While I Still Can World Tour - Madeleine Missrider Velazquez
Sometimes I am terrified of what my future plans are, but fear is not going to stop me. Everyone always told me not to go on long rides alone, especially Central America and Alaska. Some said that my rides were doomed because I was doing the rides alone AND on a Triumph Bonneville SE. Little did they know, that I was determined to succeed to show them they were wrong. My "Journal" and the "blog" share some of the experiences. Many stories are still to be written, let's leave them for the book, to be written after my "While I Still Can World Tour".
Now that I've done so well in my past extreme distance solo riding, it is time at the young age of "60" to venture out into other parts of the world and experience different cultures for new adventures.
Now that I've done so well in my past extreme distance solo riding, it is time at the young age of "60" to venture out into other parts of the world and experience different cultures for new adventures.
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"Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death" - Hunter S. Thompson.
My student wrote this on a gift she gave me. She said it reminds her of me with my passion to ride my motorcycles. When I was exhausted, riding in the heat long hours in very dangerous roads, I thought of my student and her words lifted my spirits. Those words gave me strength to continue my riding challenge; I made it home safe riding as fast as I could within the legal limits. I will miss her - she is always in my heart.
My student wrote this on a gift she gave me. She said it reminds her of me with my passion to ride my motorcycles. When I was exhausted, riding in the heat long hours in very dangerous roads, I thought of my student and her words lifted my spirits. Those words gave me strength to continue my riding challenge; I made it home safe riding as fast as I could within the legal limits. I will miss her - she is always in my heart.
In Yosemite National Park in California, 2011.
Prior to cancer, I was a computer technology teacher at Abby Kelley Charter Foster Public School in Worcester, Massachusetts. I love teaching and all the challenges it presents.
My biggest accomplishment as an Adventuress has been completing my North America tour by riding my beloved 2009 Triumph Bonneville as shared here: Reached for the Stars - Mission Completed
My biggest accomplishment as an Adventuress has been completing my North America tour by riding my beloved 2009 Triumph Bonneville as shared here: Reached for the Stars - Mission Completed
During the winter months, I ski as often as time allows. I am very fortunate to live in New England where there are plenty of mountains to ski. I am very passionate about skiing and do it as often as possible. Some have asked that I share more about me, here is a blog post sharing who I am. http://www.missrider.com/blog/my-story
Here is a snapshot of how my life is once in a while
As a Teacher, life was not always this fun. The job provided great challenges. However, on this day, we (the Teachers at Abby Kelley Charter Public School) decided to dance. This video went viral when Mr. Penney posted it on YouTube. I am sharing it because it was part of my life and my dancing skills are demonstrated around 2:00 minutes into the movie.
This is the story of how and why this video evolved. It all started in my Film Edit course. My student Ymari Pyatt decided to make a video about students dancing behind teachers. She said she had been inspired by Ellen DeGeneres' show called "Dance Dares". She explained what she was going to accomplish and I approved her project. She was very proud of her video and quickly was the topic of discussion among the school community. Ymari was one of my top students, always with a wonderful sense of humor; she graduated a few years ago. As a result, the teachers at Abby Kelley Charter Public school decided to create a prank by making a video of teachers dancing behind students. The video was only supposed to be showed at the school during one of the school rallies. It turned out that the video below went viral with millions of hits. Ymari Pyatt's video can be seen here.
This is the story of how and why this video evolved. It all started in my Film Edit course. My student Ymari Pyatt decided to make a video about students dancing behind teachers. She said she had been inspired by Ellen DeGeneres' show called "Dance Dares". She explained what she was going to accomplish and I approved her project. She was very proud of her video and quickly was the topic of discussion among the school community. Ymari was one of my top students, always with a wonderful sense of humor; she graduated a few years ago. As a result, the teachers at Abby Kelley Charter Public school decided to create a prank by making a video of teachers dancing behind students. The video was only supposed to be showed at the school during one of the school rallies. It turned out that the video below went viral with millions of hits. Ymari Pyatt's video can be seen here.
STUDENT WORK
I am sharing these links of work that my students did in my Tech Advance class. These students touched my heart with their websites because I have a weakness for animals and my son is a US Marine. They touched on subjects that are dear to me and they are wonderful students. Click on the photos to view their work. The picture with the student upside down is very inspirational. He shares his life struggle via a wonderful site using the topic of "Fears and Dreams". He conquered his fears by pursuing his dream of becoming a US Marine. Brian (my student) will start his training on August, 2015 in the North Carolina base. Same facility where my son completed his boot camp prior to going into the Iraq war. Brian also speaks during my classes inspiring others to follow their dreams and overcome their challenges. Many moons ago, 2012, Sidney and Josh created a documentary about social networking addiction.
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Butterflies, so gentle, so vulnerable, so beautiful. The photo above was taken by Jeff Wilkinson from Gautier Mississippi. This is the link to his business http://www.ecotoursofsouthmississippi.com/ AND he shares wonderful photos on his Facebook page. I saw the photo and it reminded me of my desire to visit a butterfly farm, to have one fly and sit on my hand. While I was in Central America, I was not able to visit the places where butterflies are abundant. I cry every time my motorcycle windshield hurts one. Perhaps during my world tour this dream will become a reality.
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