Tuesday, July 28, 2009

*King* of Motorcycle Travel Adverturing

Carla King is an inspiring woman that I have been following for the past 4 years.
Carla is multifaceted as a travel journalist, dispatcher, keynote speaker, teacher, author and motorcycle adventurist better known as Misadventures. Intertwining all of her many talents through motorcycling.

I had the pleasure of meeting Carla in person last week as a result of her gracious consent to my personal request to review my Style Saver Scarf. She openly obliged through email, inviting me over like an old friend, who had known me for years.
Arriving at her quaint little cottage nestled on a hillside with a picturesque view of the San Francisco Bay. I was greeted with a hug by an attractive tall, blond, slender woman in stature, with shoulder length hair and a natural soft feminine presence, that instantly allowed me to feel comfortable in her home.

I noticed her midnight blue BMW K75 parked in the drive and commented on how one of my riding friends had the same bike. She told me she loved the bike, but had plans to reconfigure the ferring because it had a tendency to act like a sail on some of the frequent blusterous days coming off the Golden Gate Bridge. After she continued on, telling me about how she was blown across several lanes one day, I thought her concept on changing the ferring was a good idea!

As I sat down on this little couch, Carla sat across from me on her ergonomic chair, which connected to her ergonomic work station, where I imagined all the Misadventure tales and tribulations were pined, plotted and transcribed for the world to enjoy.
We sat and talked informally of her recent travels to North Africa and parts of Europe, along with past travels to China and India, in addition to all the challenges of writing and self publishing her books.
I asked her about how she acquires her motorcycles while on her travels. I was fascinated to find out that numerous motorcycle manufactures loan her motorcycles to test ride while doing her travel explorations. The most famous to be ridden was the Russian Ural sidecar that she rode while solo-circumnavigating the United States in her book American Borders.

After talking motorcycles for several minutes she suddenly asked me if I liked plums and proceeded to lead me out the back door of her cottage. We entered a garden encompassed with a pastiche of pretty flowers and native succulents equipped with cozy chairs and tables to complete a peaceful, dulcet sanctuary.
Carla picked a bag full of sweet, sapid plums for me, which I later ate in two days time!

Eventually, I showed her the Style Saver Scarf and demonstrated how to put it on and the benefits the scarf offers combating helmet hair while wearing a motorcycle helmet. I would later discover that she watched and listened intently, because she wrote two articles on me, quoting several statements I had made to her. This happened within days of our meeting, I was blown away!
http://bit.ly/16BtV7
http://bit.ly/U9Hx6
As we hugged goodbye after our one and half hour visit, I realized I was leaving with more than the Style Saver Scarf I had brought to Carla. With plumbs from her tree, and a signed autographed book of American Borders in tow and boundless information to take home with me.
I left feeling plenteous in more ways that I could have imagined!

To me, Carla went beyond what my expectations would be, coming from a woman so prominent in journalism, travel and as a solo international female motorcyclist.
The openness, the willingness and the time she afforded to a fellow motorcyclist and ascending entrepreneur, was nothing less than noble.

From one motorcyclist to another, I say a big behemoth thank you Carla!

Cindi

Notes:
Carla will be attending the AMA Women in Motorcycling Conference in Keystone CO August 19-22. For lectures on her travels, as well as book signings.
She will also be sharing in a Self Independent Publishing Workshop with one of her Wild Writing Women's group partners, Lisa Alpine in San Francisco, Sunday, October 4Th.
Carla's Link:
http://bit.ly/sO1sP

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