2005 Triumph Daytona 650 | ME & MY BIKE

2005 Triumph Daytona 650
Name: Tracy DeBrita
Age: 42
Home: Williston, Vermont
Occupation: Fitness Trainer and Professional Body Builder

I have always loved motorcycles. I grew up watching my dad ride his 1975 Triumph Bonneville, and I couldn't wait to get my own motorcycle one day-now I have two! My fiancé, Jeff, who owns six motorcycles and is an outstanding rider, is the one who really added fuel to my already lit motorcycle fire.

Five years ago I went with Jeff and his friends to Laconia, NH, for Bike Week. What a blast! All those motorcycles, the smell of burning rubber, the loud exhausts... We rode two-up that week, and the following year for my birthday Jeff surprised me with my first bike, a Kawasaki Ninja 500R. Who could ask for a better gift?

At Laconia the next year I fell in love with a cruiser, a 2003 Honda Shadow Spirit 750 with ghost red flames. I could not stop looking at it! The same day we returned home to Vermont I found one for sale on eBay, in Connecticut. Of course I won the auction. Jeff tuned it up and added some Vance & Hines Short Shot pipes so it was both beautiful and loud! The following year I was ready for a more powerful sportbike, so I sold the Ninja. Jeff located this bright yellow 2005 Daytona Triumph 650 with a Jardine exhaust system and only 3000 miles on it. Again we were on a road trip for another sweet bike. How lucky was I?

These past few years I have enjoyed riding both bikes. They're so different, but both provide me with so much joy. I continue to sharpen my skills on each ride, and I learn so much just observing Jeff. I'm so glad that more women are riding motorcycles now. In the last 10 years, the number of female motorcycle riders has nearly doubled, and women now make up about 10 percent of the riding population and 25 percent of all new motorcycle sales purchases. It isn't any wonder why more women want to try motorcycling. It's pulse pounding and liberating. Riding a bike is a unique experience every time you start it up.