Imagine yourself riding a bike down a hill. The wind is fast, violently fast, and you can feel it tearing at your face. The pavement below you is a blur of gray concrete and black tar, and the colors of the world around you combine as your eyes strain against the gusts, trying to absorb the beauty rushing by you. It’s pure joy. Now take that feeling and multiply it by a thousand.

That’s what health teacher Kathy Bilof feels every time she rides one of the many motorcycles that belong to her and her husband, Richard.

As a child in a small southwestern Wisconsin town near Platteville, Bilof had her first encounter with motorcycling when her brothers owned motorcycles for a short period of time, though she wouldn’t realize her passion for motorcycling until years later.

Bilof’s childhood in Wisconsin also shaped another joy of hers: teaching. Despite Bilof’s busy schedule and involvement in athletics and extracurricular activities like marching band, she enjoyed helping other students and was inspired by the good teachers she had in high school. According to Bilof, teaching also runs in the family; her parents had both been teachers as well.

With a penchant for athletics and a desire to teach, Bilof decided to attend the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse, which was a big school for physical education.

However, once she was there, she was having doubts about whether or not teaching was truly for her. At the suggestion of some friends working in Madison, Wis., Bilof decided to take a gap year to work for the state in the capital. While working in the social security office, Bilof met her future husband, who encouraged her to go back to school.

After receiving her degree and marrying Richard, Bilof and her husband bought their first bike together, a Honda.

“I was a little afraid, but at the same time I never, never experienced such a difference between riding a vehicle and being on a bike,” said Bilof. “You’re in the environment.”

As their passion for cycling grew and they began to go on longer and longer rides, the Bilofs invested in a touring bike. Following long, faded strips of black road, they ventured throughout America in the open air. Their bike carried them to the Dakotas, to the craggy faces perched on Mount Rushmore. They’ve motorcycled through the winding roads of the Ozarks, and the searing, 100 degree heat of the Badlands. They’ve even crossed the border and ridden up into Canada to see the natural wonder of Niagara Falls.

The highlight of all of Bilof’s travels was that Canada trip. The then-governor of Wisconsin, Tommy Thompson, invited Bilof and her husband to join over 1,000 bikers on the long trip north of the border.

“You could hear us roar down the roads,” said Bilof. “It gives me tingles, because when I remember back, you’d go over a hill, and you’d see [bikers] for a line like you wouldn’t believe.”

Each town the party rode through had been alerted to its presence, and as the group zipped through small town upon small town, it was greeted like a parade. Streets were blocked off, and families would swarm the edges of the streets with their children in tow to catch a glimpse of the flock of gleaming bikes.

Once they reached the border, they were escorted to a holding area to pass through customs more efficiently. For about 45 minutes in searing heat, hundreds of bikers waited together to have their passports checked, a delightful alternative to the six hours of waiting that would have ensued had the border police not known about the trip beforehand. People of all different backgrounds came together for that ride, from doctors, lawyers, and congressmen to engineers like Bilof’s husband.

“I think it’s really important for young people to know that often there’s a stereotype about bikers and who they are, and sometimes it’s based on appearance,” said Bilof. “That’s where I realized, really, the different types of people that ride.”

After completing that trip, their adventures continued. Bilof’s husband inspired her to attain her scuba diving license, and the couple also went on motorcycle trips with Bolif’s brother and his wife. Along the way, Bilof would sometimes film their travels with a video camera, and her husband would then compile the clips and set them to music so they could preserve their memories forever.

“When you watch it, it’s like it brings back everything,” said Bilof. “[Richard] is the king of rock n’ roll, in terms of knowing the artists and all that, which I never paid any attention to. He’d look at the videos and he’d pick music that really emphasized whatever I was taping, so it was really fun.”

As their travel experience increased, so did their knowledge about motorcycling. While riding through the searing heat of the Badlands, they learned a trick from another biker about how to deal with the boiling heat that accompanied wearing the proper riding gear of full leather and a helmet. By wetting down their clothes before adorning their leather, the Bilofs could basically create their own air conditioning driven by the wind flowing as they rode. They’ve also acquired multiple bikes, including a BMW touring bike, a Harley touring bike, and a Cavalcade, over their years of road trips and adventures.

To Bilof, the joy of a motorcycle is something that everyone should experience, with the proper safety precautions.

“It takes good judgment. My husband will not go out on a motorcycle at any time if the weather isn’t right,” said Bilof. “Sometimes you get caught in bad weather, and we had to deal with that. Sometimes you have to decide to stop and wait and all kinds of decisions, just like with any motorized anything.”

Bilof also encourages safe motorcycling for her own family. When Bilof’s son, Mike, turned 16, she took a motorcycle safety course with him and became qualified to ride by herself. Bilof also has two daughters, Catherine, a veterinarian, and Kelly, a nurse practitioner, and Mike works at Snap-on Tools.

While traveling and raising her family, Bilof continued to be drawn to teaching. She originally worked in business for several years, but returned to the profession she’d thought about for so long. After first working in Woodstock for 10 years, Bilof began working for District 158, and has been here for 15 years. Originally she taught a computer class, but her love of athletics and staying healthy inspired her to become a physical education teacher, and she has taught physical education at Chesak, Martin, and Conley. She currently teaches Health at HHS for the first three periods of the day and then commutes to Conley for the rest of the day.

“I really truly enjoy all of it, but I especially like working with young people, so I guess my favorite part is coming to work every day and looking forward to the challenge and enjoying the opportunity to do that,” said Bilof.

Whether teaching or motorcycling, Bilof always rises to the challenge.