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April is Women of Victory Month
April is “Women of Victory Month” here on the Victory website. We invite Victory women to submit photos of themselves with their bikes and their riding pals, along with some info such as where you’re from, what you ride, your Victory dealer, where you like to ride, etc. We’ll feature Women of Victory here all through April. Send photos and info to the Victory Mailbag.
The following was submitted by Victory Rider Scott Magowan to note his wife Laurie’s passion for motorcycling.
[Recently] Gail Stokes (of Stokes Victory/Polaris in Pensacola, FL) forwarded a letter [below] written by my wife, Laurie Magowan, to Victory Rider magazine.
Stokes Victory/Polaris and the entire staff there have been more than exceptional to Laurie and me to the point that we have purchased two motorcycles from them in the past few months: a Vegas Jackpot and a Hammer S.
Not only have we really enjoyed the products but, it should be noted that the "Stokes family" have made us feel like family! It's been a truly great experience from the start (the start meaning that our good friend Bondo brought us to Victory from Harley-Davidson).
…You must know my wife had never ridden a motorcycle before until her Hammer and that she is a tough Canadian woman who is rarely ever brought to tears. However, when she read me her letter over the telephone while I was away on business, she couldn't finish because even her own letter created great emotion and tears.
…We are very proud of our Victorys and won fifth and first place in the first "bike show" they were entered in (Bondo won fourth) in Pensacola, Florida.
…Thanks for introducing my wife to the thrill of the motorcycle.
Kind regards,
– Scott Magowan
Laurie Magowan’s Letter
I was a bitch. I didn’t understand the meaning of this biker word until recently but now I’ve come to realize it’s a simple term of endearment directed to the biker’s backseat rider.
Last year Scott, my husband, and I owned a beautiful, fully decked out Sun Glow Blue Road King. I had enjoyed the back seat “ bitch” position on it and on many of our other previous Harley-Davidson motorcycles we owned before it...
Throughout the last nine years of our marriage we went to many bike events, poker runs and beach cruises. Scott had always said “there are two types of bikers – those who have a Harley and those who want one”.
Then last July 4th we found ourselves at the local ABATE chapter’s annual custom bike and car show in Milton, Florida. Our bike was so “chromed out” that it shined like a light bulb in the row of bikes when the sunlight hit it. There wasn’t anything left on it that could be chromed. We owned it 18 months by then and we had more time spent on cleaning it then riding it. So far we only had a grand total of almost 3,000 miles on it.
Then along came Bondo (Ron Parrish). He was featured in the Winter 2007 issue of the Victory Riders Magazine. Bondo is a very commanding and charming character. You can meet him at almost every local bike event in our area, the local ABATE chapter meeting, or hanging out with his adopted “family” at Stokes Victory Polaris in Pensacola, Florida.
We met him on the that fateful July 4th day when he pulled his 2006 Cory Ness Signature Series Victory Jackpot into the parking spot next to us at the bike show. He was courteous and turned off his motor before backing in to avoid blowing the dust over our bike. We saw then that as beautiful as our bike was, it was only a Harley in the competition now. His was beautiful too, but in a different way and we were sold!
One month later Scott bought home “Jack,” his Sunset Red with Extreme Graphics 2007 Victory Jackpot. I was still the “bitch,” though. It was from the very first ride on the back with him that I saw him actually having fun on a bike. I enjoyed the ride, but “fun” was not a word I would have used to express my feelings about the ride.
Shortly thereafter I took the “Learn to Ride” class for beginners and got my own motorcycle endorsement on my driver’s license. I’ll never take the backseat position again!
When Scott and I brought Jack in for its first service checkup I met and fell in love with “Rosie.” She is a 2007 Hammer S with red wheels and black accents instead of chrome. That really set her apart in my eyes. Keith, the owner of Stokes Victory, had her lowered for me, and Rodney their “in-house” painter personalized her by painting a black rose on the top of the fuel tank and adding roses on both the cam and primary covers. Brian and Adam, the service technicians at Stokes, replaced my foot pegs with Kuryakyn Switchblades, added a Mini Standard windshield, starter cover, battery box cover and horn cover. Now she was mine.
[On] February 9th we entered a bike show at Pensacola Beach, my first on Rosie. Though there were only six Victory motorcycles entered in the bike show among almost 100 Harley-Davidsons and other brands, everybody seemed to gather around us asking questions. I was proud of her, but it’s THE RIDE I want to tell you about.
Before the show 11 of us Victory riders all rode together from the Stokes dealership out to the beach. Scott on his Jackpot, Bondo on his Cory Ness, Jim from the dealership on their demo Victory Vision Premium, me on my Hammer S and six other customers on their Victorys. Even though the judging was done as “people’s choice” by a majority of Harley riders, we ended up taking half of the trophies at the show. Scott placed first runner-up, Bondo fourth, and my Hammer fifth.
Even though our other bikes were loud and beautiful things, our Victories are FUN!
I feel such pleasure, such freedom, such total control and power on my bike. It’s never too cold to ride because when you’re having that much fun you don’t feel the cold ‘til you stop. Our Victories are fun first, dependable second, and beautiful third, and that’s what I ride for…
When I’m on the road cruising I’m so happy and I feel like I’m halfway to heaven. If there was a heaven on earth, I’ve found it everyday I ride my bike.
– Laurie Magowan
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