Women Who Ride


Kristy Swanson Story by


Loney Wilcoxson Photos from


Kristy Swanson Kristy does not come from a riding back- For this issue’s Women Who Ride installment,


we have a special treat for you. The lady of our focus is not only a rider but also a former vampire slayer. That’s right folks; I am talking about none other than the motion picture and television ac- tress Kristy Swanson. You probably are familiar with Kristy from such


movies as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Big Daddy, The Program, The Chase, or of course Buffy the Vam- pire Slayer. Kristy’s resume contains a long list of big screen and television roles, but I bet you didn’t know she is a rider as well. We have to thank Ralph for the treat of Kristy


appearing in Wide Open. To make a long story short, during Ralph’s years living in Hollywood all through the 70’s, Ralph had a friend named Freddy Kagan. Well, it turns out Freddy’s son Matthew is godfather to Kristy’s 3-year-old son Magnus. It truly is a small world!


30 Wide Open


ground. As a matter of fact, she shared with me as a little girl she had to promise her father never to get on a motorcycle. That promise lasted until Kristy married her husband, two-time Olympic bronze medalist and World Champion Lloyd Eisler. It turns out Lloyd had been riding for many years. Kristy says Lloyd is happiest when he is on his scooter, so it was a given that she would get into riding as well. What began as a desire to share her husband’s passion as well as his company on the road, has turned into a full-on love of riding for Kristy. While she had absolutely no desire to learn to ride something with two wheels at the age of 40, she still had the desire to ride. When Kristy first laid her eyes on the Can Am Spyder she fell in love with it, and after she took one for a test ride she knew she had found her ticket to the open road. With her own wheels she was now free to ride alongside her husband, and they could enjoy their free time together. Living in Santa Clarita, California allows Kristy and Lloyd the year-round riding sea- son that most of us here on the Midwest Coast can only dream about. Kristy joined Lloyd as he made the trip to Sturgis


this year. While it was her first time at the rally Lloyd is a veteran to the event. They met some of their friends from Canada at the house they rented for the rally and enjoyed a fun-filled week with several hun-


dred thousand of their closest friends. Kristy and Lloyd joined Paul “Pee Wee Herman” Reubens and Lorenzo Lamas on the 2010 Legends ride and Kristy lists this charitable event as one of the highlights of the week. Kristy was a little surprised by just how much fun she had. She described her Sturgis trip as a “blast.” She had never thought she would get into or be into riding, but her Spyder has changed her thoughts, in her own words “now that I am into it, you can’t get me off of it.” It appears that Kristy has jumped into the riding


world with both feet, and like most of the riders I know, she couples her love of riding with a desire to help others. She is a proud sponsor of the Wounded Warrior Project and was also a part of the Iraq Star Foundation custom bike build. Kristy also rides with the American Legion Riders Chap- ter 507 Santa Clarita. I saved the best for last. Like almost anyone


who rides, Kristy has been bitten by the bug of customization. She is in the process of starting a little project to make her Spyder stand out among the crowd and unique to her. Check back here with me in our next issue and we will let you know what Kristy has created. If you want to know more about Kristy or want to keep up with her busy schedule, she invites you to visit her at her website www.kristyswansononline.com or follow her on Twitter at @KristySwansonXO.


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