Gwyneth

Female riders to roll-play for charity


By Linda McIntosh
TODAY'S LOCAL NEWS

May 2, 2007

After riding a motorcycle 1,000 miles in 23 hours, Lilia Benjamin thought there was no way she'd do it again. But, come Saturday, she'll be pushing for 1,000 miles in 21 hours.
The San Marcos resident is one of 15 area women participating in a 1,000/1,500-mile fundraiser for the Ride for the Heart Foundation, aptly named the “Iron Butt.”
The foundation uses motorcycle-related fundraisers to benefit heart-related charities and to promote heart disease education, awareness and prevention.
“You get so pumped up, you want to keep going,” Anita Broughton said.
Broughton and Benjamin are part of a sisterhood of female motorcycle riders called Women in the Wind International.
The nearly 40 members of Sol Sisters, the San Diego chapter of Women in the Wind, don black leather jackets and helmets and ride in and around San Diego County, through backcountry and deserts and into neighboring states.

“I've seen places I never would have seen before and in a way I wouldn't have experienced them. You're part of the surroundings – the smells and everything,” Broughton said. One of the group's most adventurous rides is the annual Iron Butt.
Last year, the Sol Sisters covered 1,000 miles in about 23 hours, taking pit stops of only five to 15 minutes to get gas and eat snacks.
This year, the group of 15 riders is aiming to shave two hours from last year's time. A few riders – Broughton among them – are shooting for 1,500 miles in 36 hours. Their goal is to raise $5,000 from sponsors.
Many of the riders are mothers and grandmothers, but for them it's the right combination of a good cause and a wild ride.

“You brace yourself and do what you've been practicing for,” chapter President Jett Ford said. Last year Benjamin did it for her 40th birthday.
“It pushes you to live beyond your comfort zone,” she said.
“You start at 5:30 a.m. By 7:30 p.m. you've been on your bike for 14 hours and you're asking, 'Why did I do this?' By 1 a.m. you're thinking, 'I can do this.' ”
At the end of the ride, the women vowed never to do it again, but by the next morning, they were asking when the next ride was.
“It's like childbirth,” Broughton said. “You forget the pain.”
The women stay together and pull off the road in unison if anyone needs a rest.
“We roll into gas stations, and when we take off, people are left looking,” Benjamin said.
She expected that last year's Iron Butt would be a one-time thing for her, but she's back again this year.
“At the end I was ready to bawl, but when we rolled in and finished the ride, it felt so good,” she said.

S-EX636

Co-worker friend of mine did an Iron Butt thing. Rode from LA to JAX on a Goldwing. He spent the night in Jax, then rode down to Key West the next day where we met up with him for work related stuff. He did surprise us, we all laughed him out of town before he left. But in the end he had the last laugh. I commend these girls, knowing I haven't the heart to complete such a task. Although, 1000 miles in 24 hours is only averaging 42 MPH. With open roads, stops for gas/snacks only, cruise control @ 80mph, shouldn't be an issue. Hopefully done on a cruiser with attached piddle-packs!

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