Katie has a degree in information management from St. Catherine University with a minor in economics. She consults as a Software Analyst and Scrum Master. Today, Katie owns a 2020 Indian Challenger and a 2023 Harley Davidson Pan America Special.
As the free spirit that she is, Katie sold her house and lives full-time in her RV. She’s passionate about motorcycle safety and continuous skill development. She is an adventurer who loves to travel. This has opened up her life and brought many friendships into it.
So, how did she get here? Katie explains:
In 2012, as a single parent of two daughters, Katie was tired of tent camping and thought her budget might support the purchase of a camper. She initially thought a pop-up might fit her needs. But she wanted her own bathroom and started looking at bumper pulls. Things snowballed, and in the spring of 2014, she ordered a 37-foot fifth wheel. That first season, she parked it on a seasonal lot. Then, in the fall, she bought a truck to tow it.
After a few years, her daughters weren’t coming along as much, and she was getting tired of driving a 1-ton diesel truck. Katie started dreaming about what might be next. Talking with her new neighbors at the campground, she told them she might want a motorcycle but needed to figure out how to tow it with her 5th wheel. Mind you she had never even been on a motorcycle and didn’t know anyone who rode. Turned out they had a swivel wheel trailer and wanted to sell it.
She started looking at motorcycle safety classes and what it would take to learn to ride. That fall, a mishap at the dog park landed her with a broken ankle, fibula, and PCL tear. Thus, things stalled. The swivel trailer would wink at her from the side of her garage reminding her it was waiting. So, the summer of 2018 with her youngest daughter in college, she sold her house. She went full-time in her RV. Then, in August, she took the MSF BRC and bought her first motorcycle: a Sedona Orange 2011 Harley Davidson Fat Bob. She wasn’t expecting she’d buy a Harley but when she swung her leg over and settled into the seat, she knew it was the one. Affectionately referred to as SS or Sedona Studly (definition handsome, attractive or hunky).
In 2021 she attended the International Female Ride Day in Woodstock, IL put on by Ellie Rains. There she sat in on Spitfires information session on Accident Scene Management. Then took the “A Crash Course for the Motorcyclist” series 100 course from Trauma Mama and husband Ben in Arizona over the winter. She’s passionate about motorcycle safety and continuous skill development. She is an adventuress who loves to travel. This has opened up her life and brought many friendships into it.
To contact Katie you can email her: Katie at RoadGuardians.org