She ain’t NO house mouse

Celeste started motorcycling when she was 25 years old. Her first bike was a Honda Shadow 750, custom painted in Brutal Beauties colors. Since then, Celeste has logged hundreds of thousands of miles road-tripping across North America.

I enjoy motorcycling because you feel like you’re a part of the world around you. You’re fast, compact and light on your feet. It’s liberating.
— Celeste

After traveling with her Honda Shadow, Celeste bought a Harley Davidson Fat Boy, her favorite of the two. A Fat Boy is a soft tail, a body style with rear suspension that allows you to feel when the road turns in your hips and throughout the rest of your body. This is one of the many reasons why Celeste loves long-distance motorcycling. From motorcycling camping to unintentional storm chasing, Celeste enjoys motorcycling because it feels like you’re a part of the world around you. You’re fast, compact and light on your feet. It’s liberating. She also loves stopping in on friends and family around the country, camping on a mountaintop somewhere, and how easy it is to change plans.

Celeste’s favorite trip is the trip she and Rick took from Phoenix to Wisconsin right after they were married. It was an awesome storm-chasing trip; either they were right behind the storm or the storm was right behind them. It was a fun trip because they were newlyweds who felt they had the whole world ahead of them. And because Rick’s bike was having electrical problems, every time they stopped for gas, Celeste had to push start him and run back to her bike to catch up. It was all very funny in the moment.

But her motorcycle wasn’t the only thing Celeste took on long road trips.

Celeste is a vintage Volkswagen enthusiast. She currently owns a 1972 Volkswagen bus that was gifted to her as long as she was able to repair it herself. With a little hard work and dedication, Celeste - with the help of a mechanic - got her bus on the road and painted it green (a fitting color for this campaign).

The Bus has become Celeste’s beloved road trip vehicle. Her favorite part about it is that no matter who you are, you’re always home. She spent several summers in that bus traveling north to escape the Arizona heat.

“Everybody smiles at my Bus,” Celeste said. “Whether it’s a grouchy old man or a newborn, everybody smiles, and I love it.”

Celeste loves the freedom of being on the road. She loves how strangers respond to her with interest and kindness.

“It’s one of the things that keeps me young,” she said.

Celeste’s dream road trip is to take Rick around the West Coast and the Pacific Northwest. This was the section of their trip that got cut short because of the accident. Celeste would love to get back out there and show her husband the beauty that is the western United States.

For now, Celeste leaves you with a bit of some road trip tips and tricks. Stay off interstates. Use local highways and country roads. It’s the only way to truly experience the magic of a road trip.

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