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It was the year I started riding. Mrs. Cairns and I took my Yamaha XS750 to the Bluenose Motorcycle Rally in Billtown, NS. Amongst the BMWs, Goldwings, the occasional Guzzi and the multitude of Cruisers, I met Pam.



Pam rode in on a Virago, her leather jacket faded, riding club patch on her back and all the attitude in the world. Her grin is infectious and her laugh reminds me of a Hollywood witch. (I'd never tell her that to her face, because I think she could beat me in a fair fight)

Over time, I learned that Pam was a Motorcycle Safety Instructor and she's a RIDER. She could hop on just about any machine and make it look easy. And by the Jesus - don't tell her that Harley's can't lean, because I've watched her lift her feet in the corers as the floorboards are pushed to the uppermost limits. This woman puts more miles on a bike in a season than I can in 2.

She is also an excellent photographer. She's takes pictures of Motorcycle Events, of Benefits and of friends and family. Hell, a couple of years ago, she and a friend held a weekly contest on Facebook based on a Theme and everyone voted for the winner. Her pictures are excellent - beautiful composition and excellent post processing.

Pam is a Harley girl. While she can drink like a fish, smoke like a fiend she can also ride. A couple of years ago, she rode across the country - Halifax to BC. The next year, she rode to Calgary for the birth of her Grandchild. One of her funniest stories involves a motorcycle trip to Texas and a ride home through the ghetto of Detroit, while she was trying to find the Bridge to Canada. I think her Harley has well over 100,000 miles. She's also ridden it in the "Ride like a Pro" course twice.

When I traded my Cruiser for an Adventure Tourer, Pam told me about her dream to ride around the world. She's waiting to pay off the last of her bills and find the perfect bike. We've talked about BMW 650s, KLXs and a lot of bikes that are easy to maintain with a rubber band and a toothpick. She took an off road riding course a couple of years ago and when she got home, told me about how she now understood why I switched.

Pam is passionate about Volunteering and helping others. She started Nova Scotia's "Biker's Down Society" to help Motorcyclists who have been injured in accidents who may not have disability insurance or enough money to get by following the incident. The Biker's Down Society is associated with the "Toad Memorial Fund" - named after Nova Scotia Bike Builder Mike Roach who passed away in 2009. The past three years, Pam has organized "ToadStock", a real "Biker" party complete with Wet Tee Shirt contests and the proverbial bike games to raise money for the Biker's Down Society. She's actually the one who got me involved - I've provided Medical Coverage for the past two years and am looking forward to showing the Harley crowed how well a V-Strom can do in the slow race.

Pam rode to Laconia this year and when she returned, hit a large diesel leak in a Parking Lot and broke her ankle. Ironically, it was about a month after I broke my Tib-Fib. We've been messaging on Facebook about how to deal with the boredom and what to watch on NetFlix. I've been supposed to call, but by the time I get most of my stuff done in a day, I usually end up forgetting.

But Pam died. I'll never get to make that call. And I really feel guilty about it.

She's the perfect example of why we should all live our lives like today is our last day on Earth. We'd discussed the RTW routes that we both wanted to take when we got to do our respective trips.

Today, she's riding with the Angels, and if I hear Thunder tonight, I'll know that Pam finally changed those stock pipes for some louder ones.