Featured Rider – Chris Gibbany “Old Iron Never Dies”

Meet Chris Gibbany, she’s been riding for almost 3 decades now and has enjoyed every minute of it…what has she been up to lately? Read below…

I have been riding since I was 16 and I am now 43. I actually learned to ride before I learned to drive a car.

I have owned 10 bikes total.

The bike I am currently riding is my 1981 Harley Ironhead that my husband and I built together. I had the idea for the bike and designed it from start to finish and we built it in our “shack”. I have been riding it since 2010. I am currently in the process of tear down and final assembly on my 1956 Panhead. I have ridden the bike in raw form, but soon it will come back out finished. I am also building a 1939 Knucklehead in my living room, which is where the Panhead lived for 3 years. I like all bikes but fell in love with vintage Harleys a long time ago. My favorite bike is the one I am on at the time.

I fell in love with motorcycles when I was a little kid, collecting Hot Wheels and the tiny motorcycles that I bought in stores. I always knew I would drive hot rods and ride motorcycles. When I grew up, so did the toys! Since I ride old vintage bikes with rigid frames, any ride over 100 miles is a long ride for me. It’s not so much how far you ride, but the enjoyment of the ride.

Since I started out on dirt bikes and enduros, of course I would not be above riding any type of bike. I think a person needs to ride the bike that they are most comfortable with though.

I would have to say at this time I am building my dream bikes. When I built my 81 Ironhead I built it the way I wanted it to look and all the naysayers said it wouldn’t look right. What surprised everyone was that at every show I took it to, I ended up winning “Best of Show” at each one! I was pretty stoked about that because it meant my design really caught the attention of other people, even though that wasn’t what I was striving for. Now that I am building my 56 and 39, I am once again building “my” dream bikes, the way I want them to be. I always want a “next” bike but with limited funds and an old Mopar addiction, I think I am going to have to be satisfied with the 3 old Harleys I currently own.

I think I am an “in the moment” rider, meaning I try to take in as much as I can while riding, and be present in the “now”. When circumstances change, as they constantly do, then I of course change with them.

The love for the machine from a young age is what started it. Meeting my husband of 12 years and getting into building custom bikes for ourselves really got me even more addicted to the bikes. When we met I told him I was only into cars and bikes and we married six months later. No regrets, just like life in general.

I wish someone would have told me that I would end up with an addiction to vintage Harleys that would supersede my addiction to old cars! You only live once, make the best out of it, pray to GOD before every ride and keep your eyes on the road and on everything around you at all times.

I think everyone should have a choice. I have found that each year I ride that my opinions change and I am starting to wear more gear. I used to just ride around in shorts and tank tops, with no helmet. I now feel more comfortable wearing a helmet and since I won Garage Girls Ultimate Biker Makeover in 2014, I had the privilege to get a lot of riding gear that I didn’t previously own. I am also trying out different things from Motorcycle House and it really is changing my riding habits.

No, I really don’t think I can live without riding and would be willing to sell my old Charger and Challenger if need be to keep on a bike.

I’ve went down while riding dirt bikes a few times on dirt roads and went down on a very slick bridge while on an enduro once. Luckily I was wearing a full face helmet so I didn’t get hurt.

Just ride as much as possible and build as many cool bikes as I can afford to. Try to keep in shape and keep all of my body parts working correctly to make the ride more enjoyable since I don’t ride bikes that provide a lot of modern day “comfort”. My husband and I attended an event called “Just Kickers” in Oklahoma last year and it was such a blast we hope to continue to attend it each year that Kirk Sharp organizes it.

Old Iron Never Dies!