Conga Anyone??

Have you ever been to Mexico? American’s flock to the Riviera Maya during the cold northern winter months. We escape the white snow for in search of white sandy beaches. Many prefer an all-inclusive resort where the buffets are long and the liquor is top-shelf.

Even though the conga line originated with slaves brought to Cuba from the Congo region of Africa, the dance is performed nightly at Mexican night clubs. Every dancer in the conga line is awarded with a stream of tequila being poured down their throats. This was my first introduction to the conga line in 1998.

My second introduction to the conga was when I saw a map of North America online. This map had a route circling from the southern most part of the United States, traveling west and north into Canada, and then back down through the eastern states to Texas. The post that went with the map was something about a “Conga” ride. Tamela Rich was going to ride her motorcycle on this route and ride the “Conga”.

Tamela's Conga Line

What the heck? This wasn’t the conga I knew… A woman was going to ride her motorcycle – by herself – for over 10,000 miles and meet up a group in WY somewhere? Is this a new kind of conga line?

This posted route would take Tamela at least a month and a half and she was reaching out to other women that wanted to ride a stretch with her. Well… I had been looking for an adventure this summer so I told Tamela that she’d be coming right through my hometown and that I’d ride a bit with her.

Tamela’s next message to me was “Can you come to Shell for the Conga meet up?”

Well… sure… I guess… I think that’ll be OK… let me check my calendar… where in the world is Shell and what’s the “Conga”? Tamela directed me to a group on Facebook… which lead me to a couple of websites… where I ran across Flo… the Queen of the Conga.

Picture a map of North America… picture bright PINK pins stuck in the map in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, Canada… Jackpot, NV… Portland, OR… Wenatchee, WA… Houston, TX… Pensecola, FL… various places in New Mexico, Idaho, South Carolina, and finally Sioux Falls, SD. These places are either starting a Conga line or are stops on a Conga line that will be dancing their way to Shell, WY.

What’s so great about the Conga Ride? It’s two-fold… women are riding together to celebrate the bond we have as windsisters… a sisterhood of the traveling chaps. The second reason, and more importantly… we are riding to support women in the fight against breast cancer. We’ll be raising funds along the way in order to “kick breast cancer to the curb”.

This is just the start of my story… I can’t wait to share the rest with you! I’ll introduce you to Flo, the Queen of the Conga, and other gracious women I’ve connected with in my Conga journey. Want to join? Would love to have you along!!! You better hang on… it’s gonna be one wild and rewarding ride!!