Stick a fork in it....
Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:00 pm
So I had held out a slim hope that my CHL would arrive in the mail yesterday. It would have been great because I had been preparing to attend the Harvest Classic Vintage and European Motorcycle Rally today in Luckenbach. Well, no such luck. My primary motorcycle is a 1978 BMW R80 and taking trips on the motorcycle was one of my initial reasons to become interested in concealed carry. Being a single woman on an older motorcycle seemed just too vulnerable. Since the CHL didn't come in the mail yesterday, I resigned myself to riding the 80 miles or so anyway and just trust that my pepper spray would suffice if I had any trouble.
About 10 miles from the Rally, i stopped to gas up and when i went to start up again, discovered that my battery was dead. I'm not sure if I lost my voltage regulator, my alternator or the infamous BMW diode board. Luckily I was on a hill and was able to bump start it. The generator light is working properly but all my turn signals, etc. are dim and apparently running off the now critically low battery. I decided to abort the trip and return home, hoping that by turning off the headlight and using hand signals etc. to have enough battery to keep the engine running until I made it home.
I made it home safely and can now work on fixing the old girl.
The consolation prize is that when I looked in the mailbox, my CHL had arrived!!!!! I now have plastic in hand. To celebrate, my girlfriend and I went to pick up some things she needed from Hobby Lobby, go to a coffee shop and go to a thrift store. I was pretty self conscious but everything went smoothly. I have several carry options that I have been practicing at home. Today I wore some fairly low cut jeans with a pull over top with my LC9 in a High Noon Bare Asset holster IWB at 4:00 o'clock. No one seemed to pay any attention to me and I am sure I was the only one aware I was carrying. I am also experimenting with a Flash-bang bra holster and a Remora thigh holster for when wearing skirts or dresses.
It feels really good to be able to feel more protected. I also want to give a shout out to all the girls at Austin Sure Shots. They have really helped me in getting to this point.
Cheers,
Paula
About 10 miles from the Rally, i stopped to gas up and when i went to start up again, discovered that my battery was dead. I'm not sure if I lost my voltage regulator, my alternator or the infamous BMW diode board. Luckily I was on a hill and was able to bump start it. The generator light is working properly but all my turn signals, etc. are dim and apparently running off the now critically low battery. I decided to abort the trip and return home, hoping that by turning off the headlight and using hand signals etc. to have enough battery to keep the engine running until I made it home.
I made it home safely and can now work on fixing the old girl.
The consolation prize is that when I looked in the mailbox, my CHL had arrived!!!!! I now have plastic in hand. To celebrate, my girlfriend and I went to pick up some things she needed from Hobby Lobby, go to a coffee shop and go to a thrift store. I was pretty self conscious but everything went smoothly. I have several carry options that I have been practicing at home. Today I wore some fairly low cut jeans with a pull over top with my LC9 in a High Noon Bare Asset holster IWB at 4:00 o'clock. No one seemed to pay any attention to me and I am sure I was the only one aware I was carrying. I am also experimenting with a Flash-bang bra holster and a Remora thigh holster for when wearing skirts or dresses.
It feels really good to be able to feel more protected. I also want to give a shout out to all the girls at Austin Sure Shots. They have really helped me in getting to this point.
Cheers,
Paula
I feel like a kid on Christmas eve...But I'm super happy for you have fun out there, and most importantly be safe. 