Lisa Dorrell, from near Kansas City, Missouri, is one of those women who was born to ride. Today, at age 47, she is mother of three college graduates and a member of Women on Wheels (WOW). Below is her story.
Growing up as a self-proclaimed Tomboy, Lisa bonded with her dad through spectator sports and motorsports. Her dad, even with just one arm, was a championship stock car racer in the 1950s and was known as the Flying Dutchman.
Her very first motorcycle ride was when she was about seven and on the back of a neighbors bike and she got a pipe burn on her leg getting off. Soon, a young Lisa would begin to ride mini bikes her father repaired in his bicycle/lawn mower shop and, as she remembers it, she rode better than any of her brothers!
As a married adult, Lisa and her late husband Bill (30 years her senior) trained and broke horses for a living. Bill also had a motorcycle and convinced Lisa to ride behind. At first she was a little scared (maybe remembering that pipe burn) but she stayed with it and learned to relax on the passenger pillion. She once asked him why he would ride 200 miles with friends for coffee. His response was Why? Being the Gear Head you are, if you ever twisted your own throttle, youd know why and you would be hooked. Bill was right because right after Lisa took the Motorcycle Safety Course, she got a Yamaha XS 1100 and rapidly put about 10,000 miles it. That was 2001. She now owns a 1999 Kawasaki Drifter 1500 with flared fenders dressed out like a vintage Indian.
After Lisa got the Drifter, she and Bill would ride to Mississippi where they would meet up and ride with Bills brother, Toby. That first summer of owning the Drifter, Lisa put on over 10,000 miles in just over four months. At the end of the summer, they once again rode to Mississippi where they had plans to go to a Little Sturgis rally near Tobys home.
The morning of the ride to the rally started out rainy. They had almost decided not to go but the rally was only about 15 miles from Tobys place so they hooked up with another friend and went. On the ride back from the rally that sunny afternoon, the foursome (Toby, Lisa, Bill, and the friend in that order) was cruising along at about 55 mph with not a care in the world, enjoying the roads. As they neared the crest of a slight hill, a car came over the hill in their lane. Lisa screamed Tobys name just before the debris came flying back at her. She swerved into the other lane and the Drifter stayed upright for a bit before skidding to a stop.
Bill ran over to Lisa and with panic in his voice told her I dont know if Toby is going to make it or not his arm is missing. Lisa knew she couldnt do anything so she said a little prayer Lord, be with him. A helicopter took Lisa to a hospital in Memphis; Toby, unfortunately, died. Besides the missing arm, Toby also lost a leg; the limbs were thrown about 120 feet from his bike from the force of the impact. The driver of the car was drunk and accident reconstruction showed all but the far right headlight of his car was in the oncoming lane of traffic.
Previously Lisa had told herself that if anything should happen while she was riding that she would take that as a sign and just give up riding. She realized, though, that the accident was not her fault and on the trip to hospital vowed that this accident was not going to stop her from riding even with injuries that included a shattered elbow, broken hand and wrist, broken ribs, a concussion, and a lot of road rash.
Bill was left with the task of burying his brother while Lisa would transfer to a hospital in Missouri to have surgery to fix her arm, including a replacement elbow. "The essential to budget travel is to plan ahead. When it comes to family trips, globetrotting, well-deserved trips and/or going to see new places we have never been before, the fact of cost and budgeting is always in the back of our mind. Planning and expending our travel budget properly is a main concern for most families. Reducing spending and costs, while still enjoying your vacation to its fullest, is the key to guaranteed accomplishment and fiscal responsibility. Your pocketbook and family will thank you! The thought regarding protecting money while touring is simple: Even if your personal budget is extremely limited, you can still take a break and enjoy life! Simply put, life is just too short to never step out of the door or departing the homestead! Also keeping in mind that while traveling, regardless of whether on a budget or not, even the smallest of things can all add op to a big vacation or travel charge!..". During the months of rehab, Lisa impatiently waited for the return and repair of her motorcycle.
Damage to the Drifter consisted of a shattered wind shield; gas tank dented in two places; bent and scraped crash bars, muffler, and floorboards; torn seat; and one saddlebag crushed. Stripping the bike down the essentials, Bills brother-in-law took it out for a test ride and it ran straight as an arrow; no shimmy, wobble, or vibration. It would not take much to get the Drifter back on the road!
Lisa was also anxious to get back on the road. During physical therapy, she told the therapist that her hand had to be strong because it was her clutch hand. Towards the end of therapy, she started riding the Drifter to sessions. Everyone wanted to know if she was nuts but in her words I had to. It is like being thrown from a horse, you have to get back on it and ride. I didnt have to prove it to anyone else but myself that I could still do it. And I did.
Lisa still has the Drifter, now nicknamed The Road Warrior, and she has put over 55,000 miles on the odometer in almost 10 years. The bike still has a dent in the gas tank and Lisa still has a scar on her arm reminders of what they have been through. She is planning a trip back to Mississippi next year on the anniversary of the wreck to basically say, I am still HERE! She credits the design of the Drifter for saving her life that day in Mississippi and feels special bond with the bike that draws attention wherever she rides.
Lisa and Bill were together for 15 years before he passed away. It was Bill who got her started riding and for that she is eternally thankful. He opened a door for her that has been her wind therapy. Even with Lupus, Lyme disease, Diabetes, and HAE (another type of autoimmune disorder), and a knee replacement (not motorcycle crash related), Lisa rides because it is good for her soul. With the wind in her face, she is in heaven!
Lisa has since remarried to JD who enjoys riding motorcycles almost as much as Lisa. They were married on the anniversary of that accident a day when she almost lost her life and a day she began a new life. The newlyweds ride whenever they get the chance and as retirement age approaches, they are looking forward to riding even more.
As the fastest growing segment of the motorcycling public, women are more inclined than ever before to move from the passenger pillion to the front of the seat and to grab those handlebars. In this series of articles called She Rides Her Own we will profile a woman motorcyclist, what makes her unique, and how she got started riding on two wheels. If you would like to share a story with our readers on Examiner.com, email to: Patty.Davis.USA@gmail.com
Other She Rides Her Own articles:
- Meet Flo: motorcyclist, adventurer, crusader
- Meet Darlene: a motorcyclist proving its never too late
- Meet Ralyn: leaping head on into motorcycling
- Meet Cat: she really does have nine lives
- Meet Brittany: teaching us how to avoid being skinned alive
- Meet Linda: showing us that love endures
- Meet Robin: her inner strength changed her life
- Meet LeftLane: living a life that matters
- Meet Abby: she rode back from Hell
- Meet Pinky: she is passionate about motorcycles
- Meet Laura: enthusiast, racer, and mentor
- Meet Jackie: trading up and enjoying the ride
- Meet Lori: living a meaningful life
- Meet Leilani: finding a motorcycle that is just right
- Meet Karen: finding blessings in unusual places
- Meet Liz: Making my way to the motorcycle
- Meet Sharon: she overcame addiction to find passion and purpose
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