight with a teenage boy that seems to grow taller by the day. I have a 2005 Harley Sportster 883 L, and she is my only sanity in the crazy journey we call life….
There are so many things I want to do to my bike to upgrade her, including fixing the paint on the gas tank which has a big chip missing (but that is a story for another time..), replacing the two side mirrors as one of them has cracked and the mirror fell out (part of the story I alluded to regarding gas tank situation…), and getting a more comfortable seat that would allow me to take longer rides without my butt falling asleep on me. Another wonderful thing to have in this part of the states would be heated grips!!! OMG wouldn’t that just be heaven!! Would also love if some day I could convert her over to a 1200 cc engine, but don’t see that happening any time soon.
Just some help with the list I provided would be so awesome for me. I feel that riding helps me to keep things in perspective for myself, gives me a healthy outlet to help alleviate the daily stress that this situation brings, and allows me to have some time to myself. I have met some wonderful people along the way while riding, and just am happy to be a part of this wonderful lifestyle. And I hope to continue on this journey for a long, long time. But to get some help with some necessary changes would be the most awesome thing that has happened to me in a long time!! God bless, and ride safe!!
Mary Pinkerton
Where to begin?!?! At the age of 54 after caring for my mother for 5+ years 24/7 I decided I wanted a bike of my own. After shopping for 3-1/2 months I purchased a 2006 Harley Davidson Low Rider using part of the money I inherited from my mom (the rest went on house repairs). Don’t get me wrong; I love my bike. I put 10,000 miles on it over the last year. I have been eyeballing Mustang seats, saddlebags, new handlebars, and wishing for a custom paint job; but there is NO money in the budget for any of it. The only upgrades I have managed are hand grips and a used crash bar.
Then in December 2010 the doctor told me I needed to go on diabetes medication. He gave me 90 days to diet and exercise so I could get my blood sugar level down. I will go back to the doctor later this week. In the past 90 days I have lost 25 lbs. by weighing, measuring, and counting calories of every thing I put in my mouth and recording it in a food and exercise diary. I also use my treadmill AT LEAST 5 days a week for 40 minutes.
Now my leather jacket that is less than 2 years old is getting big on me and my leather chaps that I purchased at the beginning of this winter are swimming on me. I am waiting to see how much weight I will end up losing and what size I wear before I have the chaps altered. There is no money in the budget for new leathers either! So I will just have to keep wearing the jacket. My bike could use some cosmetic updating – the Vance and Hines pipes are scraped up (from the previous owner) and I don’t like the silver and gold flame primary and derby covers, etc. I would really like to make this bike my own. The attached picture is of me on my bike BEFORE I lost 25 lbs. It’s not a very good picture of me, but it’s pretty good picture of my bike.
Pat Henderson
In 1973, I graduated from high school, and put my business courses to good use at the local Honda/Yamaha dealer keeping the books and answering the phones. I learned to ride at a Yamaha sponsored learn to ride event while I assisted as part of the company team but never followed through with license or motorcycle. When I met my husband, I used my employee discount for parts for his own Honda. We enjoyed our dates together on this Honda; arms wrapped around my sweetheart enjoying the view from behind.
We married, had children and put the bike way. The ensuing years found us focused on the children. All that we had and did was for their benefit. We wanted them to have every advantage. There were some lean years, but we always made do and the children never wanted for much. As they grew, I desired for them to become strong independent women, able to make choices for themselves. A college educated woman I believed had more options and would be better equipped to lead the independent life I dreamed for them. Soon off to college prep school they went.
It was tough for them at times watching the kids from more affluent families have advantages and luxuries they didn’t. With the hefty tuition payments for this school, my husband and I worked fund raising events sponsored by the school that gained us credits toward tuition, and the girls did work study to help buy books. To help them preserver with eyes focused on their goals, I had them write what they wanted to be when they grew up. Then we put these notes on the mirror where they would see it each day as they brushed their hair. Before I knew it they were off to college and the loans and scratching for cash continued.
In 2001 I began working at a local technology company. Here to my delight were 20 avid motorcyclists. Often during lunch they would go out riding returning in a whirlwind of camaraderie. I was invited on several occasions to go along. Invitations I declined. Then one day I said “yes” and the memories flooded back. I had never forgotten the smell of leather, the feel of the wind in my face and the sense of freedom.
That ride had me thinking about what was keeping me from riding a motorcycle of my own? My husband and I began discuss the possibilities. During these long talks I realized some important lessons; slips of paper on the mirror aren’t just for children. Parents have goals too. A slip of paper was placed on my own mirror. Eventually, I took the motorcycle safety course and a search for the perfect ride began. Jade, a Yamaha 650 came home one day in May and we enjoyed 5 years together.
Then the time came when I realized that if I continued to ride, I would need a newer motorcycle. Jade was beginning to show her age, and I became concerned with reliability. After much searching and haggling, Blaze, a Yamaha 1300 vStar came home with us. Blaze and I have been companions now for two years. Now this grandma has put another slip of paper on the mirror with the word Sturgis as her new dream. Blaze is a reliable motorcycle yet she lacks the glorious sparkle befitting her name. How wonderful it would be for Blaze to ride into Sturgis with a bit of bling, her rider, bedecked and perched on a new Mustang saddle; her reward for years of sacrifice to family.
