Cruising the Loop Rider Bios
Genevieve Schmitt - Emigrant, MT
A true trailblazer for female motorcycle enthusiasts, Genevieve has worked in the motorcycle industry since 1993 and is recognized
as one of the first journalists to create content specifically for female motorcyclists.
Her company, Solitude Ranch Communications, publishes WomenRidersNow.com, an
online magazine about women and motorcycling. It also
publishes TrikeRidersNow.com and ScooterRidersNow.com capitalizing on interest in those markets. Genevieve also writes a monthly column about women and motorcycling in American Iron Magazine,the number one V-twin motorcycle magazine on the newsstands.
Genevieve will tour the Selkirk Loop on a Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide® Custom . With super chic mini pullback handlebars, this motorcycle has a 1584cc Twin Cam 96 engine that’s air-cooled and rubber-mounted for a smooth ride. New 2010 feature: black engine with chrome rocker covers.
Anne Tattersall - Enschede, Netherlands
Anne contributes to www.EagleRider.nl, a U.S. motorcycle rental directory and industry media site.
Anne will roll down the Selkirk Loop on a Harley-Davidson Softail
Fat Boy® Lo. This bike has a balanced, Twin Cam 96B™ engine and a 6-speed Cruise Drive™ transmission with a new helical-cut 5th gear. This bike has the lowest seat height of any Harley-Davidson and is all new for 2010.
Michaela Fischer - Troisdorf, Germany
Michaela is the owner of Bike the Best www.BiketheBest.de, a destination tour company based in Germany. Her company exclusively sells Harley tours in the United States and has been assisting travelers in the European market for over 20 years.
Along with her husband Peter, Micky is a mother of two (Lenny - age 8 and Toni - age 10). Their family outings include attending several of Europe’s largest motorcyclist events.
Michaela will tour the Selkirk Loop on a Harley-Davidson Softail Fat Boy®. This bike has a 1584cc Twin Cam 96B™ engine, chrome shotgun exhaust with dual mufflers, a shiny chrome fuel tank, and a 200mm-wide, 17-inch rear tire.
Pamela Joy Collins - Montoursville, PA
When Pam began her professional journalism career as a radio/television reporter, never did she realize her subject
matter one day would veer from mundane political and local new beats to writing about the exciting two-wheeled lifestyle.
But that’s because this self-professed news junkie/bookworm never envisioned herself on a motorcycle.
However, after learning to ride eleven years ago, Pam realized not only did motorcycling provide her with fascinating, exciting personal joys and experiences, but compelling story ideas as well. "It seemed a story appeared around every curve, and I just couldn’t ignore the reporter in me saying 'I have to write about this.'"
Pamela is a regular contributor to Roadbike Magazine, Keystone Motorcycle Press, and Women Riders Now.com. She has also written for Keystone Motorcycle Press.
Pamela will tour the Selkirk Loop on a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 Low. Key features include a rubber-mounted 1200cc Evolution® engine, a staggered shorty exhaust and low suspension.
Margie Siegal - Oakland, CA
Margie Siegal has been riding motorcycles even longer than she has been a freelance writer. Well-known for her interest in motorcycle history, her work has been included in Classic Bike, Rider Magazine, Motorcycle Collector, IronWorks Magazine (where she is the vintage editor) and Motorcycle Classics. Margie also covers the retail side of the motorcycle business forMotorcycle Product News. Margie lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she can be found enjoying the scenic but challenging roads.
Margie will ride a Harley-Davidson XR1200™ Sportster that has a straight-shot, high performance exhaust, inverted front forks, Showa suspension and flat track race-inspired graphics.
Deborah Anne Macdonald - Boulder Creek, CA
Debbie is the Production Manager at Thunder Press, the premier Harley-Davidson and American Motorcycle newspaper. Although she wasn’t a rider when she started with the paper 17 years ago, she had been riding on the back of her husband’s bike since their first date in 1978. She went solo in ’94 when she bought a 1972 250 two-stroke Aermacchi Harley. She currently rides a 1987 Harley-Davidson FXRC, a 1997 Buell M2 Cyclone and a 2006 Harley-Davidson Road Glide. Clearly a Harley aficionado, Debbie covers related events, tests products, and road-tests bikes. “I really enjoy doing [these events] and can’t wait to do more,” she says.
On this excursion, Debbie will guide the Harley-Davidson Street Glide®. This smooth ride features a bat-wing, fork-mounted fairing, a reduced-height seat with air-adjustable rear shocks, saddlebags, a newly designed rear fender and a new 18” front wheel.
Michelle Baird - Costa Mesa, CA
Michelle is a contributor and copywriter at Cycle News, America’s Weekly Motorcycle Newspaper.
She does bike tests of all types of street bikes and produces the new products and calendar sections, too. On the weekends, Michelle works for the MSF teaching the Basic Rider Course at Cerritos College in California. Michelle will ride a Harley-Davidson VRSC V-Rod Muscle®.. This bike has a liquid-cooled 1250cc Revolution™ Engine, dual side exhaust, and a hydroformed frame that was shaped with water for a stronger frame.
Randy Ellen Twells - Santee, CA
Randy is a well-known motojournalist and National Accounts Manager for Quick Throttle Magazine, a CA-based monthly motorcycle magazine.
Randy will tour the Selkirk Loop on a Harley-Davidson Softail® Custom. This bike has a 1584 Twin Cam 96B™ Counter-Balanced engine, chrome staggered shorty exhaust, an ape-hanger handlebar style and a classic one-piece, two-up leather seat.
Diane Norton - Boise, ID
Diane is the Tourism Analyst for the Idaho Travel Council. Her love for traveling the state goes hand-in-hand with her passion for riding. “I’ve been riding on the back of my husband’s motorcycle for 20 years,” she says. She began riding an automatic 450 Suzuki, a gift from her father, in 2001. She purchased her pearl white 883 Custom Sportster in 2006 and she has been tearing up asphalt since. Her husband is her greatest fan.
Diane will travel the scenic Selkirk Loop on a Harley-Davidson Dyna Fat Bob®, with a black, powder-coated, 1584 Twin Cam 96™ engine that’s air-cooled and rubber-mounted. This bike has a chrome, “Tommy gun” exhaust with dual mufflers, drag-style handlebars, chrome-covered rear shocks, and a 6-speed Cruise Drive™ transmission with a new helical-cut 5th gear for smoother shifting.
Susan Swan Hobbs - Ione, WA
A native Washingtonian, Susan has been riding for 45 years. She has been a columnist and feature writer for Thunder Press, a national motorcycle publication covering Harley-Davidson and American Motorcycle news, for 15 years. In addition, she and her husband, Matt, operate a certified sustainable-yield tree farm and are building a ‘Green’ Intentional Community.
Susan and Matt love vintage motorcycles. Their collection includes a ’49 Indian Chief, a ’66 Harley-Davidson FL, and several British bikes including Triumph, Norton, and Rickman Matisse. Susan’s first motorcycle was a Honda Trail 90. Her everyday ride is a 17-year-old Harley-Davidson FLSTF, aka Fat Boy, which informed her gossip column’s identity, “Chewin’ the Fat Boy.”
Susan will check out the newest Fat Boy when she tours the Loop on a 2010 Harley-Davidson Softail Fat Boy®. This bike has a 1584cc Twin Cam 96B™ engine, chrome shotgun exhaust with dual mufflers, a shiny chrome fuel tank, and a 200mm-wide, 17-inch rear tire.
Jen Gruber – Milwaukee, WI
As Harley-Davidson’s Manager of Product Communications, Jen is naturally a Harley aficionado and fan. She will be touring into Idaho and Canada for her first time on the new 2010 Dyna Wide Glide®. The new Wide Glide® is a Dyna® Big Twin done up old-school chopper-style - a low, stretched-out custom with drag bars and forward foot controls that give its rider a real fists-in-the-wind profile. The LED stop/turn/tail light combo and side-mounted license plate keep the chopped rear fender clean.
Sheryl Lynn Bussard - Sandpoint, ID
Sheryl is an accomplished freelance writer and has covered industries ranging from motorcycles and other recreational vehicles, to health & fitness, to apparel, to book publishing. She has been published in outlets like The Washington Post, Newsday, Speed TV, andSandpoint Magazine.
Along with riding, this northern Idahoan enjoys her home-state’s outdoor offerings through activities like skiing, fly fishing, kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing, and biking.