 Johanna's Ride the Boot
Our interest in motorcycles started even
before we were married. We’d see couples riding and we’d look at each other and
say,”That’s us some day”. It took about 25 years but now it is us. Johanna
never admitted to us how cool she thought it was, we heard from her
friends she confided in. We weren’t
allowed to go where she worked in our leathers, we were warned not to show up
at Salon Fredrick’s in them when we met her for lunch just a couple weeks
before the accident. She met us at Klondyke Jakes instead. When she worked at
Northern Reflections in Marystown, she’d accept a ride home on the bike but
never to work. The helmet played havoc with her hair, she couldn’t have that.
Not since she was about twelve years old actually. Wearing a helmet was always
a rule when she’d ride her bike. Wasn’t an issue when she was little. Then her
hair became a huge part of her life. Her new bike sat in the garage, same rule
applied No helmet, no bike.
Her decision was easy, her new bike is
still new and sitting in our basement. She never rode it again.
Parents are doing things daily for their
children. It’s no different after they leave this world, the need to continue
to do things for them. Thats how we got through the first year. Building
Johanna’s Day Spa for kids, setting up the Johanna Noseworthy Memorial Award at the college, and planning a memorial ride that would benefit people for
many years. The Heritage Riders Motorcycle Association was already in the
makings. The Burin
Peninsula could use some
encouragement for tourism. It all made sense. An annual Johanna’s Memorial Ride
The Boot.
In August 2005 a small group of local
bikers got together for a Sunday afternoon ride, driving around the boot and
stopping in Garnish at our house. In front of our shed exactly, directly in
front of the piece of land that was fast becoming a park. A few home made
hamburgers on the BBQ and some pop and with a donation tin next to the napkins,
we raised over $500 in one afternoon.
The first official annual Johanna’s
Memorial Ride The Boot was held the last weekend in August 2006. There were
about 40 bikes with $3200.00 raised. The funds for the inaugural ride were used
to put a washroom in Johanna’s Day Spa for Kids. We are learning and growing.
Choosing a charity this year was a challenge
until the announcement of Daffodil Place. The
timing of that was perfect for the decision to be made to make Daffodil Place this
years charity. August 24th-26th weekend saw 54 bikes and
78 riders registered for Johanna’s ride. The meet and greet Friday night had a
big turn out. Many bikes took part and enjoyed the morning ride Saturday out
through Burin. Saturday afternoon around the boot we went. Coffee and snack
stops in Lamaline and Grand Bank and then a wicked steak BBQ in Garnish. The
Beau Bois was a hot spot in Marystown late into the early morning apparently.
On Sunday morning deputy mayor of Marystown Julie Mitchell and MHA Clyde
Jackman came to bring greetings to the riders before their departure to their
homes from as far away as Botwood, Gander, Twillingate, Wesleyville, Carbonear,
St.John’s and Mount Pearl. The funds raised more then doubled from last year
with almost $9000.00 donated.
Next year the plan is to be bigger and
better of course. The last weekend in August, the weekend before Labor Day is
marked for the ride annually. The charity to be decided on each year.
We are so proud and thankful that the
members of The Heritage Riders Motorcycle Association , and our fellow bikers,
has allowed and given us the opportunity to create and have such a legacy for
our daughter Johanna and at the same time benefit a charity.
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