|
|
||||
|
Ride It Like You Mean It |
||||
|
August 2001 Volume 2, Number 4 ============= Member of
Women in the Wind
"There are hundreds of women out there who encompass decades of the road under their wheels."
"While my confidence never exceeded 10%, I managed to ride the bike for three days through the canyons and valleys, and even over the historic Route 66."
"Imagine macho male bikers dressing up like The Village People, or women parading their wares while singing along to Shania Twain"
|
Inside
WITW: by Lauranne Bailey I dedicate this month's column to Regina "Joker" Radtke who loved the road and died too soon at 39, and to Gracie Sharamitaro, who lies in a Denver hospital recuperating from several broken bones from a mishap on her road trip return from California to St. Louis. Both of these women had cheered me on when I did not think I could get back on the bike. I am indebted to both.
Becky Brown is one of these women. She's been riding since the 70's, and her story was similar to the stories of many women I know. We would ride on the back with boyfriends or husbands, or some of us were tomboys and rode dirt bikes, but once we got the bug, it was a matter of knowing how to find a bike that fit us and learn the rules of the road.
In 1979, Becky Brown placed an ad in her local newspaper. Soon after, eleven women took their first ride as a club through the scenic byways of the Maumee River. Since then, those first women in Toledo chose a name and the club has expanded to 700 members and spanned the globe across the U.S. and into Great Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden and New Zealand. The organization now sports over 40 chapters, and while sometimes the chapter locations and member faces change, Women in the Wind keeps its spirit to promote a positive image of women motorcyclists. We're also a group who educate our members in bike safety and maintenance. And Becky is founder of just one women's motorcycle organization. There are Motor Maids (officially the first women's motorcycle club), Women on Wheels, and other regional and local clubs. Why I chose to join Women in the Wind over the others was purely based on timing and proximity. I was looking for women to ride with when I started riding in '93 and found them through a friend who knew someone who knew a woman in a chapter 60 minutes away. I attended a couple of meetings, and soon, with three other women decided to start our own chapter closer to home. Our chapter encountered growing pains, and we matured into a group that prefers riding to fundraising--our last success was raising $2500 for the Pony Express Tour '98, which was a national motorcycle relay to raise money for breast cancer research. Most of the women in our chapter are lucky to get away for our Wednesday night rides or a weekend ride once or twice a month. So a few years back, we decided to focus on riding most. Twice a year we have the opportunity to attend a Nationals gathering, where all members are encouraged to attend and meet other women, exchange stories, build or renew friendships, and have some good fun. I flew out to our Summer Nationals held in San Bernardino, California, the last weekend in June and rented a Heritage (first Harley for me). I was shaking more than the bike after two miles of unfamiliar roads and controls. I have ridden several cruisers in my life, but not one this large, nor one with no hydraulic controls. Terrified was my milder emotion. Rather, I was thinking, was I crazy to rent such an alien bike, and then expect to ride it in city crowded with drivers and streets foreign to me? After going to my room for some deep breathing, I returned to the hospitality suite to talk with women barely weighing 100 pounds who OWNED Heritage Softails, and was soon talked into getting back on. While my confidence never exceeded 10%, I managed to ride the bike for three days through the canyons and valleys, and even over the historic Route 66. And it was hot there. Real hot. 100 plus degrees dry hot (although the locals elicited chuckles from me when they were complaining about the humidity). It was the kind of heat when I don't need to prove an egg can cook on the cement; I could feel my brain frying in my helmet.
Even more impressive to me than my making it through three days on a strange bike was one of our newest chapter members, Harriet, who rode out from Peshtigo, Wisconsin, (on her Heritage) which is only a few miles from the Upper Michigan state line. There were women who rode from Missouri, Ohio, Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, and of course, all points in California. Gracie told me how she had to rent a hotel room at midday in Death Valley to sleep through the heat of day. The riding is only part of the joy. We have a general meeting where we discuss general club issues, and the Saturday night banquet general reflects the local flavor and we were not disappointed. The local H.O.G. chapter had set up some impressive karaoke acts for fundraising, and entertained us with some of their performances. Imagine macho male bikers dressing up like The Village People, or women parading their wares while singing along to Shania Twain. And Gale, our national president, was crowned queen as she has held her post now going into a third consecutive term. While the banquet room is mostly women, significant others are welcome, and often enjoy the attention of being outnumbered at their table. Panzer Motorcycle Works came out from Colorado and brought their bikes for women to test ride. They really wanted to know, firsthand, what we did and did not like about their bikes. This is a first in bike marketing that we are aware of. Most often women's needs are sidetracked and ignored, even though women bikers are the fastest growing consumers of new motorcycles.
And through it all, Becky remains our faithful Treasurer as that involves updating annual memberships and keeping track of the club logo products. She doesn't create much fanfare about her being the founder, and she encourages us all to give our best. This past year she was nominated for the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, and while not a winner there, she is a winner to all who have shared in the camaraderie of Women in the Wind. Web Sites: Women in the Wind Website Comprehensive book on women in motorcycling, complete with resource appendices Hear Me Roar by Ann Ferrar Documentary: She Lives to Ride by Alice Stone, from White Horse Press
|
|||
|
|
||||
