michelle from NZ, female boots and riding

[RedWingDS]

hello michelle

i noticed you also know lisa A. from NJ. i had no idea she was at the ISDE competition.kind of remember her mentioning something about it a few months ago but i dont see her much. i think she's great ,such a nice person and always has a smile on her face. the fact that she rides is a bonus.

being a ski instructor i know that there is a huge difference between men and women when it comes to sports. i do my best to help out with kids who are learing to ride. and knowing lisa a little i feel like she could help out GXdragon with his wife and daughter.

what should i know if giving advice to females who ride ?
body position ?
over coming the fear factor ?
any confidence building exercises ?
and do you know if there are any boot manufactures that make boots just for women?

i ask the boot question since females have lower calf muscles then men. i know with skiing a mens boot only works against a womans ability to control the ski.plus it cuts of the circulation and causes discomfort. do you this holds true for off road riding ?

NZ has some of the best apples mmmm mmm mm.(green ones)

Red [email protected]
"dirt biking good clean fun"

 

[RedWingDS]

any ladies with advice would be greatly appreciated. didnt mean for it to sound like the question was dedicated to michelle only.

Red
"dirt bking good clean fun"

 

[dirty~d~]

I can't speak for every woman here, but I have no problem wearing men's boots. I've never found them to pinch or work against me in anyway. I wear the Alpinestar Tech 8s and even though they are heavier/stiffer than some, I find them quite comfortable.

The number one confidence builder for me is seat time. The more time I spend on my beast the more comfortable I become. Just be patient with yourself and you'll be fine. :thumb:

 

[KDXgirl]

I have trouble getting boots to fit but am currently chasing up some Sidis to try (just waiting for the shop to get them in my size) I find that I am in between men and kids sizes and have touble getting them to fit my calves. Im told Sidis have stacks of adjustments.

 

[KDXgirl]

In terms of helping women, the best thing I feel is to get them in a group of women to ride. Some girls can feel intimidated by riding the the guys at first or better still 1:1

Confidence comes with experience, practice practice practice

 

[Michelle]

Red, I "know" Lissa as well as the next female here (unless she really does know Lissa). She is a member here and one we're proud to "know", along with Girlrider, Andrea & Kerrie (sorry guys, forgotten your nicks, but definitely not your personas).

The one way to figure out if she can help GX is to ask. These female top riders are class acts and I just wish I could ride with them again (they're greatful they can't hehehe). We've only got one Kiwi going to the ISDE this year, so as far as I'm concerned, I've got 4 riders I'm rooting for - the US gals & the Kiwi.

Seriously though, riding with other females makes a huge difference to some folk, but others are fine riding with the guys. It depends on personalities. I was riding with a relative newbie today, and for her, it made a difference. She saw me doing things & thought, hmmm, Michelle can do it, I can do it. We stopped at one point & she told me there was no way in hell she would've contemplated riding up the hill we'd just ridden up without me having gone first. I only rode her bike up one tiny piece, which I thought was really impressive. She's in a similar situation to me, as in, her husband won't ride with her (mine will, but I hate it, so prefer to toddle on my own). Having similar bikes also helped. I was on the TTR125 & she was on her CR150F, whereas if I'd been on the KDX she might've approached it differently and baulked.

I also ride with another female who I'll let lead, so I can follow her lines and watch how much she stands (one of my many failings). She learnt to ride on a trials bike, so rarely sits. I've approached some stuff & gone to sit but noticed her still standing, so am determined to do the same. Another friend's daughter sits too much, so I do the same to her - make her follow me & if I sit for something, she's allowed, too.

Riding with other women is brilliant, so long as they're not too much faster (or they're good about going slow ;)) It's just hard to find others to ride with as they're either with their partners or kids & not really keen to ride outside of that (these are the ones I've met, then you've got the racehead mentality that I'd never ask to go riding with).

As for boots, I've got Gaernes, but will be looking very soon for something else. I'll be trying Tech 6's & 8's & if neither fit well, will think again what to get.

With GXdragon's wife, see if she'll come & "meet" us. The one thing that is really hard to get your head around is the fact that others struggle too. When you're sitting in a carpark watching riders come & go, you don't see the faux pas happening, nor do you when the guys are always just waiting for you. It seems like they find it easy and if they happen to come back covered in mud with a broken bike, well, it can't have been their fault ;) The other thing I found hard to work out was the fact that style sometimes flies out the window.

If I'm intimidated by something, I like to just go & do it time & time again until I'm either hurt or okay with it, or bored/frustrated (whichever comes first). I set myself up today when on my own with a goal, just practicing braking & cornering. I got frustrated but decided instead of getting down about it, I'd go & have some fun & then get back to it. It was easier to get depressed & frustrated than to realise, hey, you don't practice this enough, of course you can't do it 100%.

I hope this waffle helps some & if there's anything we can do to help any female rider, we'll do our best (with differing opinions lol).

Oh, if you mean granny smith apples - yuck, give me the Royal Galas straight off the tree any day lol (the cold stored ones are yuck pretty quick). Oh, the rose apples are pretty good, too. Grannies are good for apple sauce though. ;)
Michelle

 

[altagirl]

I also have no problem with mens boots. Of course the best fitting ski boots I've ever found for me are mens Tecnica Icon Carbons. Maybe the fact that I wear a women's 10 means they have big enough calf areas in the mens boots at that point that they work okay. I can see where it might be a bigger problem for a woman with a small foot trying to squeeze into childrens boots or something. Though I've read you can get extender straps for most boots if you need them.