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