By Keysha Drexel
Journal editor
Mary West Campbell may have participated in charity rides before, but this year, she’ll hit the road on her own motorcycle for the Dixie Divas’ fifth annual Revvin’ for Research fundraiser.
Last year, the Vestavia Hills woman rode on the back of her husband’s motorcycle in the event to help raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. At this year’s event on Sept. 7 at Heart of Dixie Harley-Davidson, she’ll be the one driving 400 pounds of steel and horsepower.
And she’ll likely be wearing pink.
“Listen, I’m a girly-girl. I like clothes and makeup and getting dressed up and everything pink,” said the cosmetologist, hairstylist and makeup artist who helps her clients get their beauty fix at Hair Spray Salon on Montgomery Highway in Vestavia Hills. “I have pink tools at work and pink tools for my bike.”
Campbell is a member of the Dixie Divas Riding Club, a motorcycle riding club made up of women from all walks of life who ride any kind of motorcycle.
The mission of the club, said its vice president, Kay Meachum, is to mentor new riders and inspire women to take control and move to the front seat in the ride that is their lives.
“You can always ride on the back of someone else’s bike, but when you have your own, it’s a whole different feeling,” she said. “Riding a motorcycle is good for your soul.”
The club has partnered with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation since 2008, the same year Meachum got her first motorcycle.
“It’s very rewarding to be able to do something you love to do and at the same time do something that can help people,” she said. “It’s a fundraiser that is near and dear to my heart for several reasons.”
One of those reasons is Meachum’s mother’s battle with cancer.
“My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 and now it has metastasized. They discontinued her treatment, and my mom is dying. It may be too late for research to help my mother, but it’s not too late for my daughter or my granddaughter.”
Campbell said breast cancer has also touched her family.
“I have aunts who died of breast cancer and really, I don’t know anyone who has not been affected by breast cancer in one way or another, and that’s why I am so happy to be a part of this charity ride,” she said.
Last year, Campbell helped Revvin’ 4 Research riders get dolled up before the ride.
“I brought pink hair extensions and did the riders’ hair last year. I think I’ll bring more extensions and some pink feathers this year,” she said.
And after every pink hair is in place, Campbell said she’ll be thrilled to put up the kickstand of her own bike for the charity ride.
“It’s going to be pretty exciting. It’s a very empowering thing to know how to handle a 400-pound bike,” she said.
While she’s been cutting hair since she was 12 years old, Campbell, who grew up in Fayette County, only recently took up motorcycle riding.
“I grew up riding on minibikes and on the back of my older brothers’ bikes. I’ve ridden tractors and horses, but I never really mastered the motorcycle,” she said.
Her interest in motorcycles was piqued when she met her husband of a little more than two years, Buzz, who is a sales manager at Heart of Dixie Harley-Davidson.
“I started riding on the back of his bike, and I thought it was pretty cool,” she said.
The more she rode with her husband, the more hooked she became on the freedom of the open road, Campbell said.
“It’s something about how free you feel when you’re riding–the wind on your face and the smell of the bike and the sound of the gears shifting. It’s pretty exhilarating,” she said.
Campbell enjoyed being a passenger on her husband’s motorcycle rides but grew increasingly interested in being in the driver’s seat.
“It came to the point where I wanted to beside him instead of behind him,” she said.
Campbell decided to take a motorcycle riding instruction and safety course at Heart of Dixie Harley-Davidson as she worked up the courage to buy her own bike.
“It takes a lot of courage to get on something that big and take it out on the road yourself, but it was something I was determined to do, and my husband really wanted me to do it to so that we could ride together,” she said.
The course, which is taught by motorcycle police officers, taught her a lot, Campbell said, so she decided to test her skills on her husband’s 750-pound Harley. In hindsight, she said, it wasn’t the best way to try out what she’d recently learned.
“We have this really steep driveway, and one of the first times I tried to take his bike out by myself, I really worried about getting the bike down the driveway,” she said.
As it turns out, the steep driveway was the least of Campbell’s worries.
“I made it down the driveway and was at the end of our road at the stop sign when I lost it, and the bike fell over and went down the hill,” she said. “My husband was out of town working and the kids were still asleep. Luckily, a guy stopped and helped me get the bike back up the hill. I knew then that I needed a smaller bike.”
So Campbell’s husband got a good deal on a black Yamaha V Star, and she set her sights on getting ready to ride it in the Revvin’ 4 Research charity ride on Sept. 7.
“It’s only been a few weeks since I’ve had my own bike, so I’m a little nervous about the ride, but I’m excited about it at the same time,” she said.
She’s also excited about being a new member of the Dixie Divas, Campbell said.
“I knew about the Dixie Divas from having done the charity ride before, and when I got my own bike, I thought it would be a good way to meet other women and to encourage each other. I also knew they give back to the community, and that was important to me,” she said.
Owning her own motorcycle has given Campbell a confidence boost, she said, and it’s something she thinks more women should try.
“To look at me, you wouldn’t think I could ride a motorcycle, and I kind of like that. Some people might think that girls aren’t supposed to do this kind of thing, but it makes me feel good to show people that we can,” she said.
Campbell said she thinks other women could benefit from the freedom she and the other Dixie Divas feel when they hit the open road.
“When you’re out there riding, it’s just you and the road, and you forget about all the stress for a little while,” she said.
Campbell said she’ll be happy to be among the experienced and not-so-experienced riders who rev up their engines to fight breast cancer on Sept. 7.
“I may not have a lot of miles under my belt yet, but I’ll feel like I’m doing something good to help others and accomplishing a personal goal at the same time,” she said.
Riders in the Revvin’ 4 Research charity event will meet at Heart of Dixie Harley-Davidson at 333 Cahaba Valley Parkway North for breakfast at 9 a.m.
At 11 a.m., the riders will leave the dealership and travel to Big Number 1 Motorsports in Homewood, taking Shades Crest Road back to Heart of Dixie Harley-Davidson. The riders will have a police escort during the ride.
The ride should be over by 1:45 p.m. and will be followed by a party with live entertainment by disc jockey Rory Kent, a catered lunch from Habaneros, beverages from Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and live and silent auctions. Prizes will also be given away to registered riders all afternoon.
To register, visit HYPERLINK “http://www.revvin4research.com” www.revvin4research.com. For sponsorship questions, call Sherri Simmers, president of Dixie Divas, at 503-2145 or Jennifer Galbreath at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation at 996-5463.
The Dixie Divas meet every second Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Heart of Dixie HOG Room. For a membership application or more information, contact Sherri Simmers at 503-2145 or [email protected] or visit www.dixiedivasrc.com.
