My year of riding: Pursuing my passion in the pandemic

I found myself sitting at home, like most of us, with all this extra time on my hands. It felt like the world as we knew it had come to an end. Businesses were closing, and the public was being encouraged to stay at home. The BMW car factory where I worked would be shut down for an entire two weeks. That never happened! We always ran 24/7, only shutting the machines down to be maintained twice a year, in July and in December.

I found myself reflecting on my life. I looked back and realized how many hours I'd put in working various jobs since I moved out of my parents' home at age 19. On this current job, I worked nights on a 12-hour shift, 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. However, it wasn’t your typical 12-hour shift module where an employee would work two or three consecutive days then be off for a couple of days. We'd typically work four consecutive days before we had a night off. But for the past several months, due to high demand, they'd been enforcing mandatory overtime on us. They had us working seven consecutive nights of 12-hour shifts. We'd work seven nights, be off for two, work another seven nights and then be off for five, and so forth. This went on for months. It was all legal under South Carolina labor law so we just endured it.

Editor’s note: Kimba Reams is a member of the RevZilla Rider's Alliance, a team of everyday riders from across the nation, from all walks of life, on all types of bikes, that represents and embraces the diversity of the RevZilla ridership.

The two-week shutdown felt like a blessing. I used those two weeks as a much needed rest and reflected on myself and life in general. I was introduced to the 21-day guided meditation experiences by Oprah and Deepak and they helped me get back to myself and what was important to me.

It hit me harder than ever that I hadn't really been living at all. I'd been working hard in order to one day retire and then start living. But the way this world was going, that wasn't even promised. So I made a decision…

Cashing in, checking out, making connections

I decided not to go back to work, to cash in my 401K, which I could do without penalty because of the pandemic, and take an entire year off. What better way to social distance than to ride one's motorcycle?!

In April, I stumbled across an interview with Jessica Wise from Salt Lake City, the original founder of The Litas. Researching The Litas, I found this statement on their website:

"The Litas is focused on building local communities of women who share the love for two wheels, welcoming women from all walks of life. We are inclusive and celebrate our differences as we come together over our shared passion for motorcycles. We are here for the free-thinkers, the adventurers, and the women who are unapologetically themselves.

"We inspire and empower women by showing them they can do whatever they set their mind to, whether that's riding a motorcycle, or building an empire. We aren't afraid to go against the grain and shatter stereotypes in the process."

Those words resonated with me.

I immediately reached out to the two closest branches. Amazingly enough, I was able to do my first group ride with The Litas Atlanta, a bunch of incredible females, on International Female Ride Day, May 2, 2020! I had been riding for five years by then and had never, not even once, ridden with another female, much less a group ride consisting of all women. It was such an empowering experience.

I wanted to be able to provide that comradeship, encouragement, inspiration and empowerment to other females in my area, so by the end of May I had co-founded The Litas Greenville, South Carolina branch. Our first group ride as a branch was held on June 14 and we surprisingly had a total of nine female bikers. We were underway.

Gone riding — farther

In the beginning of August, I attended the All Female Ride in Jacksonville, Florida, based at Adamec Harley-Davidson. It was staggering seeing so many women bikers. The ride was themed so most of the women wore tutus. I’d never planned on wearing a tutu in my life but it was a blast.

They closed a part of I-295 and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office motor cops escorted us across the Dames Point Bridge and back. It was such a beautiful sight to behold as we looped back around the other side of the bridge and looked over to see all the other biker chicks. More than 400 women participated in the ride and we covered the entire expanse of both sides the bridge. I felt so empowered!

At the All Female Ride I also reconnected with one of my inspirations, Mileage Bully. I first spotted her posts on the Black Girls Ride Facebook page about her cross-country journey from California to her hometown in Virginia on her Suzuki Hayabusa. I would anxiously follow her to see which state she'd wind up in next. In my first few years of riding, I averaged about 10,000 miles a year and stayed to neighboring states, but I thought to myself, "If she could do that, so could I," especially on my Yamaha FJR1300, which was made for such long distances. So I planned to work my way up to doing a cross-country trip of my own.

In August, I did my first Iron Butt Association Saddlesore 1000 ride, covering 1,000 miles in under 24 hours. I mapped out a loop route via the interstate and accomplished it with the photos and gas receipts to prove it. So when my cousin who lives in Philadelphia reached out to me in September and told me she, like many others, was getting somewhat depressed due to the state of the world, I suggested I come visit to cheer her up. She lived with her mother and grandmother, however, and with the pandemic in full force, they understandably didn't feel comfortable with me staying overnight. Therefore, I decided to do a turn around. I mapped it out and it was only 615 miles from my home. I could say "only" because I'd already proved my stamina and endurance with the Iron Butt ride.

I enjoyed visiting my cousin and my aunt, had a takeout pizza and a couple of cheesesteaks — one can't visit Philadelphia without indulging in a Philly cheesesteak — stopped by my other cousin's home for a brief visit. Then I got back on the road.

I consider the connections I've made with others in this biker world my family, so I refer to them as my windsisters and windbrothers. One particular windsister was a co-founder of The Litas branch in Durham, North Carolina. She had reached out a couple of months ago to congratulate me on starting a new branch and had suggested we meet up. She offered me a place to stay on my way home from Philly, then showed me some of North Carolina's back roads as I left the next day.

Among the many things canceled due to COVID-19 was my family reunion. So having reveled in seeing some of my Philly family, I decided to embark on a Friends & Family Tour to see people dear to my heart, if they were comfortable with me coming to visit. I came up with a route that would take me to Florida, Tennessee, my birthplace in Wisconsin and Ohio. What a glorious nine days on the road it was. I finally felt like I was living!

At the beginning of October, I connected with a windbrother who is a seasoned rider who enjoys cross-country rides on his Honda Gold Wing. We wanted to see a new mural at the Harriett Tubman Museum and Educational Center, and it was even more spectacular in person. Then I made the kind of decision I couldn't have made in my old life. I decided not to head home.

I had been invited to a moto camping event that The Litas Forth Worth branch was hosting at Adam Sandoval's K River Campground in Moyers, Oklahoma. I realized that a ride to my cousin's house in San Antonio, before going on to the event, would qualify for another Iron Butt Association ride, the Bun Burner 1500 (1,500 miles in under 36 hours) or maybe a Bun Burner Gold (1,500 miles in under 24 hours). I had an adrenaline rush just from the thought of possibly being able to complete the ride in under 24 hours! I decided to shoot for that and if I didn't make it, I'd definitely make it in under 36 hours.

I awoke before sun up but it was cold, still in the 30s. I decided to wait until sunrise since the temperatures were expected to be in the low 40s by then. Which was still cold, in my opinion, considering I didn't have any heated glove liners, heated grips or any of the extras that make it more comfortable to ride in cold weather. As the sun peeked over the horizon, I left the hotel and stopped at a nearby gas station. I bought some nuts and meat sticks, things I could eat while I rode. Then I topped off my tank and took a picture of the gas receipt next to my odometer. That marked my official start time. As I was about to merge onto the highway, I remembered I needed to set my REVER tracking app to record and document my ride. So I quickly pulled over onto the shoulder to do so. Then I was off.

Gas stops were no longer than necessary. I spaced out my snacks to last me throughout the day. Shortly after nightfall, I indulged in a naked hotdog at one of the travel stops and ate it as I filled my tank. I eventually reached my cousin's San Antonio home early the following morning. According to my time stamps I had traveled 1,616 miles in 23 hours and 3 minutes. I did it!

My cousin used to ride until a work-related injury and back surgeries made it impossible, so she shared in the joy of my success. I was so tired yet still high from my ride. After a rest day, chatting with my cousin and hydrating with lime cucumber Gatorade and water, I rode on to Moyers. The 430 miles didn't seem so far now.

After checking in at the K River Campground, I walked around and introduced myself to the other women motorcyclists, most of which were from various parts of Texas. I met and connected with several other members of The Litas, not only from the Fort Worth branch, but also from the Dallas and Denton branches. I also met other women from various all-female clubs, independent riders, and male supporters, as well. Fun activities filled the weekend: group rides, live music, a minibike race, a slow race, etc. Surprisingly, I won the minibike race, though I'd never ridden one before, and won an $100 gift card to Paris Harley-Davidson. I even had the pleasure of meeting Adam Sandoval and his dear wife, Ashley. Adam is a cool fellow and I respect him for his endeavors in raising money and awareness for veterans like myself. Overall, it was an empowering weekend being around all these bad ass biker women who all had their individual stories and moto journeys to share. I made lifelong friends that weekend.

Returning to Texas, I went to visit another inspiration, Foxi Brn, a windsister who had survived a recent motorcycle accident. Her posts on the Black Girls Ride Facebook page, about her long weekend rides of 1,000 to 3,000 miles in two or three days, by a woman older than I am, impressed me. After visiting with her, I now consider her my big sis.

The year of riding nears an end

After those 11 days on the road, I was happy to see a set of Michelin Road 5 tires on my porch upon my return. I immediately loved them and have bought them ever since. I easily get 15,000 miles out of a set of those tires. As the weather got cooler, I invested in a heated jacket liner and a pair of heated glove liners from Cycle Gear so I could continue to ride.

I made three more trips to Florida, participated in charity rides, fundraisers, and connected with more family, friends, and windsisters and windbrothers. On one of my trips to Tennessee, I met up to ride with a fellow lady biker who is now my fiancée. For our first ride together, in mid December, she dauntingly endured 40-degree temperatures with no cold-weather gear. Needless to say, the very next day I introduced her to the closest Cycle Gear so she could be properly suited to ride in the cold season.

By the end of March 2021, I had done exactly what I set out to do. An entire year off. I had co-founded a women's motorcycle collective. I'd ridden half way across the United States, checking off eleven more states and finishing two Iron Butt rides. I learned so much about myself as a motorcyclist. And in the midst of social distancing, I had made so many amazing connections in this biker community, many of whom I now consider family. I felt extremely blessed and grateful.

Though I returned to the workforce, I made a promise to myself to find a work-life balance and still make time to fulfill my passion for long-distance rides.

It's a promise I've been keeping. I've since done a 17-day, 10,000-mile trip and I'll soon start training to get certified as a RiderCoach to teach others how to ride. My year of riding made changes in my life that will last forever.